McDonald to cover local arts and culture scene

Evelyn C. McDonald
Arts and Culture Reporter
May 19, 2015 3:18 p.m.

France recently announced the opening of a new exhibit, replicating a newly discovered cave with prehistoric paintings. All kinds of animals are depicted on the walls. Some are painted in a way to use the irregularities of the walls to artistic effect. Deer and horses are depicted with multiple legs to suggest running. The art is some 20,000 years old, much older than the paintings at Lescaux elsewhere in France.

Why is this notable? In spite of a daily search for food, warmth, and safety, prehistoric man went into caves and painted his world in beautiful and surprisingly accurate ways. We are practical but we are also dreamers. We work but we also play. We do the daily tasks required of us to keep fed and clothed but we also create.

An artist of the 1990s, Tery Fugate-Wilcox helped supply a motto for the Fulcrum Gallery in New York. It said, “Without Art we are but monkeys with car keys.” Art enriches life. We are fortunate in Fernandina Beach to have a number of opportunities for enrichment. When I moved to Fernandina, a friend of mine in Washington, DC, joked that she would send me “care baskets of culture.” After a few months here, I told her she didn’t have to bother.

And so in the coming weeks we will celebrate local arts and culture organizations and individuals who strive to create art and entertainment for us. It gives a dimension to our lives for which we should be thankful and supportive.

Editor’s Note: We are pleased to welcome Evelyn McDonald as our arts and culture reporter.  Evelyn  moved to Fernandina Beach from the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. in 2006. She is a chair of Arts & Culture Nassau, a city commission charged with support of the arts in Nassau County. She serves on the Curriculum Committee for the Center for Lifelong Learning, associated with Florida State College at Jacksonville. She is also the chair of the Dean’s Council for the Carpenter Library at the University of North Florida. Her hobbies are reading and photography. She is a member of the Amelia Island Art Association. Ms. McDonald has MS in Technology Management from the University of Maryland’s University College and a BA in Spanish from the University of Michigan.

The addition of Evelyn to our volunteer staff will allow the Fernandina Observer to broaden the coverage of our community’s vibrant arts and culture scene. We hope you enjoy!