March's Photo of The Month - Southern Bella Magazine

ShellyMarshall Schmidt

March 1, 2020

The healing power of horses.

“This photo is from the Silent Witness Exhibition, which is on display in the Brooks Gallery of the Aiken Center for the Arts, opening March 26. It represents the remarkable healing “connections” possible between off-the-track Thoroughbreds and military veterans suffering from the unseen wounds of post-traumatic stress. It is one of my personally favorite examples of this phenomenal relationship between horse and human – relationships that I have been privileged to witness through a number of programs and organizations to which I have been devoted for years.”

Shelly Marshall Schmidt

ShellyMarshall Schmidt

Shelly Marshall Schmidt is a commercial and fine art photographer known for her sensitive and insightful work – from portraits to action photography, both breathtaking in their composition and execution – and her innovative printing on a vast array of materials and fabrics. Shelly is particularly well known for lending her remarkable talent to a variety of rewarding and life-impacting programs. While her early career was fueled by “mechanical horsepower,” focusing on thoroughbred cars like Ferrari and Porsche, and championship racing at LeMans, LaGuna Seca, and other world-renowned motorsport circuits, this theme gradually shifted to “equine horsepower,” when she became a valuable collaborator with such groundbreaking and notable programs and organizations as Aiken’s Horseplay, Women Beyond Cancer, Aiken Equine Rescue, Saratoga WarHorse, the Silent Witness Exhibition, and New Bridge Polo Magazine; most recently, her work is featured in the upcoming national conference in Aiken, “HeART of the Horse.”

ShellyMarshall Schmidt

In the know

Pocket Poetry

Changing the World – One Poem at a Time Having been graciously selected by the members of The Aiken Poets to serve as Poet Laureate, I wondered what I could do to make people more excited about poetry and to make poetry better appreciated, noticed, read, memorized, written, and shared. Then I came up with this idea I call Pocket Poetry — a few lines in rhyme or free verse, written in calligraphy on white or colored cards, and distributed at random to people I meet. They go to people I know, people who provide a service, like the cashiers at the supermarket, the teller at the bank, the postal

Bella Book Host: Changing Ways We Consume Literature

As I have mentioned before, I am a huge fan of Audible. As a mom of two dancers, I spend a lot of time driving and waiting. Audible allows me to access a nearly endless list of audio books from my phone, in the car, in the studio waiting room, and while sewing. For a monthly charge I receive a limited number of credits included in my plan. This month, after realizing I had already used my credits catching up on speculative fiction series involving dragons and talking ships, I evaluated my options. I keep my in-person shopping limited these days, but Amazon had print and Kindle versions available, and

The August Bella Book Club Review | The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo | Aiken Bella Magazine

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell

The August Bella Book Club Review by Nichole Miller Samuel Hill was teased and bullied as a child due to his unique eyes. He was born with ocular albinism, which caused his eyes to appear red. This led to names such as “devil boy,” and Sam Hill became Sam Hell. His only friends were Ernie Cantwell and Mickie Kennedy, and they stuck by his side. Ernie was the only black boy in their Catholic school, and Mickie was known for breaking all the rules. A group of misfits, they showed that compassion and friendship can break all barriers. This book dares to question how many times someone can be told

A Return to Art and Music

An Evening of Art & Music • September 30 • 4:30 – 7:30 pm We, here at Bella, are excited about small scale events coming back to life. Not only have our beloved Bella Buzz pages been empty, but no events have occurred to fill the famous “Scene Around Town” section, leaving the pages of Bella empty of the faces of Aiken. A duo of women, Peggy Penland and Katy Lipscomb, are rallying for indoor/outdoor events featuring music, art, and community to entice us to get out and experience life. And so was born An Evening of Art & Music, scheduled for September 30, 4:30 – 7:30 pm. The past