AFTER HOURS: And the winner is ...
If Christmas is less than two weeks away, can the Cherry Blossom Festival be far behind? On Dec. 3, the festival and Ikebana International sponsored the Fine Art and Wine Celebration at the Museum of Arts and Sciences, where past and present festival royalty were introduced and Leslie Sparrow's entry for the official festival poster was announced as the winner.
Betty Ragland, a past senior festival queen, was on hand to congratulate Sparrow and Georgia King, whose design was selected for the official festival pin.
Stacy Ingram, 2016 festival chair, joined Jack DeMave in celebrating the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays award given to CBF founder Carolyn Crayton.
SUGARPLUMS AT HAY HOUSE
Clement Clarke Moore's 1822 poem, "The Night Before Christmas," was the theme chosen by designer and event chair, Brooke Merrill, and her committee for this year's Hay House Christmas tours.
Merrill corralled the talents of 11 interior designers, decorative artists, volunteers and Hay House staff members to re-create an early 20th century Christmas spirit. Merrill's upstairs, northeast bedroom is a dreamy boudoir for the holiday social butterfly, complete with furs, a well appointed dressing table and silver ornaments on the Christmas tree.
Taking license with lighting and some artificial greenery did not take away from the period mood when Hay House patrons were invited to tour the house Dec. 3.
Each room -- from staff member Elliot James' ground level, bountiful kitchen to designer Suzanne MacCrone Rogers' upstairs nanny's room and playfully decorated nursery -- set the scene for the bustle of activity surrounding Christmas and the anticipation of little ones, waiting for their favorite elf to make his rounds.
Designer Tracy Benton Toney's luscious, flocked tree reflects the subdued pastels and intricately designed, creamy moldings of the reception room where glittering packages surround the tree's silk skirt. The marble mantle, as luminescent as old pearls, is draped with dark evergreens accented with delicate twigs, a light touch for the formal restraint of the room.
In the adjoining parlor, decorative artist Susan Raza showed Alice Bailey how she took advantage of the coziness of the space with a tree wrapped in red berries, vines and taffeta bows.
Visitors can imagine pajama-clad children surrounding the fireplace waiting for a hot cup of cocoa and a few cookies before reluctantly going to bed.
The sumptuous dining room, Canaan Marshall's space, is dressed for a Christmas feast, live garland extending the length of the table and cascading down the ends with potted, pink cyclamens tucked into the mound of greenery. Marshall, a floral designer, completed his table with Hay era place settings, a luxurious finish to the floral panoply.
Kelly Everling, events coordinator for Hay House, arranged an intimate fireside seating area beside her tree, easing the formality of a room that houses the signature statue of "Ruth Gleaning."
Local artist Priscilla Esser, who volunteered to decorate the marble hall and entry, draped the console tables in velvet and added silver candelabra, welcoming patrons Mary Jane Napier and Linda Maddox to the grand hall.
FRIDAY NIGHT SHOPPING FROM SOUP TO NUTS
On December's First Friday, Macon Arts Alliance invited several artists to exhibit their work in the First Street gallery for a smorgasbord of gift ideas.
Glass blower Charles Welles returned to the gallery this year to demonstrate his craft on the sidewalk, where visitors ordered custom-colored Christmas ornaments, also available in the gallery.
Michael Williams, local professional photographer, captures the essence of downtown Macon; he has added scenes from his travels, one of which has all the mystery and romance of Morocco, the subject of the photograph.
Before the days of fast food and TV trays, families enjoyed dinner with linen napkins wrapped in napkin rings. Sterling napkin rings are relics of the past, but Nancy Barnes has found a way to re-purpose them, layered over polished copper and shaped into cuffs, a unique fashion statement for the well-dressed woman. Her collection includes pendants of leaves, cut and shaped to replicate nature's work, in polished brass, silver and copper, and compatible with any jewelry.
Like Williams, Martha Tisdale has been recording Macon's history, but with brush and paint. Her watercolors, "Bank on Cotton" and "Georgia Avenue House," are renderings of landmark buildings in historic downtown, the bricks' aged patina familiar to those who pass those buildings every day.
Potter Mark Strozie scours the Ocmulgee River for flotsam and to dig the sandy clay with which he makes his river bowls, tiny half round vessels he uses for small succulents. Hanging at different heights from a frame, the miniature pots are appropriate for downsized living and the minimalist's interior garden.
Need more gift ideas? Look for them in next week's column.
Katherine Walden is a freelance writer and interior designer in Macon. Contact her at 478-742-2224 or kwaldenint@aol.com.
This story was originally published December 12, 2015 at 5:35 PM with the headline "AFTER HOURS: And the winner is ... ."