Blessed Art Thou

May 11, 2017 LeAnne Martin

The mother stands in the doorway beside a girl wearing a dark dress, tights, and shoes. Her long, flowing white gown has ruffles on top that remind me of angel’s wings. She’s looking away from the camera...

The Gifts of Theater for Students

May 9, 2017 LeAnne Martin

“May is the new December,” a teacher friend recently said to me. For parents, teachers, coaches, and anyone else who works with kids, May could be the craziest month of the year...

The Glass Bowl

April 18, 2017 LeAnne Martin

Do you have a favorite piece of art that has a story behind it?

Today, I thought I'd tell you about one of mine...

Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival

March 23, 2017 LeAnne Martin

Quiet streets in Fairhope the day after the 65th Annual Arts and Crafts Festival. For more photos of Fairhope and Mobile Bay, check out the links in the post below.

Have you ever been to an arts festival? Even if you don’t consider yourself an art lover, there are a lot of things to enjoy at a festival like this: good weather, a fun atmosphere, food from local restaurants or food trucks, and live music.

And of course there’s the art...

Lavender Abbey

March 16, 2017 LeAnne Martin

Have you ever seen a photograph that filled you with longing? Or stirred something in you? Maybe it made you want to be there, wherever the picture was taken, experiencing whatever was going on in that moment in time...

The Jar of Clay

February 7, 2017 LeAnne Martin

Looking out the restaurant’s large window, I gazed at Main Street below. The street in this mountain town, Highlands, NC, which would be teeming with tourists in a few months during peak season, was now deserted on this chilly day. Inside was warm but almost empty...

Windows of the Soul

January 26, 2017 LeAnne Martin

Have you ever picked up a book and were somehow changed by the time you got to the end? I have. Here's one that was pivotal in helping open my eyes to beauty.

Have you ever picked up a book and were somehow changed by the time you got to the end? I have. Here's one that was pivotal in opening my eyes to beauty...

Opening the Present of a Painting

January 12, 2017 LeAnne Martin

When my daughter and nieces were small, my sister and I piled all of us in the car for an "arts adventure." I’d asked my friend, Beverly Key, a visual artist who does abstract landscapes, oil paintings, and collages, if we could come and watch her paint. She graciously agreed...