Artists at Gulf Place remember 9/11

Seven years after the date that will forever be known simply as 9/11, remembrance of the day still causes a lump in the throats of many.

Such is the effect the date has on local artist Wendy Prentice.

"It's hard not to think about 9/11 and not get a lump in your throat. It doesn't matter who or what we are - we're all Americans, and remembering the tragedy evokes emotion and causes people to want to do something," she said.

Prentice decided that helping the local firefighters would be a good way to start in satisfying her desire to "do something."

With little more than a week to prepare, Prentice rallied the other Artists at Gulf Place (of which she is a part) into action in creating artistic American flags. She also sent out a mass e-mail, asking the community to join the effort.

The artwork that emerged was unveiled Thursday at the Artists at Gulf Place enclave as a Fence of Flags.

American flags painted by local artists and children, as well as some from outside the area, were on cookie sheets, shovel heads, boards, old car tags, and a variety of other objects, including a solid wood door, and hung around the artists' deck. On some of the flags, artists had written the Pledge of Allegiance on the white stripes.

Billie Gaffrey's two art classes at Seaside Neighborhood School contributed to the effort.

All proceeds from the sales will go to the South Walton Fire District.

"I felt that helping the local firefighters is a good way to start in doing something," said Prentice. "It brought everyone together and honored our firefighters."

SWFD will use the donations from the purchased artwork to buy smoke detectors, which they will give to people in the area who need them.

"I was touched when I received the call from Wendy Prentice with the gracious offer of donating the proceeds from their Fence of Flags," said Sean Hughes, SWFD deputy chief, in a press release. "This event coincides with the anniversary of 9/11 which is a very emotional date for the entire country and especially poignant for firefighters, as we lost 343 fellow firefighters that day. For the Artists at Gulf Place to recognize this and support the SWFD is a grand gesture and we want to do something special in return with the donations we receive."

All members of the Artists at Gulf Place will be present at the exhibit all weekend. Hopes are that the flags will sell out this weekend.