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33: COURIER PELICAN
Sponsor: Fairhope Single Tax Corporation
Artist: Megrez Rudolf
About the Pelican: My inspiration for the Courier Pelican comes from combining, with respect, the work of two of Fairhope's artists - Craig T. Sheldon and Anna Braune. Among many of his achievements for over 20 years, Craig T. Sheldon wrote a column for The Fairhope Courier called Knee Deep in Fly Creek. This column sometimes contained the always wise opinions of Godfrey the Bullfrog as delivered in first person/frog to Sheldon. Godfrey was a beer drinking free thinker who sometimes riled the populace. The column also contained the insights of certain local residents - often renamed to protect their reputations. No topic was too sacred. Knee Deep in Fly Creek often stirred the residents with thought provoking ideas presented on environmental issues, religion, social mores, education and politics, on local, state and national levels. Anna Braune was a successful children's book illustrator, an artist, and a librarian for the Fairhope Public Library. She designed the masthead to the Knee Deep in Fly Creek column. This design shows Sheldon with webbed feet sitting on a chair at a desk in Fly Creek typing his column while listening to Godfrey the bullfrog, who, of course, is wearing a mortar board. Behind Sheldon, overseeing his work, is a brown pelican. I, for some reason, thought instead of a carrier pigeon. Fairhope would have had a courier pelican, thus combining Craig T. Sheldon, Anna Braune, the brown pelican and the Courier.
About The Artist: I grew up in a unique home of artists in Fairhope, AL. My father, Craig T. Sheldon, was a man of letters, woodcarving, sculpting, historical restoration, carpentry and etc. My mother, Annie Butch Sheldon, was greatly involved in many aspects of the theatre arts, needle arts, gardening and community efforts. My parents involved all three of their children in their artistic lives. Marietta Johnson's School of Organic Education also gave me a love for the arts. Irene Bell, Edith Harwell and Piney Gaston and my fellow classmates created a supportive environment. I became a professional dancer and was in the performing arts for over 15 years, primarily in Chicago and Boston. After having also designed and sewn costumes, I continued my love for the textile arts, and became a needle arts fanatic. I am also enjoying exploring what's new about the old art form of papier-mache'.
About The Sponsor: The Fairhope Single Tax Corporation is always involved in community improvements and events. On parkland overlooking Mobile Bay donated in 1931 to the City of Fairhope to be held as parkland in perpetuity, the Single Tax Corporation made a financial contribution to place a bronze statuary group based on a 1913 picture of Marietta Johnson actively teaching students on the campus of the Organic School. Marietta Johnson was instrumental in promoting the progressive education movement and established the campus in 1907 as a model to provide a noncompetitive educational environment that allowed children to develop at their own pace. The Marietta Johnson School of Organic Education provides an active learning experience to the present day.
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