"Shrimp Shack on Geechee Dock, Shem Creek" by Charleston Artist Katherine M. Schneider






"Shrimp Shack on Geechee Dock, Shem Creek"
11" x 14"
oil on cradled panel
Price: $375.00

I spent the afternoon in the bushes painting this view of the buildings and trawlers at the Geechee dock on Shem Creek.
I liked the contrast of the red roof against the blue sky, which is slightly grey due to passing summer rain clouds.

Geechee culture in the Lowcountry developed from some of the same influences as the Gullah culture in the past. Calling this dock "the Geechee dock" refers to its use by local fisherman with roots in the Geechee culture.

Fresh shrimp and blue crabs caught locally by the fisherman on the trawlers are sold here daily.

4 comments:

Katherine Muschick Schneider said...

To see my other paintings of shrimp trawlers on Shem Creek, please check out the blog posts for:

July 3 "Charleston Artists..Paint Shrimp Boats on Shem Creek" and

July 10 "Seagulls Circling the Trawler Carolina"

Thanks for looking!
Kay

Katherine Muschick Schneider said...

For a discussion of haint blue paint, gullah culture and folk lore about "haints" (the Gullah version of the word "haunt", therefore referring to ghosts) in the Carolina Lowcountry, please see the "Paint Charleston Daily" blog post for May 12.

Also in this post is my oil painting "Charleston Haint Blue Shutters", a view of a historic Chas. home with shutters painted the traditional "haint blue" color.

Thought you'd be interested.
Kay

Anonymous said...

Just a comment on the subject of "Geechee."
I was born and raised in the Charleston, SC area. The branches of my family have lived in this area for more than 200 years. This is what we have always understood about Geechee culture and dialect.

Geechee commonly refers to a person of white descent whose family has long roots in the SC Lowcountry, mostly between Beaufort and Georgetown. Geechee is a heavily accented dialect of English with Gullah influences. Its an easy, "shorthand" manner of speech full of contractions and dropped consonants.

For example: a Benyeah (been here) is someone who is born here and has long family roots here. A Comyeah (come here) is someone who has recently moved here "from off." On the Geechee Dock, a boat would be "bow-at" and shrimp would be "shrumps".

Both the Geechee culture and dialect were easy and relaxed in contrast to today's 24/7 world.

I hope this is useful information since both the culture and dialect are becoming a lost as the older generations pass on.

Katherine Muschick Schneider said...

Thanks for commenting about your families' knowledge of the Geechee culture and dialect.

As time passes, it's important to have first hand information like yours on record.

Kind regards,
Kay

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