Georgia
Fictional But Faithful: Writing Georgia O’Keeffe as an Amateur Sleuth
The burden, and I should say the responsibility of writing about a real historical figure, is formidable. Do you depict that person warts and all? How indeed do you reveal those warts without violating your character, but rather make the flaws an interesting part of their personality? This is a challenge I had to meet head on when I set out to write my Georgia O’Keeffe mysteries. I knew about her as a painter as the rest of the world does. But what in her character or her work as a painter would even suggest she might make a good amateur sleuth?
Actually, my research began with an art exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts that focused not on her paintings but her “things”—her clothing mostly. She was an expert seamstress and sewed many of her own clothes. I fell in love with one cream colored dress that had miniscule pleats that made up the bodice. I put that dress in the first book I wrote featuring Georgia, Light On Bone. One thinks of O’Keeffe’s paintings as great swathes of color, broad brush strokes but the stitching on this dress is just the opposite of broad brushstrokes. It is painstakingly delicate. The detailing is exquisite, the stitches almost microscopic. In short, she was alert to the infinitesimal that others might miss. For her, the Sherlock Holmes magnifying glass would be redundant.
In addition to the clothes she made, she had a fairly large collection of Japanese kimonos. These kimonos in a sense spoke largely about her aesthetic which was sleek and simple. But there were also, jeans, sneakers, and a well-worn pair of brown leather lace up boots that she used for tromping around in the desert.
Issey Miyake, the famous Japanese clothing designer, in 1983 declared the painter his muse. “Georgia O’Keeffe. For the first time, I’m designing clothes with one person in mind. And I’m planning to send them to her when they’re ready.”
But perhaps the greatest example of her refined sensibilities is her house in Abiquiu, New Mexico. Her dining table was a plywood plank on sawhorses. On a small table by an easy chair there was a dish of rattles she collected from rattlesnakes she had encountered on her walks out in the desert, and killed if they threatened her. There were also, the bones that she searched for that became a central subject of so many of her paintings. In short, no clutter, no tchotchkes, nothing distracting. She could keep her focus on form, pattern and construction. How things fit together.
As I have said countless times to people, when you come back from seeing the Abiquiu house, you simply want to throw out everything in your own house. But then you realize it wouldn’t work, for it is the New Mexico light that brings it all together. She decorated the house in an active partnership with the desert light.
But these are all the material things that spoke so directly to her aesthetic. What about her thinking? Her beliefs beyond the material? How did she think and handle her complex relationship with her husband Alfred Stieglitz who was serially unfaithful to her? Perhaps the one act she never forgave was when he forced her to have an abortion.
Although I never found anything in her writing that directly mentioned the abortion, I did find this letter to Stieglitz after one of her early trips to the southwest.
There is much life in me — when it was always checked in moving toward you — I realized it would die if it could not move toward something … I chose coming away because here at least I feel good — and it makes me feel I am growing very tall and straight inside — and very still — Maybe you will not love me for it — but for me it seems to be the best thing I can do for you — I hope this letter carries no hurt to you — It is the last thing I want to do in the world.
So, it was by reading her letters to Stieglitz and those she wrote to Anita Pollitzer, another artist and friend, who introduced her to Stieglitz that I discovered her voice, and some of her deepest passions. It is a quiet yet dazzling voice. It is a voice that I felt was the essence of Georgia O’Keeffe.
I have written many novels that feature historical figures. Although these are fictional stories, I always want to stay true to the character of that person. I think of myself as an explorer of feelings, buried emotions and not simply events in their lives, but how these events might impact their lives and how they would think about them. And this is what fed into Georgia’s eccentric skills as an amateur detective. There is an array of feelings and emotions to be explored in the life of O’Keeffe. Perhaps first and foremost those feelings for the desert and her regrets of never having a child. But there are also her political beliefs and the growing threat of the second world war.
Perhaps the best part of writing about an historical figure is for me the ‘historical’ part. My book Light on Bone, and the second one, Mortal Radiance, are both set in the 1930s. The build up toward World War 2 is beginning. Therefore, I find myself having to take meticulous care on a range on seemingly obscure questions as I explore that era and put facts in the book. What year were the ice cream treats Eskimo pies invented? Did they have electro cardiograms in the 1930’s? When was penicillin developed? The OSS morphed into the CIA in the 1940s. How did that happen? When and where in our country did the German American Bund emerge. What were the ties between the Duke and the Duchess of Windsor and Nazis?
But perhaps one of the most fascinating things I had to explore was a perceptual phenomenon that Georgia O’Keeffe had known as Synesthesia. Synesthesia is a perceptual experience in which stimulation in one sensory pathway triggers another experience in a second pathway. This is a perfect talent for a visionary detective to possess. And it’s not fiction! Georgia was a great listener to classical music. So, I might think when I see one of her paintings what music might she have been listening to that inspired the painting of The Grey Hills—was it Pablo Casals? Or perhaps something more tumultuous, Mahler Symphony number 9? For me Georgia O’Keeffe is an ultimate and compelling enigma and that was why I chose to write about her. And in doing so I am determined to remain faithful to the fiction of this character—Georgia Totto O’Keeffe.
***
COLONIE, N.Y. (WNYT) – A man from Georgia is in custody after he allegedly had a gun in his car at Siena University.
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According to Colonie Police, officers responded to Siena University on May 1 for reports of a suspicious vehicle. Police say an unauthorized vehicle had been on campus and that someone in the vehicle had displayed a rifle.
Upon arrival, police determined the vehicle was no longer on campus. After interviewing witnesses, police say that a rifle was spotted but not displayed in a threatening or menacing manner. Police add there was no threat made to any Siena student or the campus community.
After an investigation, police located the vehicle parked and unoccupied at the LaQuinta Inn and Suites at 833 Loudon Road. Police say an AR-15 style rifle was in plain view in the front seat. Both the rifle and the attached magazine are illegal to possess under state law, according to the department.
According to Colonie Police, three suspects were located inside the hotel and taken into custody. After conducting interviews, police say Michael Sanchez, 20, from Forest Park, GA, possessed the rifle.
Sanchez was arrested and charged with multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds, and criminal possession of a firearm. He was sent to the Albany County Correctional Facility with bail set at $25,000 cash.
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The two other occupants of the vehicle were not charged with crimes.
Siena University also sent a statement to NewsChannel 13 regarding the incident:
“Following a report Friday night to Siena Public Safety of a suspicious vehicle on campus, Public Safety and Colonie Police acted immediately to identify and apprehend the individuals involved. A suspect was taken into custody off campus by the Colonie Police.
At no point during the incident was any threat made to any Siena student, or to the Siena University campus. Public Safety kept the campus updated throughout the incident in real time via the Siena Alert System.
Siena University’s Public Safety thanks the Colonie Police and the Capital District Crime Analysis Center for their swift response and assistance during this incident.”
Georgia
WATCH: Driver smirks in mugshot after allegedly hitting group of cyclists in caught-on-camera road rage
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An elderly man offered a smirk for his mugshot after being arrested in a caught-on-camera hit-and-run involving a cyclist group.
Jerry Wayne Ross, 72, faces charges for an alleged hit-and-run with his Honda Pilot, all caught on video, on April 23 in Cherokee County, Georgia, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
The North Georgia Cycling Association was on its weekly Thursday night ride when the driver was accused of driving up on the group in a suspected road rage incident.
One rider, identified as Richard Collins, the leader of the group, told Fox 5 Atlanta the black SUV tailed the group and laid down the horn.
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“Just excessive,” he told the outlet. “Didn’t let off the horn.”
The hit-and-run was caught on camera after a driver allegedly hit a cyclist participating in a group ride in Georgia April 13. (WAGA-TV)
The incident was caught on camera as the black Honda Pilot allegedly struck the cyclists after the driver honked at them.
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The group of cyclists, who fell after the clash, collided into the side of the SUV and fell onto the pavement.
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“I turned to my left to see it at that moment that vehicle was on my left leg,” Collins said.
In the video, the vehicle speeds away.
Richard Collins, leader of a North Georgia Cycling Association group ride, told WAGA-TV that an aggressive driver followed the cyclists for two minutes while honking continuously. According to Collins, the vehicle’s side mirror clipped a cyclist behind him before striking Collins directly, knocking him from his bike. (WAGA-TV)
Collins said he sustained road rash on his shoulder, elbow and knee and was treated by paramedics who were called. He later visited an orthopedist who discovered a fracture of his lower spine.
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Cherokee County Sheriff’s officials arrested Ross at a neighbor’s house nearby. Ross faces six charges, including hit-and-run, aggressive driving and failing to maintain a safe distance from a bicycle.
“I just hope this experience will raise awareness to the rules of the road for cyclists and how drivers should allow for the 3 feet distance in safe passing,” Collins said.
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Jerry Ross, 72, was taken into custody and charged with two counts of aggravated assault, hit-and-run, reckless driving, aggressive driving and failure to maintain a safe distance from a bicycle. (Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office)
In a statement, the North Georgia Cycling Association thanked law enforcement and emergency services for “their swift response and professionalism.”
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“We encourage all road users to follow the rules of the road, stay alert and respect one another. Sharing the road responsibly helps keep everyone safe,” the group said.
“We also encourage everyone to treat one another with care, patience and kindness — on and off the road. Most importantly, we are thankful that those involved made it home safely to their loved ones.”
To better serve county employees and streamline processes, the DeKalb County, Ga. Human Resources and Merit System (DeKalb HR) moved its quarterly policy council meetings online. The shift to digital has boosted attendance and made the meetings more efficient by enabling chat-based Q&A and real-time issue tracking, according to Jadia Haynes, the DeKalb County interim Human Resources director.
Since the DeKalb County Department of Human Resources and Merit System-led policy council moved online, there has been a 50% reduction in grievances, a 67% increase in meeting participation and a 50% improvement in Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) processing efficiency for 6,600 employees, according to county data.
DeKalb County has 45 departments, with more than 200 locations across the county where staff work, so many people who would otherwise want to attend the meetings when they were in-person were unable to, according to Katherine Furlong, interim deputy director, DeKalb County Human Resources Information Systems Division.
Between the length of the actual meeting and the time it took to commute there and back, it could take up to three hours out of some people’s days, noted Haynes.
County survey feedback shows 88% of department liaisons feel more informed and aligned with human resource policies after participating in a policy council meeting. Since shifting the meetings online, attendance has increased from an average of 75 people to 126.
“This gives the employees a lot more flexibility,” Haynes said. “So now the time commitment is a lot less, and more people can participate.”
The meetings are much more efficient and interactive now, as people can submit questions through Zoom’s chat feature, said Furlong.
People share more often with the comment feature, which Haynes attributes to people feeling more comfortable typing a message vs. speaking up in-person or on camera.
Policy council participants include directors, deputy directors, managers and department administrators. Utilizing Zoom enables the human resources department to review meetings to better inform the process and make improvements moving forward, Haynes said.
“We can go back and check the chat too, and see what types of questions people ask, so we can make sure we can follow up to ensure that we’ve addressed them,” Furlong said. “If we don’t address them verbally in the meeting, we say, ‘OK, we’ll take that as an action item and come back and make sure we give that back to the team.’”
Human Resources has received “rave reviews” from county employees regarding the shift to virtual, Haynes noted.
According to Kevin Buford, DeKalb County Parks and Recreation’s deputy director, the new structure has been “so valuable and useful.”
“We would be totally lost without this policy council,” said Debra DeBerry, DeKalb County Clerk of Superior Court.
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