The Horn Island trip occurs in May of each year and encompasses about ten days. This year we left Memphis on the 17th, got to the island on the 18th, returned to the mainland on the 27th and drove back to Memphis on the 28th. The first day consisted of driving to Pascagoula, checking into a hotel for the first night and then attending the opening of the Horn Island exhibition at the Walter Anderson Museum in Ocean Springs. This is the second year that WAMA has mounted shows of work produced for the annual Horn Island exhibition at Memphis College of Art. These shows are put together by Don DuMont and it is his work and relationship with WAMA that has made them possible.
The next day everybody was at the boat launch at Pascagoula Point by 6:30AM to take the boat ride out to the island. There were forty-one participants this year so it took several trips back and forth to the island to get everyone and all the equipment out there. As I mentioned, Horn Island is uninhabited. All water, food, tents, cooking equipment, etc. for the entire ten days has to be brought out to the island. The boats are small so they can get right up on the beach to unload. That's great, but it makes for some spine-jarring rides to the island when the water is as rough as it was this year.
Everyone was on the island by noon and then had to find a camp site. The main camp is on the north side of the island. It is the central point for dinner, water, camaraderie and a little bit of shade. The old guys tend to camp near the main camp on the north side. Students generally head for the south side of the island which faces the Gulf and is buffeted by wind and more extreme weather. I'm an old guy, so I found a good spot about ten minutes west of the main tent. That made it possible to get to the main tent to have coffee and watch the sun come up with Richard Prillaman, Faculty Emeritus, Metals and sometimes Marc Rouillard, Painting/Foundations faculty. I am not an experienced camper, but I did a pretty good job with my brand new tent (Don helped) and I had no problems the whole trip.
