Philip Juras: The Art of the Wild

With only one small guest lodge set amid its 11,000-acre expanse, Georgia’s Little St. Simons Island stands as one of the few remaining examples of the undeveloped coastal South. For the artist Philip Juras, the barrier island has also been a goldmine of inspiration. The Augusta native’s new book and accompanying exhibit, The Wild Treasury of Nature, focus exclusively on Little St. Simons and bringing the pre-settlement South to life. The collection includes maritime forests, ever-changing sandbars, marshes erupting with flowers (“The size of dinner plates!” Juras says), and an approaching storm across an empty beach. “Being able to see these places that haven’t been tampered with and have grown naturally is amazing,” Juras says. “I want to help in saving some of these environments that are under a lot of pressure to develop. It comes down to, I want you to love the places that I love, and get you to care about these places like I do.”