“Every great architect is– necessarily– a great poet.
He must be a great original interpreter of his time,
his day, his age.” Frank Lloyd Wright
“If one truly loves nature one finds beauty everywhere.” Vincent Van Gogh
First a confession. The quotes are from two of my favorites. One an architect of great renown whose homes I’ve been basically obsessed with for years and one an artist whose works of art I’ve always admired and travel to see wherever they are on display. They, to me, are perfect examples of creatives that were more than likely also respected by the two local creatives whose homes and artwork we are featuring in this our first ever tribute issue.
James Neal, an architect who not only designed homes, churches and buildings around our region and whose legacy lives on in the firm LS3P, is a local icon for many of the mid-century modern homes in Greenville. We are delighted to be able to feature three of the homes that he designed in the late 60s to early 80s. One of the homes was Neal’s own.
Another was the project of a collaboration between Neal and his friend Carl Blair, a teaching artist at Bob Jones University. Their friendship involved a unique way of providing the Blairs with a home and Neal with some fantastic art. You’ll find this to be an interesting read as you also discover what drove Carl Blair in his work and how it relates to the thought in the Van Gogh quote.
We are indebted to the Lairs, the Bottaris and to the Zureks for allowing us to feature these outstanding examples of mid-century architecture. Each of them displays the delightful personal style of the owners and we thank them for their willingness to share this with our readers.
Since this is the spring issue, we also have lots to tease you with as we move into that most glorious of seasons: floral ideas, how to successfully plant lettuce, humorous books to read, where to head to view a plethora of artwork, making soy candles, and tips for making your house tidy and art-filled can all be found within this issue.
Plus, two celebrations that are real stunners are awaiting you, so start your journey through all of the pages now and ENJOY!
Lynn Greenlaw
Editor-in-Chief
