Abraham Studios

MISSISSIPPI

Hihla (he • tha)
30 x 24"
acrylic on canvas

Make sure that you stop into the MS welcome center for a complimentary beverage! This is also where we decided to visit nearby Clarksdale, where the Blues were born.	In Clarksdale, we went to the Crossroads, where a famous blues singer, sold his soul to the devil. Clarksdale is an amazing town, loaded with character. It isn't, however, hard to see why people started singing the Blues.
Blues club, Ground Zero, Clarksdale, MS	Record Store, Clarksdale, MS
Elvis was born in a house that isn't much larger than Abraham Lincoln's boyhood home. (Tupelo, MS) A replica of the Presley's family car is on display. With a car, like this one, the family moved from Tupelo, MS to Memphis TN.	Interesting 3-way stop created by 4 signs?!?!
LOUISVILLE, MS	Kosciusko, MS, where Oprah Winfrey was born. Originally named Orpah, after the biblical character, she became Oprah due to a spelling error. Oprah performed for the first time at, nearby, Buffalo Community Church, and lived on the outskirts of Kosciusko until age eight.
Making our way South on the Natchez Trace, we saw a fellow traveler biking the Trace.	We were already beginning to see damage from Katrina. Massive trees, folded in half!
Painting at the Pearl River.	Yet another amazing sunset!
More inspiration	A look at the original Natchez Trace.
More painting and adventures . . .	at Tupelo-Baldcypress Swamp.
We spent the entire day . . .	exploring the swamp.
Penn's, Mississippi. Kristin's first taste of Catfish. Doesn't taste like chicken!	Arkansas painting, Hell On the Border was placed at Brown's Fine Art in Jackson MS
Fondren's Beverage Emporium! Talked with Michael (owner) and had our first Delaware Punch!	The Fondren area is a unique, up and coming art district full of great shops and friendly Mississippians.
James, owner of Article, in the Fondren District, took time to share with us how he has seen the area boom in the past couple years.	Inside, the Capital building, in Jackson, is lit up with rows of light bulbs and colorful stone.
	Hattiesburg saw quite a bit of damage from Katrina. We thought that we would be able to spend a night in a hotel, but every time we drove up to a hotel, they had No Vacancy written on the door. When we finally found a room, it was $80 at a run down Howard Johnson. We kept driving. Stopping once more, we found a Days Inn, and they were charging $90!
Driving down I-90, we saw what few homes remain. Clothing and bedding hang from oak trees.	Once a thriving beach community, the Gulfport Biloxi area is devastated.
Prisoners help clean up the damage, while trucks sift through littered sand. Trailers sit in driveways leading to piles of brick and wood. Spray-painted signs read: "YOU LOOT, WE SHOOT" "NO DOZER," "THIS WAS MY HOME," and "GONE TO THE VIRGIN ISLANDS."	"GRAND CASINO, BILOXI, REST IN PIECES"