Posted by Unknown at 8:26 AM
By now, you've become a fan of feathermaye's eye, just like yours truly. Here in pictures, my fabulous, Artist wife begins to show you what this place is all about...
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- This is Canton -
Lots such as these are all over and surrounding the city |
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- This is The Mountain -
During 1st Monday weekends, no autos on The Mountain |
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- This is Canton -
A tribute to the General Stores of old, in the heart of the city |
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- This is The Mountain -
Simply stated: Just cussin good junk! |
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- This is Canton -
A fine, historically rich Texas town with strong traditions |
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- This is The Mountain -
A special place, where art happens everywhere |
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- This is Canton -
A special place, with special shopping, artists flourish here
amid the strong influences of Texas' past... |
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- This is The Mountain -
Many successful artists came here to enjoy the special energy, The Mountain just
makes an artist WANT to go the extra mile with their work... |
Much more to come in the next issues from The fabulous feathermaye! Art happens here every 1st Monday Trade days. Shop
Canton.... Experience
The Mountain
Once again we would like to thank you all for following this blog. Your support is our motivation. Look for us on facebook, and you can find me stumblingupon every week looking for things to Digg. Please be sweet and give this one an extra Tweet!
Posted by Unknown at 9:06 AM
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| Throngs of shoppers flood Canton |
Over a Million visitors flooded the town below us, but only a few thousand ventured up this hill. That's in part due to the fact that most of what happens up here, happens at night. However, low crowds during the day are also due to the fact that the word about the place is not getting out, any more. That's part of the role we've assigned ourselves...
You've all witnessed how we have fallen in love with this sandy bump in East Texas. We can't let it lose its identity as "The Best kept Secret in Texas". No, sir, and we ask not for one dime, we just want the word to get out; we want stale and out-of-date websites that still draw hits at the top of search engines, to be replaced by hits that filter through this blog, by you, our faithful followers. After all, this is about getting your attention, and trusting that if it moves you to do so, you'll not hesitate to pass it along to your own networks. Hey, that's what a blog can do...
But for all of the ones that found their way up here...
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| LZ putting the final touches on her evolving dream |
TWIRL! a Photography Boutique premiered this weekend and I watched, grinned and even twirled my-own-self as the vision that was only last Market Days referred to by its central story line: "Miss Lilly's Closet", metamorph'd, in serendipitous fashion, to become 'Twirl'. Feathermaye Multi-Media even zipped together a really cool sign with Laurie's script design in lights that made the joint pop even more.
Like a magnet people were drawn to the elaborate Zebra Tree set, wondering what, oh what, could this be... Then, about sundown on Friday, it took off as the first set of girls flooded in, chose outfits and got to twirling while The Divine Mz. Z, feathermaye, and even a reserve photographer (Becky Mottolese) put their creative eyes behind Mz. Z's designs and directions, and as spectators stood agape in the street watching, the dance that is 'Twirl!' flowed, organically, magically. By 9:00pm Saturday, the artists were spent, dragging...
Be sure to check out Part Three in the next issue!
As always, we would love it if you follow this blog,and you can always find us on facebook. Often, you'll stumbleupon us, but if you'd be so sweet, please give this one a Tweet! Digg it!
Posted by Unknown at 7:36 PM
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That's right, we rented this little Red School House, right
here on The Mountain: Current HQ for
feathermaye multimedia |
IF you're just joining us, I'll begin by telling you that we are hiding out on The Mountain, here in Canton, Texas.
You'll also find several additional blogs here on the site about The Mountain, Canton, and what, exactly, The Herndons are doing on this hill.
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The Texicans were in full swing:
led flying, pistols popping
every hour! |
Now, for everyone else in the Posse...
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| Lecia's Designs were a natural crowd stopper... |
We had us a root'n toot'n, shoot'em up weekend here on The Mountain. Our guest Artist Lecia Zinna set up a small exhibit of her work and met many fellow artisans that love coming here, not only for the exposure to thousands of eyes during Market Days, but also for the camaraderie shared by an artist's contemporaries, regardless of their art, we all starve, we all crave the company of others with similar aspirations, however lofty, or simple they may be...
More about this weekend coming in the next issue!
As always, we would love it if you follow this blog, and you can always find us on facebook. You can also find us as we Stumbleupon and if you'd be so sweet, please give this one a tweet! Digg it!
Posted by Unknown at 4:09 PM
I know I've already told you about the little B&B we are staying in: The Mardi Gras is but one of many similar Bed and Baths, or in some cases Bed and Breakfasts that dot the Calliope-like mix of structures on this hill.
Mountain B&Bs are a mainstay here; many of the shoppers and night clients of THE MOUNTAIN are those staying in these quaint little sleepers. They've shopped all over Canton during the day, and after dropping their bags in their B&B, are once again ready to take to the hill for some night time fun!
At the base of the hill, you'll find great places like: The Long Branch Hotel where Tony Lewis runs, what has been voted: one of The BEST Hotels in Canton for the last eight years. Tony also puts out an excellent breakfast buffet, with all the trimmings for his guests.
Buffalo Girls is as rustic as they come...Old West charm in the middle of the twenty-first century. That's the point of this place. There's even a scheduled Shoot Out in front of the porch, usually lined with spectators as THE TEXICANS start slinging led.
As you move up the hill you'll see more and more of the smaller B&Bs. Right next door to us is The Big Easy, another of the festively decorated B&Bs. Pink Debbie owns the Big Easy and a few others as well. She's from Deep Down in Louisiana, where they make Mardi Gras floats and gowns. Some of those very same gowns are on display in various B&Bs around The Mountain. The artwork alone on these gowns is incredible!
This would be the longest blog in history if I tried to put up shots of all the B&Bs here... Instead, I've tried to put in a wide range of styles, since the styles can very from boxy old shot-gun design to something akin to a fort built by Spanky and the gang, or even Butch and his gang--I wasn't thinking of Sundance and Butch, but them too.
No matter the architecture, it fits with the general idea of The Mountain: FUN.
After all, Mountain B&Bs are about having a nice, comfy, or even cushy place to flop after you've dropped from all the shopping!
I'm including a list of all the websites and their respective booking sites for you to choose from. We really hope to see YOU on The Mountain soon!
As always, we would love to have you follow this blog, and if you'd be so sweet and give this one a tweet!
Posted by Unknown at 11:28 AM
THE AGONIZING TRUTH
Agony, Texas (cir 312 339!)
Jackson Tuck Editor
Today, I went into the streets of Agony... to get down and dirty over the real reactions of Agonites. As the only true 'newsman' in all of Vinegaroon County, it is my burden to observe, and report: The Agonizing Truth.
Now that I have finished my college career, I feel the responsibility that my Grandfather, former circuit court Judge for the Agony Basin District, the honorable Clayton Onyx, has left me in bequeathing this historic newspaper into my young hands.
The divided town I witnessed today reminded me not of the town I grew up in, or the place where I knew people to be of solid stock, people whose names are familiar, mostly because they never change... Not, the important ones, anyhow.
Now, our story is about to come out. This writer you all spoke with, and had his wife over for tea, and poker, this man-with-no-first-name, evidently, this S. Bond Herndon has torn what little peace we have known away like a Twister, sweeping down off the Llano Estacado.
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My own aunt was killed by one of those, much to all our regret. I have heard that Herndon has even made mention of that tender subject, and rekindled certain feelings, perhaps best left alone.
Not all residents are angry at Mr. Herndon. Many are excited about anything that tells people outside 'The Basin' about their existence...
"It's kinna nice to think folks off somewhere's else might be thinking about us here..." Tate Munchassenberger told the AT. "Mostly we figger no body really cares..."
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| Some Agonites predict this book with ruin the town! |
Others I spoke with seem to have taken a more philosophical approach to the news that A Week in Agony...Texas is about to cause storms of controversy once readers across the nation realize that one of the main characters in his expose' goes by the name JESUS, which is true, everyone in town knows Jesus and understands that he out-right refuses to be addressed as 'Hey-Zues'.
What any Agonite with some leather to snap their heads against knows, is that Herndon is about to tell the world what our town, our little nothing-of-a-town, once did to the very same, above mentioned, Jesus... Jesus Matesse DeSoto Solo Cabrerra, to put the record straight.
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| Travis Drylander age 12 |
This is not the first time such events have spilled out of Agony. The time Herndon's book is supposed to be set within is the very week Travis Drylander went insane and started broadcasting to the heavens the darkest of secrets about everybody who had a piece of Agony; most have long gone...
"The Families Herndon Exposes in his book are not ready to have such matters open for public consumption". Lawyer for (as he terms it) THE AGONY CONSORTIUM J. Dagwood Holmgren told the AT. He is also the attorney responsible for filing a record number of lawsuits aimed at stopping publication of, as Holmgren puts it: "What can only end up being an offensive rag of a book, filled with blasphemies that only the 'Godless' would permit!"
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| Books signed in Canton, Tx. |
Many Agonites have become fans of S. Bond Herndon's writing. His most recent novel, "Tormenta", set on Galveston Island as hurricane Rita bore down, was a tour-de-force of Southern Gothic storytelling, and historical drama. Yes, I read it, and was shocked to note that such a writer would switch his genres. Risky, to take the chance that his readers would follow his tall tales about a town like Agony.
As our town awaits to hear the date for release, some are awaiting the 'pre-order' phase to make their internet purchases, orders for signed copies. Mr. Herndon will also be ON THE MOUNTAIN (Living, evidently, in a fake Western Town: Flathat) in Canton, Texas during The First Monday of The Month for both the November and December Markets (It is estimated that up to 500k flow through that pretty little place on an average Market Day). He will be signing books and doing readings, and keeping an eye out for Mulligans...
Next issue of THE AGONIZING TRUTH:
What, exactly, do the Mulligans want kept out of Herndon's new book? Why is Travis Drylander still missing?
Also coming in the next issue: THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF AGONY
Posted by Unknown at 8:49 PM
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At the base of THE MOUNTAIN...
Buffalo Girls Hotel breathes authentic! |
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| Finding a stage is never a problem... |
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Lots of stuff, carefully arranged, artistically
placed for you to find... |
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| and maybe talk about... |
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| or even make an offer on...if you feel it talking to you... |
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| Things will pop out at you, unexpectedly... |
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| they will call for your attention, and hold it a while... |
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| Found things...mean something here... |
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Like an empty stage, waiting for the visionary to sweep it and
have a little company drop by... |
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maybe you want to channel the
ghost of an old Blues Man... |
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| or just stay in your own clubhouse...you choose who can play... |
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| there's plenty of rooms with a view... |
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| and dreams waiting to continue... |
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| or even coming to life as we speak... |
...Know this...THE MOUNTAIN is waiting.
S
Thanks for taking a look, folks... you can always follow this blog by clicking over there on the far right. We're also on facebook, thanks Steve, I'm always Stumble-ling-Upon, and if you'd be so sweet, please give this one a Tweet!
Posted by Unknown at 3:40 PM
It matters not what your art is. If you paint, prepare yourself for both subject matter, and sales, often on the piece you are standing there working on. If you sculpt, you'll find excellent company to talk about your experiences, and pick the mind of some
WORLD CLASS sculptors.
Maybe you sing, play the guitar, or the xylophone, there's a spot of MOUNTAIN up here for you too. We don't care if you design dresses, hats or Windmills for your artistic expression. We only know that you secretly dream of a place where folks like us can come, relax, find the rhythm of the place, its pulse, and let it throb up your frame as you let your art flow.
Street performers, Wild West re-enactments, shops with stuff folks have found with your name on it...c'mon all you pickers, this is your stuff and the folks up here are just holding on to it for you.
Gotta book you want to promote? Me too, and some painting I want to do, and, and...
THE MOUNTAIN sees its fare share of the estimated 500k that can come through the town of
CANTON TEXAS during First Monday of the Month, when this sleepy little town turns into the largest swap-meet, flea market, trade station (as it was during the early days of
TEXAS settlement).
The market days activity and commerce swings full all day Thursday through Saturday and half a day on Sunday. At night, hundreds of thousands of travelers look toward
THE MOUNTAIN, to continue shopping for those 'rare finds' or that art that they need for... or just to listen to some tunes, or laugh at the performers, maybe even cry with them too.
They eat in numerous venues and see more in an evening on this magical little spot of ground that has risen to legendary status. You'll see buildings that look like the Lost Boys built them, or a entire village of kid's tree forts, or club houses, only they are Bed and Breakfasts, shops, galleries and a virtual DREAM WORLD for any good ole
American Picker...
I'll just shut up and let Feathermaye TELL you, in her own way, with her own eyes--tricky, eh? Ladies and gentlemen, the ART of MY WIFE, THE FABULOUS FEATHERMAYE: compositions from the upper hill...
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Ed "Pappy" Picket World Class Sculptor, see link in text above
The Memorial Statue still needs help with funding for
the cast. Dig deep, everybody...this is a worthy effort. |
We saw composition everywhere... "I'm Just Captivated by the juxtaposition of it all: The drab bordered by color, the old next door to the new." feathermaye
If you don't feel like a kid again as soon as you set foot here, turn around, go back, this is not for you. But don't be surprised to feel this place as it puts an arm around you, points to a currently available little spot of MOUNTAIN, and starts tickling the kid in you again. C'mon, you know you want to. I'm currently working on getting my own Hippie Feet back in shape.
As always, you can follow this blog by clicking on the right buttons to your right...also you can find us on facebook, thank you very much. Also, if you'd be so sweet, give this one a Tweet! I'd be remiss not to mention that feathermaye now has me stumbling as well...
Disclaimer:
Images used on this site are a combination of search results and personal photography; we in no way intend to infringe upon any rights. As applicable, our 2011 (c) belongs to one or more of the following: S. Bond Herndon, Heather Hyde-Herndon, feathermaye. If you feel you have a claim to any image used on this site, please feel free to contact us at query@feathermayemultimedia.com
