Jen Hatcher has always believed in embracing the present moment. And that appreciation led the local yoga teacher and environmental volunteer to explore the world of photography.
It seemed a creative way of capturing these precious pieces of her life for posterity.
“I’ve always loved taking pictures of people and places. As I got older, I got more into places, memories of our family trips and then fell in love with macro photography too,” she said.
“In the early 2000s, I started a photo blog and was able to connect with other photographers to expand my photography interest and knowledge.”
Hatcher continued to develop her skills, branching out to create cards and works of art featuring her images.
“I started making cards with my photos and had many friends and family buying them so I started sharing with the public online and at festivals. I even had some work in artwork displayed in few art shows,” she said.
And she’s doing that again come Saturday. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Hatcher will join dozens of other local crafters and creators at Brunswick’s inaugural Art Walk.
For Hatcher, it’s an ideal way to share her work while supporting the city’s vibrant art scene.
“I’ve never done a festival in Brunswick and I am excited to be a part of the first ever Art Walk. This whole area has a lot of very talented and creative people and I am honored to be a part of that,” she said.
Like Hatcher, ceramic artist Elizabeth Holladay is looking forward to the event. She’ll also be on hand to share her functional pottery, which is inspired by the flora and fauna of the Golden Isles.
“I am excited to participate with in the Art Walk with fellow local artists. We have an opportunity to share our work and ourselves with the community,” she said.
“I believe this wide variety of artists will inspire more people to celebrate art, make art, and of course buy art. It is a wonderful and obtainable experience to live with art made by your neighbors.”
In addition to artists selling wares, there will also be demonstrations by craftsmen like woodcarver John Hancock, who will be sharing his artistic process. Live music courtesy of Peter A.E. Roth, David Brockway and Michaele Hannemann, will fill the pocket parks around Newcastle Street.
Restaurants like Fox’s Pizza, which is an event sponsor, will also be offering specials for attendees to enjoy.
For organizers Lucy Brous of Creative Frameworks and Kimberly Fennell, owner of Blue Cottage Artist Market and Pottery, the goal is to showcase talented artisans, as well as the many gems of downtown Brunswick.
“All of our artists are from Georgia and most of them are from the Golden Isles. And of course, we also wanted to highlight everyone downtown. Most of the art shows are on St. Simons so we wanted to show people what downtown has to offer,” Fennell said.
“There are great restaurants, galleries, Richland Rum and so many others. There are really great things happening here and we wanted to bring people downtown to show them that.”
Fennell also notes that, while Newcastle Street will be closed to traffic to ensure the safety of attendees, there will be plenty of parking.
“There’s a lot of parking behind Tipsy McSway’s,” she added.