Trotter Arts Field Trip - Port Royal, Hunting Island and St. Phillip's Island

We had to go! Coastal Expeditions Charters first public tours of St Phillip’s Island began last week and we had to go. After all it’s not that often that you can get away to Ted Turner’s private island for a few hours! There’s a certain mystique about a private island and now that St. Phillips is a part of the South Carolina State Parks System it’s an enjoyable field trip. Accessible only by boat, St. Phillips Island is a 4,680-acre barrier island between Hilton Head Island and Edisto Beach at the mouth of Port Royal Sound. Now the island is managed by the Hunting Island State Park team and tours are available through Coastal Expeditions Charters.

Captains Henry and Will of Coastal Expeditions did an awesome job ferrying us to St Phillips Island and back!

Captains Henry and Will of Coastal Expeditions did an awesome job ferrying us to St Phillips Island and back!

There are wagons that shuttle from the Hunting Island State Park Wildlife Center to the Russ Point Boat Ramp and once on the island another wagon to shuttle to the far end of St Phillips Island. There is beach access and a number of hiking trails that spur off of the main road. We enjoyed the Beach Trail and the area leading to the vacation house and definitely plan to return to hike the maritime forest and marsh trails. Interesting foliage and distinct ecosystems on the island includes Saw Palmettos, Magnolia Trees, Live Oaks and Pines.

Low Tide at St Phillips Island

Low Tide at St Phillips Island

Ted Turner’s family modest vacation home on St Phillip’s Island

Ted Turner’s family modest vacation home on St Phillip’s Island

Hunting Island Boardwalk just after sunrise

Hunting Island Boardwalk just after sunrise

Port Royal Shrimping Boats at dock

Port Royal Shrimping Boats at dock

Black Crowned Night Heron at the Cypress Swamp in Port Royal

Black Crowned Night Heron at the Cypress Swamp in Port Royal

It was great to escape for a brief field trip and we have some good photographs to work on. This is one of our favorite Low Country areas! We hope to develop new triptychs of the Boardwalk at Hunting Island, Tomotley Plantation and the Shrimp Boats at dock. We also may re-release a triptych of the tidal pool at Hunting Island because it is not an accessible location after the North Beach re-nourishment project. Hopefully, we will have these prints on satin fabric ready for Art Shows in September! Our next planned show is Flowertown in Summerville, SC scheduled for Aug 31 - Sept 2.

Outdoor Art - Our Backyard Project

Have you ever had an idea in the back of your mind that you just could not act on? Well, Lynne and I have been talking about using her Satin Fabric prints for Outdoor Art for a while now. The problem was; how do you weather proof it? So, that’s this idea that keeps rolling around in our collective brain without a completed answer.

So we took a problem solving approach and broke the problem down into components and discovered that the only part of our product that is not weather proof is the backer for the satin fabric. Ok, now we have a problem to solve! Develop a weather proof backer.

We came up with a couple of ideas and made a prototype for our backyard. Now we want to see how it holds up before we actually take it to market as Outdoor Art! Lynne has art hanging over her backyard potting bench and hopefully you can too! Please visit Trotter Arts store and follow us on Facebook!

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Coaster Art from Cedar Logs

What do you do when you are running out of pandemic home projects and you have an urge to be creative? First you consider what resources you have to avoid a trip out. You discover some cedar logs that you have been saving for an undetermined woodworking project. Then the idea spring forth …. slice the log into coaster size pieces and paint something on them. Now, what to paint on them? ……. How about some South Carolina bridges? So we picked some of our favorites; Ravenel Bridge (Charleston), Gervais Street Bridge (Columbia), Freedom Bridge (Greenville) and the only covered bridge in the state Campbell’s Bridge (Greenville County). After painting, the coasters needed a stand for presentation so we located some available pieces of cypress wood and made prototype stands. What do ya’ll think about them? Lynne wants Trotter Arts to offer them at our next show, hopefully in June!

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South Carolina Bridges - Coaster Art - Four Piece Sets with Presentation Stand

South Carolina Bridges - Coaster Art - Four Piece Sets with Presentation Stand