What happens when a writer’s words become an artist’s inspiration?
That is the question at the heart of Paint Between the Lines, a new collaboration between Georgia Writers Museum (GWM) and The Artisans Village Gallery (AVG). Both organizations maintain popular storefronts in downtown Eatonton and worked together to bring writers and painters together to explore how the written word could be translated onto canvas.
The inaugural event paired original written submissions with artists who read and selected the pieces that inspired them. The writers then read their works aloud during a “Read and Reveal” event Aug. 14 at GWM, followed by the unveiling of paintings inspired by their words.
For artist Krista Kugaraj, the connection to the Lake Country was visceral and immediate. Kugaraj said she selected a piece written about a dock by GWM board member Gloria Edge because her parents have owned a second home on Lake Sinclair since the 1980s. The dock has become a familiar and reliable part of family life, remaining a constant as generations have come and gone.
“Every time I came home, whether it was with kids, grandkids, whoever, the dock’s always been there,” she said.
Kugaraj said Paint Between the Lines gave her an opportunity to revisit something she had attempted years earlier. She said she tried painting her parents’ dock while in college but was unhappy with the result.
This time, Kugaraj approached the subject with more experience and a willingness to use the bold colors she favors. The finished work was based not only on Edge’s words but also partly on a photograph of a neighboring dock. She incorporated its “Welcome” sign while adding her own artistic interpretation.
Edge, meanwhile, drew inspiration from her own relationship with Lake Sinclair, as well as a long-ago conversation with Eatonton resident Lyn Romine.
Edge explained that she sees her own dock as an important part of her life. Still, her story about leaving home and eventually returning was influenced by Romine’s story of growing up in the Eatonton area, leaving for many years and ultimately returning.
“That was my inspiration for the story about how the person goes away and comes back,” Edge said. “And it turns out that this is always home.”
For Edge, the Paint Between the Lines event also represented an important personal milestone. Though she has written privately for years, she said she had never previously shared her work with anyone — not even her husband of 55 years.
Having her piece selected and receiving a positive response from the audience was especially meaningful, she said. It turned out that limiting the story to the mandatory 300-word maximum was her most difficult challenge.
“I had to cut and cut to make it fit,” she said with a laugh. “But it was worth it.”
Another featured writer was Chip Bell, another GWM board member.
Bell took a decidedly different route. His story was inspired by his mother-in-law’s parakeet, which he described as “an incredibly talented bird.”
“It just sort of became the basis of a good idea,” Bell said, while freely acknowledging that he “stretched the truth a little” for the story. Still, he insisted, the bird itself was real.
Bell said he sees considerable potential in Paint Between the Lines as an annual event.
“I think this was great,” he said as things wound down. “I really do hope we do it every year because it brings together two really important organizations in a pretty special way.”
Approximately 50 written submissions were received for the inaugural Paint Between the Lines. Bell said the response suggests an appetite for the concept among local writers, and he expects more artists will respond once they become aware of the challenge.
“We thought we might get maybe 20 written submissions, so we were very impressed by the response,” Bell said. “But there are a lot of talented people in Eatonton and Putnam County, and this offers a chance to showcase them in a very unique way.”
A second Paint Between the Lines “Read and Reveal” event will be incorporated into the public reception for The Artisans Village’s 10th annual debut of Dual Vision: Art Through Different Eyes, in which artists bring photographs taken by members of the Lake Country Photo Club to life through paintings, sculptures and other artistic interpretations.
The event will be held from 5-8 p.m. Sept. 17 at Barrel 118 in Eatonton, with photographs displayed alongside the artwork they inspired.