Shanti Arts Publishing Presents Work of Two Tennesseans Highlighting Their State's Natural Beauty

Sept. 18, 2013 - PRLog -- Shanti Arts Publishing, of Brunswick, Maine, announces the release of Current: Essays on the Passing of Time in the Woods by Tennessee native Robert McGowan with photography by Jeffrey Stoner.    Having spent his entire life exploring the woods and hills of Tennessee, writer and artist Robert McGowan wrote the short essays in this beautiful book to pay homage to the natural world he so loved. Be it animals, trees, ferns, flowers or rocks, McGowan passionately and tenderly recounts his close observations of nature, often wondering about the woods of olden time and imagining the woods of tomorrow. The fine, unbreakable thread that winds through the book is the passing of time—life in the woods begins, grows and dies. Through it all, McGowan shows the reader he is a man sustained by his sense of peace and contentment, for he knows that despite his concerns about yesterday and tomorrow, “there is only the current.” The beautiful photography of Jeffrey Stoner adds vibrance and vitality to this inspiring collection of nature essays.    Robert McGowan was born in 1947 in Nashville, Tennessee. He was for many years primarily a practicing artist. His work is in numerous private, corporate, and public collections internationally, including Bank of America, Bank of Korea, Cranbrook Art Museum, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), Smithsonian Institution. McGowan was also a prolific writer of fiction and non-fiction. His previous works, among them NAM (Meridian Star Press, 2011) and Happy Again at Last: Life in the Art World (Shanti Arts Publishing, 2013), received excellent reviews from the art and literary communities. McGowan was instrumental in the development of the Memphis Center for Contemporary Art, and he is the subject of The McGowan Collection in the archives of the History Department of the Memphis Public Library and Information Center, one of America’s premier public libraries.    Jeffrey Stoner was born in 1953 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Though he had a passion for photography at a young age, he didn’t begin selling his images until 2004 when a gallery called to ask if he would show his work. Stoner soon began selling his work through several galleries as well as exhibiting in group and solo venues around the country. In 2007 Stoner moved to Kingsport, Tennessee, to take advantage of opportunities for making images in the mile-high mountains and fertile valleys of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia. Stoner now focuses on making photographs, exhibiting and selling his work, and teaching. His work may be found in galleries all around the broader Tennessee region.    About Current: Essays on the Passing of Time in the Woods, Carrie Keith, owner of Twigs and Leaves Gallery in Waynesville, North Carolina, stated: "Robert McGowan’s essays allow the reader to relive, recapture, and embrace the joy that surrounds us in Tennessee's wonderful mountains. . . . Through their words and images, McGowan and Stoner have created a treasure for all to experience." Carrie Wissler, artist and writer, said: "Current expresses Robert McGowan’s deep reverence for the forest and the need for man to respect the earth’s bounty rather than to exploit and destroy it. The spectacular photographs by Jeffrey Stoner are a perfect manifestation of the contents of McGowan's essays, beautifully placed within the book’s words and flowing through the pages with the grace of a woodland stream."    Current: Essays on the Passing of Time in the Woods is produced by Shanti Arts Publishing. It is available in paperback on their website and everywhere books are sold.    Publisher's Website  Book Website  Book Video  ISBN: 978-0-9885897-2-8    price: $30.00



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