Tag: Round Top

Posted on in ideas, Inspiration

awesome april (day 7) – the rediculous

Part 3 of 3 – “keeping your sense of wonder” – the ridiculous

Saturday traffic in a town with a population of 90: rediculously slow
the Saturday traffic was ridiculously show

As I explored the fields of antiques, collections and plain-ol’ junk this weekend at the Antiques Weekend in Round Top and Warrenton, I found a lot of things that bordered on the ridiculous.

Holy Photobomb
Holy Photobomb

I found this watercolor on a table of a tent that had been really picked over.  I can’t imagine why this gem hadn’t been scooped up yet.  But I have to say, it made me laugh.  Kudos to the artist for making whatever the heck they wanted to.  Looks like a painting done from a photograph of a heavily mulleted and moustached guy, clad in plaid in front of  a sculpture of Jesus, which is itself in front of two other paintings, one of a western landscape and one of The King himself.  (I imagine the challenge was to see how many clichés one could put into one small work of art). So now I have provided you with a iPhone photograph of a painting of a photograph of a sculpture, two paintings and a guy.  And since you can see the reflection of my hands, I guess you could also call it a selfie.

There was a particular tent that gave me a lot of material for the topic of “ridiculousness”.  The proprietor was quite a work of art herself.  She seemed to have a strange obsession with doll parts, and tended to put doll heads on any vertical type of post she could find.

doll head menagerie
menagerie of doll heads

Although some of my friends on Instagram found this pretty disturbing, I was fascinated.   I didn’t find it too scary, but I also didn’t look any of the dolls in the eye and just kept moving.

random anatomy
mix and match

The same person also had a nice collection of random (mannequin) body parts, carelessly piled on the ground like an open grave.

Stacked (Torsos)
Stacked (Torsos)

So what does all of this mean?

As artists, we are often expected to visually make sense of this world.   We make a lot of things that make sense only to us.  Sometimes there are things that we can’t verbalize, but are still important to our art making process.

Inverted Pelvis
Inverted Pelvis

Sometimes things just don’t have to make sense.  They just make us wonder!

 

Posted on in ideas, Inspiration, Life

awesome april (day 6) – the nostalgic

Day 2 of 3 of “keeping a sense of wonder”   — the nostalgic

1930s drafting table
1930s drafting table

As I mentioned on my previous post, I sometimes have to take myself out of my everyday habitat in order to find that sense of wonder.  I headed south for the weekend to Round Top, Texas, famous for their Antiques Week every spring and fall.    Ever since high school, I have liked to go to antique shops and flea markets.  I remember heading out by myself to the quirky antiques shop on the square in Honey Grove, or the trades day in Bonham.  I would wander around, not looking for anything in particular, but would always find weird old things that spoke to me.  Of course, these were just gateway junking experiences,  grooming me for my first dumpster-diving high during my freshman year of college.

True fact: "Little Miss Muffet" was my CB handle as a little girl.
True story “Little Miss Muffet” was my CB handle as a little girl.  My mom was Bo Peep.

In Round Top & Warrenton, there is always so much to look at. But as a DIY kind of girl, I prefer the fields of random junk over booths of prettied-up crafty things.  We found a little treasure amongst the piles of rust —  a momento to remind my husband of good times at his Grandma Ginny’s house.  He remembers sitting on a similar stool in her kitchen when he was a kid.  It’s still really sturdy – they don’t make ’em like they used to.  Now, if I can just figure out how she made her fudge so magical.

A stool like Grandma Ginny's
A stool like Grandma Ginny’s

My main shopping mission this time was to find a set of lockers for my bathroom.   After scouring the grounds, I had found three possibilities — but there really was only one that I wanted.  So I stalked.  I approached.  I bargained.  I walked away.  I came back the next day when they were packing up.  I won.

lockers
my prized purchase for the weekend

These lockers remind me of the ones I had during junior high.  I love the click the latch makes when you pull it up to open the door and  the clanking metal when you close them.   All I need is a photo montage of Ricky Schroder, Kirk Cameron, Max Headroom, Molly Ringwald, Lisa Bonet and Cyndi Lauper on the inside door and it will be like time stood still.  (Hmmmm. Maybe that’s exactly what I’ll do…..)

I didn’t really have a sense of nostalgia when I first started exploring those flea markets and antique stores as a teen, because I’d only been around a handful of years myself.  But I did have a fascination with how previous generations used different objects, and I’ve always loved things made of wood and metal.  Maybe because I grew up in a generation made of plastic.   I didn’t realize at the time that those outings were my early “artist dates,” a time to let my inner artist daydream, imagine and play.  And looking at discarded treasures is still a source of inspiration for me.  And of wonder……

 

Posted on in Inspiration, Life

awesome april (day 5) – the beautiful

Part of staying inspired and motivated as an artist is to keep your sense of wonder.  I have been working pretty hard in the studio for a while and needed to plan a time to get out and see something (re)new.  So here I am in Round Top, Texas today, exploring and being intrigued by the beautiful, the nostalgic and the ridiculous.  There is so much to share, it will take me a few days to cover it all…..

greeting us to Round Top
Welcoming Us to Round Top

First:  The Beautiful.

April in Texas is probably my favorite time (I really like late October, too).  Things are lush and green, and the wildflowers are profuse, especially in this part of the state.  I grew up in a rural area, where there were tons of wildflowers along the roads and highways.  I don’t see them as much in suburbia (with the exception of a few yards that have enthusiastic owners who spread seeds each spring), so it’s good to get out and see them in their natural habitat.  Bluebonnets in Texas never get old (just don’t ask me to paint them).

Texas Blueboonnets

We had a fast and furious time of looking at more ‘junk’ than the law allows (more on that next time).  After most of the vendors started packing up, we headed over to the square in Round Top and took an early evening stroll.  It is the most picturesque little square — if Hans Christian Andersen had been a Texan, I’m sure he would have chosen this for the setting of his fairy tales.

Part of the gardens at Haw Chapel
Part of the gardens at Haw Chapel
Trumpet Vines in Round Top Square
Trumpet Vines in Round Top Square

And the Live Oaks are gorgeous!

Live Oak Tree Round Top Square

We have a live oak next to our house, which I love (I can see it right out my studio window), but it’s really nice when they have room to spread like they do here. They are gnarly and majestic.  Sublime.

Texas Live Oak Round Top

Gypsy Vanner Horse Dragonfly Moments Round TopWe finally made it over to our rental cottage for the evening, and we had another warm welcome from this guy.  His owner, Joi told me he’s a Gypsy Vanner and Shire mix. He kind of reminded us of a Clydesdale, with his size and the long hair around his horse-ankles.  There are actually several gorgeous horses here, and sprawling green fields as far as the eye can see.

Dragonfly Moments Round Top
View from the porch of our cottage.

I’m looking forward to sitting on the porch in the morning with a cup of coffee, while I watch the horses have their breakfast,  and wonder…..