Arts & Literature

Mary Buck-Photographer, Part of Five Stories to Brighten Our Spirits

Published

5 years ago

June 9, 2020

Patrizia Winsper

Mary Buck embarked on a Backyard Bird Adventure during Covid-19. (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Hinton.)

The Bright Side of Lockdown in Peachtree Corners

We can all relate to the surreal feeling brought on by the coronavirus as we struggled with being caught in this bizarre new world that was difficult to believe yet impossible to ignore. We couldn’t help but feel shocked as it unfolded — it was unprecedented — although there had been a dreadful buzz in the air heading straight for us from miles away.

As our nation is sieged with controversy, climbing death rates, trepidation and uncertainty, I wanted to find some uplifting, local COVID-19 stories that would serve to brighten our spirits. This is part 3 of 5 stories to be posted.

A pre-pandemic day for Photographer Mary Buck would’ve included going to her Duluth studio, Lightscapes Portrait Studio, just outside of Peachtree Corners.

In business since 2001, Buck’s industry has evolved over the years. On the schedule: corporate headshot appointments, personal branding shoots destined for social media, the occasional family or children’s portraits — seemingly becoming a thing of the past — and teaching a macro photography class to teenagers and adults of varying levels.

A Little Birdie Told Me, “Life as We Know it Has Changed!”

In March, I found myself captivated by Buck’s bird photographs. A whole slew of them brightened up my social media feed amidst the gloom and doom of the horrors going on around us. A bit of a bird enthusiast myself, I couldn’t help but notice the delightful subjects of Buck’s Facebook and Instagram posts.

“I was really in shock like everyone else. How could this happen? Where did this come from? There were so many unknowns. I was a little scared in the beginning. Probably because I watched too much news,” Buck admitted. Luckily for us, she also asked herself, ‘How can I make something good of this?’

A Downsize and COVID-19 Induced Refocus

While the compulsion to hide under the sheets, or snack on inordinate amounts of food got the better of most of us, Buck used the time to really take notice of the tiniest creatures in her own backyard — the wild birds.

The move from the suburbs to an intown home gave Buck a more up close and personal view of the wildlife in her yard. Coupled with the new “stay at home” lifestyle to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Buck spent the early days of March decorating her yard with a birdfeeder, a hummingbird feeder and a birdbath.

“I started to sit out on the back patio,” Buck shared. “It was just gorgeous. We had such beautiful spring weather this year. Little by little, I saw birds coming. I could not believe it: cardinals, yellow birds, robins, then birds I had never seen before started showing up. I had never really paid any attention to them.”

Ornithologist Wannabe

Her artistic eye could not ignore this silver lining. As she studied her feathered friends, she became more and more fascinated with them.

Using an app, Buck has been able to identify all but two species and in so doing, learned more about their instincts and behaviors. “I take pictures with my Canon 80D crop sensor camera and the Tamron 18-400mm lens. With the crop sensor, I’m getting a focal point of 640mm; it’s awesome, so sharp,” she said.

Female Cardinal – My Girl.
(Photos courtesy of Mary Buck)

“I quickly grew this vocabulary: There’s a song sparrow. There’s a female cardinal — she’s one of the few female birds who sing. Did you know that? I have a mockingbird nest on my front porch. The mourning doves started to come; just bird after bird.”

Birds on Film

It seems the birds are willing participants in Buck’s new hobby. “I really think the same female cardinal comes by every day. I think she knows me now. She sits not more than 20 feet from me, and she looks at me, making faces — looks at me straight in the eye. She’ll tilt her head. It’s almost like she’s posing for a portrait for me. Chin up, chin down, asymmetrical shoulders, asymmetrical hips, she’s posing for me!”

Buck’s enthusiasm for her chirping models is palpable in both her photographs and her words, “The birdbath is not a myth. They go in there, they dip. I get some great shots when they shake and I capture the water, frozen, using a fast shutter speed.”

Robin_Saturday night bath after a long flight

Undoubtedly hatching up a plan to photograph her front porch babies coming soon, she predicted, “When they come, you’ll know! They built the nest on Mother’s Day. I thought that was a good sign. I check on her constantly. I chase the gardeners away when they come around with their loud equipment. This is a bird sanctuary. I’m taking this very seriously.”

Stop and Hear the Birds

“They’re just birds, but they’re really one of God’s greatest creations,” Buck said. She credits the pandemic with “opening up her eyes.” Rather than getting mired in online disputes, she seized the opportunity to reveal her newfound appreciation for birds. “I wanted to share a learned skill on social media rather than ask, “Did you wear your mask today?” I just didn’t want to go there,” she explained.

It’s about “… putting out something that others could see, expect. Something that would make people feel good,” Buck said. Not surprisingly, people have gravitated to her content. She’s amazed by the response she has received.

What’s a Pandemic Without Zoom?

In response to inquiries, Buck held a little workshop recently on her Backyard Bird Adventures, “… a 15-minute slide show to answer questions and give some ideas on composition.” Watch the YouTube video at youtube.com/watch?v=JiMrjWBm1wM.

To view her work, visit 1-mary-buck.pixels.com. Her bird photos will be available once she has completed her post-process workflow and is satisfied that they reflect her unique style. Buck plans to leave the birds unaltered, making sure they remain the focus, but she may add some watercolor backgrounds, jagged edges and water paint drops, for example. “This project will marry my love of photography, my new love of birds, and my old love of Photoshop,” she said.

A new member, Buck looks forward to excursions with the Audubon Society once meetings are permitted again. Until there’s a return to more normalcy, you’ll find her capturing the personality and vibrant plumage of her garden visitors.

“I get up in the morning and I just can’t wait to go out with my cup of coffee and see the birds. The morning light is really nice because it’s in their face so I can get the little glint in their eye,” Buck said.

At night she goes out with wine, but that’s another story…

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Patrizia Winsper

Patrizia hails from Toronto, Canada where she earned an Honors B.A. in French and Italian studies at York University, and a B.Ed. at the University of Toronto. This trilingual former French teacher has called Georgia home since 1998. She and her family have enjoyed living, working and playing in Peachtree Corners since 2013.

Arts & Literature

Tales From the Farm: Q&A with Local Indie Children’s Author, Katie Morgan Lester

Published

4 days ago

January 27, 2025

Shawne Taylor

Middle-aged woman with blonde hair, smiling and wearing a blue shirt. She's standing with a building and a cow behind her, and she's holding copies of the three children's books she's written.

Local children’s author and illustrator, Katie Morgan Lester, recently released a new book — the third in her Morgan Farm Books series. Launched last year, Gracie the Goat is all about the importance of being a good listener. Inspired by Lester’s own pet goat from childhood, it tells the tale of Gracie and her adventures in meeting a new friend.

Gracie the Goat follows two previous titles in the series: Picky Pig Pete and Raymond the Rooster. Each of the books includes simple life lessons, as well as rhyming lines, watercolor illustrations and photos of the real animals the stories are based on — elements that appeal to younger kids as well as early readers.

We recently caught up with the Peachtree Corners author to hear more about her life, the book series and what inspires her work.

How long have you lived in Peachtree Corners?

My husband Mark and I have lived in Peachtree Corners for approximately 20 years. We knew even before having our son Brandon (who is now 17 years old and a junior at Norcross High School), that we loved the area and the people here.

We adore the street we live on with such loving neighbors. We’ve been blessed to be in Peachtree Corners with others providing such a sense of community.

In addition to creating children’s books, I am also a cardio instructor at the local YMCA, and I teach a part time preschool class and an after-school art class at Simpsonwood United Methodist Church.

What led you to want to write children’s books?

I grew up on a South Carolina farm with many types of animals. As a child and throughout my adulthood, I have loved to draw illustrations.

I graduated from Furman University with a studio art degree, [then] worked in advertising and marketing for 20 years but always did artwork as a side business — my favorite things to paint being children’s room décor and murals.

A blonde haired woman in a pink, long sleeve shirt standing next to her teenage son and husband. — from left: Brandon, Katie and Mark; photo courtesy of Katie Morgan Lester

Once I had our son Brandon, I aspired to create a children’s book with my own illustrations to dedicate to him. I slowly began creating a rhyming story and the characters to include. I used the farm I grew up on as the setting, and all of the animal characters in my books are based on real ones from there.

Where did the idea for the series come from?

My maiden name is Morgan and the name of the farm I grew up on is Morgan Farms. The farm is the setting for all of my books. To use Morgan Farm Books as my series name came naturally and keeps me connected to my family roots.

Each book has an important message for children: Picky Pig Pete teaches children to try something new — whether that’s a new food or an activity — and can be a help to [those with picky eaters]. Raymond the Rooster is a great message that friends come in all colors, shapes and sizes. And Gracie the Goat teaches children to be good listeners.

Gracie the Goat children's book by Katie Morgan Lester. Front cover and back cover are shown. The books are sitting on top of a bale of hay in front of a barn. — photo courtesy of Katie Morgan Lester

While each book has its own story and can easily be purchased separately, I felt having a series title would connect my current and future books. It can also give encouragement for those that buy the books to want to continue the series.

How many books do you plan to write and illustrate in the series?

I enjoy writing and illustrating children’s books so much that I would love to continue for years to come. I do not have any specific number of books in mind, but will continue on as long as there are more farm animals and stories to write.

I am currently writing my fourth book. As with the others, I’m pulling out one of the current animals to be the main character and hope to have it completed by the end of 2025. The message for that one will be about emotions.

Please keep checking in with me [at my website] as I’ll begin to provide more information on that book soon!

Three children's books: one about a pig, one about a rooster and one about a goat, sitting on top of a bale of hay in front of a barn. — photo courtesy of Katie Morgan Lester

What ages are your books intended for?

The books are great for baby gifts all the way up to approximately eight years old. With the rhyming in each, the books are perfect for early readers. I do add a little bit of humor to each to make them enjoyable for parents as well.

Where can parents find your books?

The Morgan Farm Books can be purchased directly through me or my website. This allows me to write a personalized, encouraging note to your child(ren) and sign each one.

Website: morganfarmbooks.com/purchase-book

Instagram: instagram.com/morganfarmbooks

Facebook: facebook.com/morganfarmbooks

Combos may be purchased as well, which is a book paired with a small stuffed animal, lovingly packaged as a gift. I’m also available for in-person visits or virtual author/illustrator events featuring the books from my series.

For more information, visit morganfarmbooks.com.

Around Atlanta

The High Museum to Showcase “Thinking Eye, Seeing Mind”

Published

2 months ago

December 12, 2024

Peachtree Corners Magazine staff

Oil on paper artwork by Terry Winters. A large red circle with smaller blue circles on top of it and gold/yellow accents. All of it on a dark brown background.

The special exhibition of the Medford and Loraine Johnston Collection will run January 17 through May 25, 2025

In the mid-1970s, artist and Georgia State University professor Medford Johnston, along with his wife and collaborator Loraine, began collecting works by artists who were in the vanguard of contemporary art. Today, they hold one of the finest collections of postwar American drawings and related objects of its kind, now numbering more than 85 works.

In 2025, the High Museum of Art will present Thinking Eye, Seeing Mind: The Medford and Loraine Johnston Collection, featuring their collected works, which is a promised gift to the museum. Featuring artists such as Sol LeWitt, Brice Marden, Elizabeth Murray, Martin Puryear, Ed Ruscha, Al Taylor, Anne Truitt, Stanley Whitney and Terry Winters, among others, the exhibition will demonstrate how establishing the parameters of an art collection requires infinite patience, focus, discipline and a keen eye.

“The Johnstons have been friends of the High for a very long time. They’ve also built an impressive collection featuring works by many of the 20th century’s most significant abstract artists,” said the High’s Director Rand Suffolk. “We are honored that they have promised to leave their collection to the Museum where it will be preserved for future generations — and we are delighted that they are sharing it with our audiences now, hopefully inspiring the next generation of art collectors and supporters.”

A curated collection

The Johnstons’ story is a testament to, in the words of the High’s Wieland Family Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Michael Rooks, “knowing the difference between what is right and what is almost right” when building a collection.

Although the Johnstons acquired several paintings and objects when they first began collecting in 1972, they quickly narrowed their focus to drawing, primarily by artists working on the frontlines of abstraction in the mid-1960s during a time of great innovation and experimentation.

Ink drawing by Anne Truitt, rectangular lines and shapes made with black ink on off-white background — Anne Truitt (American, born 1921), *Ink Drawing ’59 [11]*, 1959, ink on paper, The Johnston Collection. © Estate of Anne Truitt / The Bridgeman Art Library / Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery, New York.

Rooks added, “Med and Loraine’s collection struck me at once by its single-minded focus on a specific moment in time, which was essentially the time of their contemporaries. The artists in their collection are like close friends to the Johnstons — in fact many are or were. What is equally astonishing about the collection is the Johnstons’ dogged pursuit of quality. Their in-depth knowledge of each artist’s practice combined with their understanding of specific qualities to look for — or more appropriately, to hold out for — will be a revelation to emerging collectors.”

The Johnstons have built their collection with the High in mind as the benefactor of their passion and discernment. For them, their collection “is a labor of love, pursued over more than 50 years, and we are delighted to be able to help the High Museum document and celebrate these important artists working during the same decades as our lives.”

About the exhibit

Thinking Eye, Seeing Mind: The Medford and Loraine Johnston Collection will be presented in the Special Exhibition Galleries on the second level of the High’s Stent Family Wing.

The exhibit is organized by the High Museum of Art and made possible through the generosity of sponsors:

Premier Exhibition Series Sponsor Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Premier Exhibition Series Supporters Mr. Joseph H. Boland, Jr., The Fay S. and W. Barrett Howell Family Foundation, Harry Norman Realtors and wish Foundation
Benefactor Exhibition Series Supporters Robin and Hilton Howell
Ambassador Exhibition Series Supporters Loomis Charitable Foundation and Mrs. Harriet H. Warren
Contributing Exhibition Series Supporters Farideh and Al Azadi, Mary and Neil Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Baxter Jones, Megan and Garrett Langley, Margot and Danny McCaul, Wade A. Rakes II and Nicholas Miller and Belinda Stanley-Majors and Dwayne Majors.

Support has also been provided by the Alfred and Adele Davis Exhibition Endowment Fund, Anne Cox Chambers Exhibition Fund, Barbara Stewart Exhibition Fund, Dorothy Smith Hopkins Exhibition Endowment Fund, Eleanor McDonald Storza Exhibition Endowment Fund, The Fay and Barrett Howell Exhibition Fund, Forward Arts Foundation Exhibition Endowment Fund, Helen S. Lanier Endowment Fund, John H. and Wilhelmina D. Harland Exhibition Endowment Fund, Katherine Murphy Riley Special Exhibition Endowment Fund, Margaretta Taylor Exhibition Fund, RJR Nabisco Exhibition Endowment Fund and USI Insurance Services.

About the High Museum of Art

Located in the heart of Atlanta, the High Museum of Art connects with audiences from across the Southeast and around the world through its distinguished collection, dynamic schedule of special exhibitions and engaging community-focused programs.

Housed within facilities designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Richard Meier and Renzo Piano, the High features a collection of more than 19,000 works of art, including an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American fine and decorative arts; major holdings of photography and folk and self-taught work, especially that of artists from the American South; burgeoning collections of modern and contemporary art, including paintings, sculpture, new media and design; a growing collection of African art, with work dating from prehistory through the present; and significant holdings of European paintings and works on paper.

The High is dedicated to reflecting the diversity of its communities and offering a variety of exhibitions and educational programs that engage visitors with the world of art, the lives of artists and the creative process.

For more information about the High or to purchase tickets, visit high.org.

Top image: (from the collection) Terry Winters (American, born 1949), Orb, 2020, oil on paper, The Johnston Collection. © Terry Winters, Courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery, New York.

Around Atlanta

City Springs Theatre Company Presents the Hit Musical Jersey Boys

Published

7 months ago

July 3, 2024

Peachtree Corners Magazine staff

The megahit musical Jersey Boys is making its regional premiere with the City Springs Theatre Company in a five-week run.

The megahit musical Jersey Boys makes its regional premiere in City Springs Theatre Company’s (CSTC) first-ever, five-week run at the Byers Theatre in Sandy Springs.

Directed by Atlanta’s-own Shane DeLancey, and choreographed by Meg Gillentine, Jersey Boys tells the rags-to-riches story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. The show details their remarkable journey from the streets to the top of the charts, to their 1990 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Leading the cast of Jersey Boys is Haden Rider as Frankie Valli. Rider is a City Springs Theatre Company veteran, with recent roles in both Legally Blonde (Emmett) and Fiddler on the Roof (Perchik).

Presented by Resurgens Spine Center, Jersey Boys runs from July 12 through August 11, and shines a special spotlight on home-grown talent, as the show’s four leading men are all Atlanta-area residents.

With phenomenal music, memorable characters and great storytelling, Jersey Boys follows the fascinating evolution of four blue-collar kids who became one of the greatest successes in pop-music history.

“City Springs Theatre Company is very proud to be the first in the southeast region to present Jersey Boys,” said CSTC Artistic Director and Tony Award-winner Shuler Hensley. “Our audiences have been asking for this particular show since we opened. The production is truly stacked with talent onstage and off, and we’re pulling out all the stops to bring audiences an experience that will rival any previous version of the show.”

Jersey Boys premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2005, prior to its 13-year Broadway run, from 2005 to 2017. There have been productions of the show in Las Vegas, UK/Ireland, Toronto, Melbourne, Singapore, South Africa, the Netherlands, Japan, Dubai and China.

Jersey Boys features a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music by Bob Gaudio, and lyrics by Bob Crewe.

Individual tickets to see Jersey Boys are on sale now ($42 – $108), with discounts for seniors, students, groups and active and retired military personnel.

CSTC’s Box Office is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Call 404-477-4365 or visit CitySpringsTheatre.com for more information.

This production contains adult language and is recommended for mature audiences.

Performance schedule: