Reflections and notes on the relationship of art to nature and of nature to art from along Warwoman Creek, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Katuah Province of Turtle Island, where the light, the dark, the seasons, the time of deep past, deep present and deep future all mix in alchemal mists to reveal and hide and transform these slopes, shaded coves, bright rivers, deep forests and me, and together sustain me and my art.
I live in a secluded cove in the Blue Ridge Mountains of NE Georgia, along Warwoman Creek - about a 9 mile hike West from the Chattooga River. To the north of my studio, the Blue Ridge Mountains rise in deep cerulean blues. I live here because these mountains sustain me and my art - light, dark, the seasons, the time of deep past, deep present and deep future, all mix here in alchemal mists that alternately reveal and hide and transform these steep slopes, shaded coves, bright rivers, and deep forests -just as they do my life and work.
March 8, 2015, "Seedlight & More," Poetry reading to accompany exhibit of paintings & illustrated poems at the Center for Art & Rehabilitative Energies," Shellman Ga.
October 25, 2014, "Spinning Poems on the Internet," using internet tools to present poetry. Ga. Poetry Society quarterly meeting, Brenau Univ, Gainesville, Ga. October 18, 2014, Poetry & Music Hike to the Chattooga River with Marie Dunkle on fiddle. Georgia Forest Watch.
July 19, 2014, Poetry reading at Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia Poetry Society. Received an annual award from the Society - '2nd Place Award for Excellence' for my poem "In My Body" to be published in their 2014 anthology 'The Reach of Song.'
June 21, 2014, Poetry reading at Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Wild & Scenic Chattooga River, Stekoa Creek Park, Clayton, Ga.
April 27, 2014, Poetry reading & painting demo at Smithgall Woods State Park - "Bartram's Pen & Palette Open House."
May 6, 2013, Performance of invocation poem for season opening of Home Grown Market, Clayton, Ga., with Marie Dunkle on fiddle. Oct. 20, 2012, Poetry & Spirit Hike up Owen Mt. in collaboration with poet Lisa Ezzard, The Hambidge Center, Rabun Gap, Ga.
Sept 29, 2012, Performance of "Let us Gather at This River" with Marie Dunkle on fiddle. Vogel State Park, Ga. Georgia Forest Watch Fall Retreat. May 5, 2012, Home Grown Market, Clayton Ga. 10 a.m. New Poem: "An Invocation for the Opening of the Rabun County Home Growers Market" with original improvised fiddle music by Marie Dunkle.
May 5, 2012 at the North Georgia Community Center, Ellijay, Ga. Laurence will perform his long poem "Let Us Gather at This River," with original music by violinist Marie Dunkle, as part of the Ga. Forest Watch Wild & Woolly Art & Nature Music Festival.
January 19, 2012 7 pm. at the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, N.C. Laurence will perform his long poem “Let Us Gather at This River” with original music by Marie Dunkle at Gary Carden’s “The Liars Bench” a monthly presentation showcasing Southern Appalachian culture in all its richness and diversity.
November 26, 2011"Poetry Hike to the Chattooga River." Original poems along the way by Laurence Holden & original music by fiddler Marie Dunkle, sponsored by Georgia Forest Watch. October 24, 2011 - Debut of my new poem "Let Us Gather at This River" - a long poem with original music by cellist Marie Dunkle at Poets Live, preview event for the 2011 Georgia Literary Festival, Sautee-Nacoochee Center, Sautee, Georgia April 23, 2011, "Sing Me the Creation: Poems for the Earth, Poems for Coming Home," Poetry presentation with music by Julie Longhill and Tom Devan, Promenade of the Arts, Mountain City, Georgia. November 26, 2010: "A River of Words & Images," multi-media presentation in collaboration with artist/poet Honor Woodard, Crescent Moon Bakery, Clayton Ga.
October 18 - 21, 2010: Artist-in-Residence, Westminster Schools, Atlanta. Talks & conversations about poetry and painting, our sense of place in nature and guided explorations of writing in nature with students at Westminster Schools, Atlanta.
October 15, 2010, Poetry reading at Sycamore Place Gallery, Decatur, Ga. in collaboration with artist and writer Honor Woodard.
September 22, 2010'Within Reach of a River: Paintings & Poems 2001-2010. Westminster Schools, Atlanta August 15, 2010. "Poetry on the Mountaintop." A hike up Rabun Bald in North Georgia, with poetry reading along the way. Sponsored by Georgia Forest Watch.
July 31, 2010: Georgia Poetry Society, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Ga. Received an annual award from the Society - '2nd Award for Excellence' for poem 'What's Needed,' to be published in their anthology 'The Reach of Song.'
July 17th, 2010, 2 pm. "Forest Walk with Poetry" at the Hambidge Center, Rabun Gap, Georgia. A walk through the forest with readings from my poems and others (including Mary Hambidge) about the creative powers in nature that are evoked by this special creative sanctuary that is the Hambidge Center. June 30th, 2010 - "Water Walk with Poetry," at the Hambidge Center, Rabun Gap, Ga. sponsored by Globe Gallery, including an experience of writing and performing a group poem.
June 19th, 2010 - "Show & Tell" of watercolor paintings and recent poems, in collaboration with artist Honor Woodard at Len Foote Hike Inn, Amicalola State Park, Georgia.
Poetry Reading from my new book "Take Me to the River: Poems & Paintings for Coming Home," Globe Gallery, Clayton, Ga. May 2, 2010
Poetry Reading from my new book "Take Me to the River: Poems & Paintings for Coming Home," Wild & Woolly Native Plant Sale & Book Festival, Rabun Co., Ga. May 1, 2010
Poetry Reading:"New Poems to Accompany Honor Woodard's Exhibit of New Paintings," November 6, 2009, The Wilderness Society, Franklin, NC
"Chattooga River Hike (With Poetry)." Georgia Forest Watch Hike, October 24, 2009. To view a short article on this hike by Patricia Kyritsi Howell go to "Take me to the River: Chattooga Poetry Hikelog."
"Going to the Mountains is Going Home: poems read to Honor Woodard's paintings," Atlanta, October 3, 2009
"Pieces & Paintings: the process of collage," Atlanta Collage Society, July 27, 2009 "A Painter's Progress & Process," Atlanta Artists' Club, February 16, 2009.
