Drawing a Line

Greg Stanley loves lines, and they are his first step in the creative process. When studying at the Maryland Institute College of Art he challenged himself to draw using only straight lines, filling numerous sketch books. Then he introduced curves. It was a methodical approach. “You need to draw with pen and ink so that…

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An Ancient Grain For a New Year

Not so new ingredients are popping up on the grocery shelves and menus of trendy restaurants. One of these is amaranth, an ancient grain. Several years ago, quinoa re-emerged on the food scene as a healthy, nutritious, alternate side dish to rice, pasta or potatoes. Now quinoa is common in American dietary choices, including vegetable…

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Masonboro Or Bust

Local surfers are rarely deterred by rainy, foggy or freezing weather. Because it is easier to traverse the swift flowing, 400-foot-wide Masonboro Inlet channel from Wrightsville Beach on longer, heavier boards, these surfers carry a pair of boards each. The longboards are for paddling to and from Masonboro Island from Wrightsville’s South End. Surfers tow their shortboards…

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Living with Water

The Battleship North Carolina’s low-lying location on the Cape Fear River means the grounds are prone to flooding. It’s an experience common to many residents and visitors. You want to spend a day at the Battleship North Carolina, but there was a storm in the past couple of days. Will the ship be open? Is…

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Genealogy 101

There has never been a better time to start — or restart — looking into your family history than today. We’ll look at the types of records that might offer the quickest haul. Then, we’ll see a few places where these records can be found. Many wonderful sources of family history can be easily searched…

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No Place Like Home

Turning off Middle Sound Loop Road onto Queens Point in Ogden, my adventure begins through the gated entrance. In seconds I am gasping at the live oak trees. Horizontal limbs are bent over the road, creating a triangular canopy. The one-car asphalt drive forks, and in the distance a house can be seen, water in…

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My Thoughts

People ask me all the time, how do you come up with story ideas? How have you done this so beautifully all these years? I tell them the stories usually find me. And this issue is just the latest example. This is also an anniversary issue. Wrightsville Beach Magazine began work in October 2000, publishing…

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Let it Snow

There are many reasons people create art. Beauty is all around us and artists seek ways to express themselves, perhaps inspired by sunlight dancing on the sand or by birdsong cascading down from the trees or by the ocean kissing the shore. It is in this natural beauty that Ellie Snow finds inspiration to create…

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Merry Christmas Modern

A champagne gold Christmas tree with Lees Cut as its backdrop makes for a stunning combination in this home on Pelican Drive at Wrightsville Beach. Homeowner Tammy Ratcliff puts a modern spin on decorating for Christmas. “I’ve always loved that look of a more modern design. For Christmas, I love golds and whites and natural…

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Peppermint at Christmas

Peppermint candy canes are a universally recognized symbol of Christmas. The stories of the candy cane’s history are rooted in Christianity. There is a legend that the first candy canes were white sticks of pulled sugar candy given by a choirmaster to keep his singers quiet during the nativity scene at the Cologne Cathedral in…

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