Quick hits: Tobacco farmer turns artist; Native American skateboarder designs stamp; rainbows are circles . . .

Reunion Table, by Eldridge Bagley, oil on linen (Morris Museum of Art, via Cardinal News)

North Carolina tobacco farmer Eldridge Bagley was "going through a chest when he came across an old Reader’s Digest. . . . He flipped through and found an article about famed folk artist Grandma Moses. He sat down to read it and was inspired to take up his own hand at painting," reports Lindley Estes of Cardinal News in southwest Virginia. Like Moses, the Lunenburg County artist takes inspiration from daily life. . . "His canvases — colorful, layered and real to life — are instantly recognizable to his legions of devotees who appreciate his ability to capture a unique Southern way of life without being given over to the rose tint of nostalgia."
 
Farmers can share their acreage and add to their income by hosting campers. "John Boere, owner of Diamond Gulch cattle ranch in Groveland, Calif., started welcoming campers onto his 824 acres in the spring of 2021," reports Cassidy Walter of Successful Farming. "His property is listed on multiple booking sites, including The Dyrt and Hipcamp." Boere told Walter, "It's a beautiful spot, and I just thought it would be good to share it with people."

Shannon Hummel returns to childhood memories and brings "big city vibes" and "pay-what-you-can-afford dance lessons" to the rural Virginia town of Clifton Forge, reports Brianna Hatch of Cardinal News. The town hugs the Allegheny Mountains. Hummel told Hatch,  "The mountains are a big part of my soul. You see it in my work; you hear it in my music choices. I think there's a space of longing to these mountains that have been a ribbon through the fabric of my work for a long time. . . .There’s a long history in rural communities of being forgotten or mislabeled by urban communities." Hatch adds, "She hopes their new Clifton Forge office can support a rich dance community."

Stamp featuring artwork by Di'Orr Greenwood
(Image from United States Postal Service)

She knows how to skateboard like nobody's business and is a designer who will soon have her own stamp. "Native American artist Di'Orr Greenwood (Diné) was born and raised on the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona," reports Lynn Trimble for Southwest Contemporary. "Greenwood is one of four artists featured in a new USPS postage stamp series called Art of the Skateboard.

The humble soybean, which is also known as "the amazing bean," "the incredible bean," and "the versatile oil bean," could become the "incredible rural road sealing bean," reports Noah Rohlfing of Successful Farming. "To address deteriorating rural road conditions, the Soy Transportation Coalition partnered with Knox County, Illinois, and PoreShield, a soy-based concrete enhancer. The pilot project sought to determine the effectiveness of the product in stabilizing roads and preventing further damage. . . . PoreShield is 93% bio-based material, and soybean oil is a prominent component."

Colonial fashions can tell us quite a bit about their wearers. "While Quaker men's distinctive broad-brimmed hats became a thing of the past moving into the 19th century, Quaker women's bonnets replaced them as the sect's most readily identifiable attire," reports Sue Bowman for Lancaster Farming. "Society's judgments of newcomers to America were frequently based on appearances. Things like headwear, shoes, hairstyles, jewelry, tools and implements gave impressions to folks and often determined how they were dealt with."

Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler, LightRocket via Getty Images

"Ever wonder if Kermit the Frog knew how far the "Rainbow Connection" went? Physicist Partha Chowdhury explains, "Most of us go through life seeing rainbows only as arches of color in the sky, but that's only half of what is really a circle of color. . . . To see the full circle, however, you will have to be in an airplane, literally above the clouds." Chowdhury shares how to "create your own rainbow" in his article in The Conversation.