Behind the Accent: Why we love GARF

There is a reason that despite the muggy Georgia heat, the rain, and in general moody mother nature, we continue to return each year to the Georgia Renaissance Festival ... and that reason is the people.

Visitors get only a glimpse at the sparkling personalities behind the costumes and characters that we present in order to provide people with a memorable experience that keeps them coming back each year. To be a Rennie, as we've been dubbed, takes a certain amount of fortitude to endure the elements in full costume and often smiling despite some inevitable annoyances that come with any job concerning the general public.

Many Rennies hold an assortment of jobs and degrees that they employ during the week. That fellow putting on your elf ears has a masters in Computer Science. That scotswoman is so good with children because she is a teacher during the week. And whether this is their full time job, like some of us merchants, or just something they do on the weekends, we roll out of bed Monday morning exhausted, but we'll be back for 8 weekends, because this is a work of passion.

Part of the passion comes from the people behind the scenes. Last week, the festival lost a patron, but one so well loved by the family that is the festival, there was a wake at a local Rennie haunt in his honor. This particular Rennie haunt is long suffering and patient with the throngs that frequent its interior and exterior after the gates close on a Saturday or Sunday night. But we gather there for the company as much as the food. So when they were short staffed they barely batted an eye, and were actually thankful when we ordered a pizza on the down low to eat.

While we were there, the granddaughter of the amazing man who passed away arrived at our local haunt. She looked like a princess in her sparkling shoes and flowing white dress, complete with a crown. Her obviously grieving mother explained how her daughter had missed school because of her Opa's death on Thursday so she was not allowed to go to the formal dance for which she was dressed to attend. That was when my friend Taylor (who hawks for my booth) stood up, took her hand, and asked her for a dance. Her eyes lit up and i have to say mine teared up a bit, as this handsome fellow of 23 spun this preteen princess, transforming a dark time with one shining gesture.

So when you see that person sweating in a thick wool cloak, in layers of clothing on a hot May Day at the Georgia Renaissance Festival, give them a smile, because really THAT's why most of us are there.

Marble Renaissance

When Pearl art store went out of business in Atlanta, I snagged the last marble I could get my hands on while there. After working with soap stone I felt a little more confident to tackle the classic carving stone that I had been wanting to undertake since I can remember.

My plan when I purchased the stone was to sculpt an angel to put on the grave of a very dear friend who passed. I miss statuary in graveyards, and one of his favorite works of mine was "Tears for the Lost".

Placing a table outside the booth where I would only subject myself to breathing in marble dust all day, I took hammer, chisel, and rasps to the stone. The hammer and chisel were new to me, though I had used a rasp on the soap stone. It felt natural though, and after two days of working from open to close on the stone at Renfest, the angel took shape, rendering these results.

Although it was time consuming work, the absence of color made it much easier to stop and talk to people coming by. I could not have done that while painting. However, now that I have gotten it home and am no longer limited to Renaissance means... I'm probably going to take a dremel tool to it!

Some observations about working in marble if you are considering it yourself. It's MUCH softer than I had first thought. With the exception of hitting a vein, it did not break off as easily as working with plaster. It was not quite like working with soap stone, but it was much easier than I anticipated. So if you are afraid of working with marble, don't be. There's a reason that artists preferred it!