Having Balance is one of the hardest things to achieve. How do you define a “balanced life”?
Keeping a balanced life sometimes is very challenging. It takes practice to learn how to find some middle ground and get better at it, making time for things you have to do, as well as things you want to. Finding that medium ground, where we learn enjoyment and happiness, helps create a more balanced life.

Tell us how you have found balance in your daily life:
I have found balance in my life by creating priorities, getting involved in what makes me happy, making good friends who count, working with changes that affect me, and always building my self-esteem and confidence to create a strong mind. Spirituality—spending time alone is very important because it gives me time to reflect on my daily activities, meditate, read, or just be in the present moment where nothing else matters.

What motivated you to start exercising regularly?
Honestly, I really think it was just meeting up with friends and talking. Some days we would run 2 miles, and others we could run up to 6 and just hash out life.

Tell us about your exercise regime:
I do really love to exercise! So Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, my good friend, Stephanie Cahill, and I run 2-3 miles at 5 a.m. before the kids wake up and before getting ready for work. Then, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I meet up with another good friend, Michal Anderson, and we run/walk 2 miles, then meet a bunch of other women (including Meg James) and workout at FIA (Females In Action, a peer-lead workout group) from 5:15 to 6:00. I also try to throw in a Peloton workout 2-3 times a week because the music is fantastic. Oh, and I also help out with the running club at school on Wednesday afternoons, which allows us to teach the importance of stretching and to keep moving.

When we asked around the Lowcountry, your name came up over and over on being super positive. What a compliment! How does that make you feel?
Surprised, to be completely honest! Being more positive is a recent goal of mine, and although I like to believe that I am positive, I am honored that I am perceived as positive by others. It is a very sweet and emotional confirmation. Positivity is something that I have to be mindful of because although it can be natural at times, it’s not always easy.

We all have a choice to either think positive or think negative, what have you done to skew your mindset to positive thinking?
Remembering that it is a choice, and every choice counts. This is something that my Grammy taught me at a very young age.

What motivated you to start a practice of meditation?
In 1994 I started practicing permanent cosmetics, and I did a body scan meditation with my patients. The benefits were exactly what we both needed. The patients usually came in with a lot of fear, as you can imagine; meditation shifted their fear into a pleasing relaxing state. It was great to be connected at that level. I benefited because it helped them trust me more, which allowed me to focus on creating beautiful work for them.

What motivated you to start a practice of journaling?
I’ve always journaled. Chronicling my life in various forms was a compulsion for me as soon as I learned to write. I was the kid who counted my diary with a little lock on it as my prized possession, the kid who could be found in the office supply aisle instead of the toy aisle. I got more intentional and devoted to the practice when I discovered Bullet Journaling, which was a way to both organize my life and preserve memories along the way.

How has this practice enhanced your life?
It’s made me live life more aware, both in terms of keeping track of tasks and deadlines, but also logging the little things that happen in a day. Annie Dillard said, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” In that sense, my bullet journal is a tangible record of my life.

When board-certified and fellowship-trained breast surgeon Dr. Tara Grahovac was recruited to the Lowcountry to lead Beaufort Memorial’s new Breast Care & Surgery Program in Okatie, she jumped at the chance to relocate to the area where she and her family had spent years vacationing.

“It was very serendipitous,” she said. “We’ve always loved spending time here so when the opportunity presented itself, we decided to take the leap.”

For Tara and her husband, Erik, it was about building a new life in the Lowcountry with their two daughters, Sophia and Annie. Professionally, it was about something else.

JoAnna McKnight has always loved children. When she was little she wanted to be a teacher and have 12 kids. By the time she got to high school and learned that teachers don’t make any money, she decided to let that dream go. But years later, after her fourth unsuccessful pregnancy—the last being a tragic late-term loss—she circled back to the idea of teaching.

“I enrolled in Technical College of the Lowcountry so I could become a teacher and have children that way,” said JoAnna. “That was my solution. I literally stopped at TCL on my way home from the hospital.”

What is something you have done that you never thought you would do?
I never thought I’d be spending Wednesdays in prison mentoring and teaching convicted male felons, that’s for sure!

What were the biggest lessons you took from your experiences?
Offering personal development training to an inmate is like handing them a steak dinner. Just because a lesson is being taught, doesn’t mean it’s being caught. However, when a lesson comes straight from the Holy Spirit, it’s almost impossible to ignore. It’s those transformational moments I live for. Showing up and giving consistent, compassionate attention to individuals who are starving for some positive discrimination has the potential to change a person’s mental, emotional, and spiritual world. It has mine.

“When parents, administrators and teachers partner with students, magic happens,” said Sue Groesbeck, who enjoyed a 48-year stellar career in education. “Once I got in the classroom, I found my home…a calling, a career. It’s amazing when I look back on my life. I’m still in touch with many of my students and colleagues.”

Sue has 20 years of experience as a classroom teacher of German and French, and 28 years as an administrator. She has held three long-term head of school positions, and six interim head of school roles. She also has deep experience in girls’ schools. She was named the Whitty Ransome Educator of the Year at the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools conference at Wellesley College. This award is presented to a woman who has uniquely committed herself to the lives of other girls and women, who reflects a pure devotion to a higher cause, has the willingness to serve others and the grace and readiness to honor others.

We’ve all heard people who are wildly successful in their careers say, “I always knew I wanted to be (fill in the blank with whatever they’re wildly successful doing).”

And although she is wildly successful, Melissa Pender — by her own admission — is not one of those people. Truth be told, Melissa didn’t plan to work in education or administration. In fact, she wanted to be an accountant—drawn to play with numbers rather than energetic, curious children. Only when she worked part-time at a daycare to offset tuition costs, did she recognize her passion for kids. Honoring her calling, she switched majors and earned a BA in Early Childhood Education from the University of South Carolina, Aiken.

Anna and Chas Brown are fraternal twins, recent graduates of Beaufort High School, grandchildren of a dear friend and a delight to talk with. They are on their way to big things in life; Anna will be entering Duke University and Chas will be entering Princeton University this month. We met at Herban Market, on the Bay in Beaufort, and Chas remarked, “I’m going to miss this beautiful view.”

The twins have racked up an impressive list of awards, achievements, accolades, and of course, scholarships. They come from a family rich in the tradition of educational excellence, and a love of learning, and it shows. Two grandmothers were teachers, a grandfather a college professor at University of South Carolina. Their mother Susan is a teacher at Beaufort Elementary, and is the founder of “The Little Brown School,” which is an innovative preschool in Port Royal she started several years ago. Anna and Chas laughed that they were too old to attend, as they were already at Riverview Charter School, but their little sisters did.

Cool art vibes saturate the air in every form and medium in the Lowcountry, one of the most beautiful natural canvases on earth. With all the surrounding beauty, it’s no wonder the Lowcountry is teeming with creative, talented artists. Some do it for fun. Some do it for a living. All do it to nourish their organic need to create.

Welcome to our third edition of Lowcountry Originals, where you will meet eight dynamic artisans, all filled with creative energy and verve for their work. They have allowed us a peek into their creative worlds, revealed their fears and doubts, told us what inspires them and given us insight into their processes.

Turn the page to take a creative stroll and step into the Lowcountry art scene >>

When and how did you discover your talent?
I’m pretty sure I began acting as soon as I could talk! I did my first play at 8 years old and started writing my own scripts around the same time. I began serious acting classes when I was 12 and did all of the film, theatre and musical theatre I could get my hands on after that. I have been training and performing ever since! I adore stories. They are the fabric of human life in all its many colors, and it is my mission to cultivate a more beautiful world through the stories I tell.

What makes you a Lowcountry Original?
My husband and I moved to Hilton Head Island three years ago after living in Los Angeles for seven years. It was a huge leap of faith and a dramatic change of pace, but I have fallen in love with the Lowcountry. It’s languid beauty inspired me to pick up my oil pastels again, and writing while the whippoorwills coo outside my window is now one of my absolute favorite things! I’m currently writing the screenplay for Natasha Boyd’s book The Indigo Girl, about South Carolina’s own Eliza Lucas Pinckney, and I can just picture Eliza looking up at the same kind of gorgeous Carolina forest I admire from my bedroom window. The natural, casual elegance of the Lowcountry is truly magical.

How did you discover your art and talent:
My mom has always said that from the moment I could pick up a pencil I was drawing. She took me in for my 5-year-old check up, and when the doctor asked me to draw a person, it came out with more details than most stick people. He looked at my mom and said, “I think you have an artist.” I took after-school art with Hilton Head Prep’s Freddie Carson to hone my skills through high school and went on to study fine arts at the College of Charleston.

Acrylic is my go to medium.
I love the range of texture and flexibility it offers, as well as the faster drying time. And over the course of the past two years, I’ve learned to work digitally in order to create patterns and prints for my Lowcountry lifestyle brand, River+Wilds.

How did you discover your talent?
I discovered my talent when Covid started. I have epilepsy and already suffer with stress and anxiety, but it became overwhelming to look at the news. I started taking on the problems and complete disfunction of what was happening in the world. The many deaths over and over, doctors and patients dying, it was a lot for me. I lived my life in a box that year. I didn’t hug my family; I didn’t participate in any functions, which hurt the most. I created my own prison. Thank God the people who love me were understanding and compassionate and encouraged the need for me to get some help. 

The idea for my therapy sock bears came to me in a dream. In all my restless sleep, I was designing in my mind until it became a reality. I know with all my heart these bears are supposed to be used for healing. Each one is special to me and gives me great joy. 

How did you discover your talent?
I stumbled on woodworking back in 2011 while looking for new things to furnish my first home. The Pinterest craze was booming with all kinds of people posting all kinds of projects, and I joined in figuring I could do it too! So I put myself to the test, bought a few tools, got comfortable using said tools, and feverishly tackled bigger and better things. By the time my dad’s birthday rolled around, I challenged myself to make a Big Green Egg table for him. The table was a huge hit for him, his friends and a few others who added a few custom features to my masterpiece. From this simple start, my long shot hobby turned into my passion. I turned a pile of wood into a beautiful, sentimental, lasting piece. I was wholly gratified.

What makes you a Lowcountry Original?
I love working with my hands. Hand work is a huge part of Lowcountry culture and tradition. From farming fields, to weaving baskets, preparing food, stitching clothes, casting nets, fishing the waters, milling lumber and building communities, our very rich history is derived from our hands. When I, for example, build beds, or planters, joggling boards, lanterns, chairs, or swings, I feel that I pay forward a small piece of the history of the Lowcountry.

How did you discover your talent? How does it speak to you?
I have always loved yarn and creating things with yarn. I started weaving, spinning, dyeing and collecting yarn many years ago as a hobby and a relaxation from my career as an aerospace engineer. When I retired and moved to Beaufort in 2014, I began weaving tapestry.

Tapestry is a form of textile art woven by hand on a loom. It is “weft faced” weaving, meaning that only the weft, or horizontal yarn, should show. The tapestry design, known as a cartoon, is held behind the tapestry to guide the weaver as she weaves. In tapestry, the artist interlaces each colored weft yarn back and forth in its own small pattern area following the cartoon.

My tapestries are expressions of my thoughts and feelings about inequalities in society. I am highly motivated by socio-political issues, and these are the inspiration for most of my cartoons. I have an exhibit in July of eight of my tapestries pertaining to Women’s Equality. My portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is one from this series.

When and how did you discover your talent?
From my first box of crayons! I always wanted the box with 64 colors, to buying a 25-pound block of clay, I have always had a burning desire to create! Raised in the Pacific Northwest, my earliest influences into the magical world of art were my very gifted family, especially my sister. A third grade substitute teacher and a very flamboyant high school art teacher, who encouraged me to try new forms of art. I am surrounded by some amazing artist friends who keep me inspired everyday.

My love of Christmases past and present was a contributing factor to the creation of our Hawley Collection Heirloom Santas, elves and other creatures. It was actually here on Hilton Head that I first decided that creating and marketing our Santas would be a rewarding business venture. The “Festival of Trees” committee asked for a donation in 1995, and I created a one-of-a-kind 3-foot tall “Timberline Santa.” The response was amazing. The next year we opened a showroom in Atlanta, and now we ship to fine gift stores and Christmas shops all over the world. I think my love of everything Christmas gave me the inspiration to create our Santa Clauses.

When and how did you discover your talent?
I fell in love with pastry when I worked at a Hilton Head Island restaurant 30 years ago as a server. Every evening I would come in for my shift and see all the amazing desserts and pastries that the pastry chef had prepared that morning. That’s when I decided I wanted to be a pastry chef. I went to the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago (CHIC) for a one-year program, studying pastry for six-month and savory for six-months, all while working for a few great restaurants.

What makes you a Lowcountry Original?
I moved to the Lowcountry before Highway 278 went all the way out to I-95, and I have spent all of those years in the food and beverage industry. Lots of people come and go, but it is my calling. The food and beverage industry is the backbone of the Lowcountry. We are all about food and I love being a part of it.

How did you discover your artistic ability?
I began my journey as a Gullah/Geechee self-taught outsider folk artist following a traumatic period in my life—the deaths of four close family members six months apart over two years. After burying my mother on Christmas Eve of 2007, I found myself in a very dark place, but learned from that womb of darkness and through great pain that great joy can be born. The artist inside of me drew her first breath when I merged canvas with paint for the first time. My art helped me paint my way out of the darkness, as I taught myself to paint away the pain.

What makes you a Lowcountry Original?
I was born in the house I was raised in on St. Helena Island. I was delivered by one of the last remaining mid-wives on the island—Miss Missy. Conceived and delivered in the Gullah/Geechee culture as a descendant of the Guale Native Americans and African slaves. I guess you can’t get more original than that.

Since moving to Hampton County more than a decade ago, Heather Bruemmer has used her passion for the arts and skills in making things happen to help redefine rural living. Soon after her arrival, the mother of six realized there was a lack of arts programs in the community, and she set out to change that, rallying with other local moms and spearheading her first campaign to bring art to Hampton County. If one wants change, one must change and first on the list was changing the Estill Fall Festival to the Estill Fall Arts Festival.

Your life has been one adventure after the other—51 countries, Scuba Divemaster, up for all adventures! What are the top 3 most exhilarating things you’ve ever done?

1) Trekking to Mt. Everest Base Camp (17,598 feet elevation). After flying into one of the most dangerous airports in the world (precariously perched on the side of the mountain, notoriously short runway and frequently blanketed in fog), it takes eight days to ascend to base camp, and four days to hike back down. There are no roads, much less cars, and everything--gear, food, drinking water, etc.—is carried by either you or your sherpa, or, if you’re lucky, by a mule or dzo at the “lower” altitudes, or a yak as you gain elevation. Despite it being a week since you have showered and the increasing cold, the excitement is palpable as you reach base camp.

2) Bungee jumping. I did the highest jump in Central America at 469 feet. With tandem skydiving, which is also an incredible rush, the instructor does the jumping, but when bungee jumping, you have to convince yourself that it makes sense to leap, headfirst—that is hard to talk yourself into! A few seconds into your fall, once you realize you are still alive, it’s exhilarating. 

3) Rock climbing/deep water soloing near Cát Bà Island in Halong Bay, Vietnam. The bay is dotted with limestone karsts (tall rock formations that protrude out of the water with vertical sides). Some have small beaches, so you rock climb more traditionally with ropes in place; others directly rise out of the water, so you free climb up, and then jump down (if you don’t slip first). It’s challenging but rewarding. 

With the stamps of 40 countries (and counting) on her passport, Tennille Scheriff gives new meaning to the word “wanderlust.” “I always had curiosity about the world,” Tennille explained, crediting teenage missionary trips and ten years of military service for feeding her travel bug earlier in life.

Pursuing a career as a teacher and literary coach, Tennille moved to Bluffton in 2002. Named Beaufort County School District’s Teacher of the Year in 2010, Tennille spent 17 years teaching in the Lowcountry while raising her son. About 15 years ago, when her son was grown, she began taking backpacking trips during her summer and holiday breaks. Four years ago, she moved to Thailand, where she stayed for a couple years before becoming the Teaching and Learning Coordinator for the American Embassy Schools in India

“If you want to have an adventure, I can give you the three key words,” says Lillian Heyward, who lives in Bluffton but spends winters cruising the Caribbean and summers cooling off in Nova Scotia or the mountains of Virginia. “‘Sure, why not?’ Just say those words when someone asks you to do something that others think is insane.”

Lillian grew up an Army brat; her earliest memories are of Hawaii, and by age 10 she was living in Turkey. While attending art school in Maine, she took a job on a Swedish ferry line that ran back and forth to Nova Scotia and ended up falling in love with one of its officers. They married and lived in Sweden for two years, using her art training to work for sign companies. Then they bought a 1932 North Sea Trawler named Fridhem (“peace home” in Swedish) and left to sail around the world: through Europe to the Canaries, across the Atlantic to Barbados, up the Caribbean to Savannah, where they started running out of money, and at last to Hilton Head, where they got jobs as strikers on shrimp boats. It was grueling, but the money Lillian made was enough to open her own sign company at age 27.

Pat Green Clark grew up in the country near Asheville, NC. “We were really poor,” she said. “I never even had a bike. I worked in the tobacco fields and the garden, and I had no friends. I was so shy.” The most exciting day of her childhood was when her daddy took her to a tiny amusement park where she rode the rides, ate junk food and enjoyed ice cream. “That was a really big deal for us, a big thing,” Pat reminisced.

Pat left Asheville at age 40 to visit a friend in Hilton Head. Less than a year later she moved into a condo on the beach, requested a job transfer to Belk on Hilton Head and carved out a life in the Lowcountry. She is affectionately known as the Estee Lauder lady at Belk, where she has been one of their top salespeople for 35 years. “Belk is family to me,” Pat said. “I’ve been to customers’ weddings, funerals and baby showers. I even get Christmas presents from some. They trust me.”

Dianne Bucklalew is the quintessential “Mama Bear,” and for good reason. She has two children—Garrett, 28, and Lexi, 26—who have Muscular Dystrophy (MD). Dianne may not be eight-feet tall, weigh 400 hundred pounds, or have sharp claws and teeth like a real bear, but it wouldn’t be a good idea to hurt or mistreat her children. For nearly three decades she has fiercely protected them and advocated for them. Muscular Dystrophy is a disease in which abnormal genes interfere with the production of proteins needed to form healthy muscle. This results in progressive weakness and loss of muscle mass. There is no cure.

Dianne is originally from Pittsburgh and has been married to her husband, Mark, for 32 years. When Garrett was born, doctors told her that he had ‘benign developmental delay,’ but it took more than three years to get the correct diagnosis of Muscular Dystrophy. Only two weeks after getting this diagnosis, Dianne realized she was pregnant. Nine months after Lexi was born she had worries about her, had her tested, and learned that she also had MD. To complicate matters even more, Lexi developed epilepsy and suffered 28 to 30 seizures a day throughout middle and high school. It took six doctors, three hospitals and six years to find the right medication. This fall will mark 10 years of being seizure-free for Lexi. Garrett and Lexi have been going to physical therapy since they were two years old. Dianne has been their primary caregiver, their medical advocate and their cheerleader.

This month’s theme is #MamaBear, tell us how many children you have and your top three Mama Bear traits! I have five children—twin girls (29) Jay Leather and Shay Jones, and three sones Eric (18), Hayden (13) and Xavier- (20) my adopted son.

My top three Mama Bear Traits are: 
Birthing Children: I am a woman, and naturally, I birth babies. This is the first and foremost trait for me as a Mama Bear.
Love and Protection- I keep my children close to me through love, cuddling, attention, affection and, most importantly, protection. My babies cannot defend themselves, they are fragile and vulnerable, therefore, I will build a wall to protect my babies. However, I teach them as they grow through guidance, observation and being aware of their surroundings until they are fully equipped themselves. This mama bear will go to the plate for her babies!
Being Supportive and Cultivating Independence in My Children. I will always help my children follow their dreams and provide plenty of encouragement. It starts with understanding that they may think differently than me and also allowing them to make their own decisions. As a parent, I tend to make the majority of decisions for the younger ones, but it’s healthy for them to find ways to express themselves such as listening to music they like, deciding the course for their future, or picking out what they wear. However, I still provide sound-minded guidance and constructive criticism. Creating an environment that gives them autonomy is important. 

It’s said that “time heals all wounds” but anyone who’s lost a child would be quick to dispute this. Because the truth is, no amount of time can mend the hole left in the lives of those whose child has passed. This kind of loss shatters the reality that previously existed and forever changes the future. The ensuing grief doesn’t come with an expiration date. There is no “moving on.” The best a parent can do is cope with the pain and keep their child’s memory alive —protecting that memory like a mother bear—refusing to let even death itself dim the light their child was brought into this world to shine.

On January 6, 2017, Christine Whiteleather said good-bye to her son, Caleb, for the last time. A freshman at Winthrop University, he was heading back to college after the holiday break. “I gave him a hug and told him all the things moms tell kids, like ‘drive carefully’ … ‘text me when you get there.’ And then, before he left, I said, ‘Let me give you another hug because I don’t know when I’ll see you again.’ And so, I hugged him again, told him good-bye, told him ‘I love you, Caleb,’ and he told me, ‘I love you, Mom,’ and he left.”

Less than an hour later, Caleb was hit head-on by a drunk driver on S.C. 462 (Lowcountry Drive).

Tracy Ray is a fighter. As much as she is a strong, passionate woman who is a never-say-never type of gal, Tracy once experienced complete brokenness and wasn’t sure she would survive. 

In 2011, everything in Tracy’s world turned upside down in the worst way. A tidal wave of fear, anxiety, grief and a thousand more emotions crashed over her when her 5-year-old son was abducted. “The feeling I had… no parent should ever have to experience the way I felt,” she said filled with emotion.
Wyatt, Tracy’s fun-loving, happy-go-lucky, sweet little boy was her heart and soul. Being her only child, their bond was inseparable. However, for a little over three months of 2011, this bond was ripped apart when Wyatt disappeared. Come to find out, he was stolen by someone Tracy knew.

When it comes to style, Justice Mellencamp is all about honoring the individual.

As a professional hairstylist on Hilton Head Island, she knows, “It’s not one size fits all. It’s … about getting to know the client, doing the consultation before each appointment, getting to know what they’re comfortable with. Every client is totally different.”

Like the fashion industry, however, the hair industry is often driven by trends—which may or may not work for everyone. “Pinterest can be your best friend or worst enemy,” she laughed.
In honor of individuality, Justice isn’t afraid to gently push back when clients ask for a trending hairstyle or color, if only to be sure it’s what they really want. “Why do you need to do what everybody else is doing to be trendy if it doesn’t fit your personal style or your personal look?” she said. “Be yourself! What do you feel would look good on you? Let’s work together to achieve that.”