Adventures in the South East, #14

Mississippi, the Magnolia State

 Continuing northwest we crossed into Mississippi for our visit to a city named Laurel. Perhaps 

you are familiar with Laurel if you have watched any of the HGTV series “Hometown”, in which Ben and Erin Napier remodel quaint homes for clients.

Established in the late 19th century and known as the Yellow Pine Capital of the World, Laurel flourished for decades with its lumber mills and oil businesses, along with a railroad development that continues to run through the city.

The town is considered to have the largest, finest, and most intact collection of early 20th century architecture in Mississippi. Walking the blocks around the downtown area revealed the mansions and houses from the city’s early days. 

Downtown the streets are lined with brick buildings that have been repurposed from large banks and department stores to cafes and shops. 

In several places only the remnants of buildings remain and have been turned into canvasses for public art. Not graffiti, actual works of art!

One unique spot that caught my eye had been created when a building was taken out. The front wall had been partially left from about twenty feet above the ground. The brick buildings on either side and the remaining partial back wall framed an area open to the sky.  A pile of bricks in the rear of the plot was being reclaimed by fern and wildflowers.

Lauren Rogers Museum of Art

 

Help! We are trapped in a these Van Gogh paintings!

This free-to-the-public museum housed an interesting assortment of art, silver service sets, native basketry and more. While it did not have any original Van Gogh paintings, information throughout the museum explained Van Gogh’s connection to the artists and art styles that were on display. The museum has many pieces that influenced Van Gogh and some that were part of his own collection.

The entire downstairs portion of the museum was filled with ways to interact with Van Gogh’s artwork. We posed in front of artwork or inside of “sets” that put us into the picture. Other stations were set up to allow drawing one’s own artwork in the style of Van Gogh. Lots of ways to interact!

There was also a small wing of the museum where the collaborative work of local middle schoolers was displayed. They had worked on a project where they took a Van Gogh painting as their inspiration and then each student made a sketch of a local landmark in his style. So this piece uses the famous swirly sky from “Starry Night” over the Laurel’ historic theater. We were very impressed with the talent of these young artists!

Then as a group they chose one sketch to use for their collaborative work. One of the finished “paintings” used torn bits and pieces of candy and snack wrappers to create their scene. Another was made from ground crayons glued to the canvas. Beside each piece was a reproduction of the “inspiration” work of art by Van Gogh and several of the students’ sketches. What an amazing art project, and so great that this museum makes space regularly for student work to be enjoyed by the community!

We thoroughly enjoyed exploring this small “Hometown”, from the renovated buildings to the alleys and places yet to be restored. The town has made a number of comebacks through its boom and bust history. We hope some type of industry can come in and help this area to thrive!

From here we continue to head East. Come back later to explore Louisiana with us on our Adventures on the Road!