Day 3 of trying to make something almost everyday. I made a picture!
This is the big blue whale on route 66 in Catoosa, Oklahoma. We took my son’s girlfriend there this afternoon. We told her we were going to take her to see the whale and she was pretty excited until we told her it wasn’t a living blue whale. Then when she saw it she thought it was soooo cool!
I don’t make new years’ resolutions. I did it once and didn’t even get through the first two weeks before I broke the resolution. So this is not a resolution: I’m just going to try to make something almost every day. New Years day I made dinner. Does that count? January 2nd, I made this tree for my son to put on his computer.
I cut it out of vinyl with my Silhouette machine. I love that I can cut out just about any design I want on it. A few days before I had drawn and cut out this little guy for my computer:
He is really cute when the apple lights up.
Happy 2013! Here's to the new year!
I haven’t done much painting lately but I thought I would share a little of my experimenting with salt. In case you don’t know, when salt is placed on the wet dye, the dye is pulled toward the piece of salt. The affect is dependent on how damp the silk is, the dye itself, even the humidity. The dye will continue to be pulled toward the salt until the silk is completely dry. It happens sooooo slowly — it’s kinda like watching grass grow.
The above picture was done with some fine solar sea salt. I painted some red and blue along with the black to add some interest. Here’s a close up:
I think some of the patterns look like feathers on birds’ wings. It is fun to see how different people react to this scarf. Everyone seems to want to share what they see in it. This was painted on Habati silk.
The scarf above was also sprinkled with the solar sea salt. It looks completely different, doesn’t it? I call this one “Midnight rain” because it looks like sprinkles to me.
See how different the dye can look!
The scarves above were have new homes with daughters of my friend Robin.
Now for something completely different. This is what happens when you don’t think anything is happening so you become impatient and you spritz the silk with water (with the salt on it) then go to out to dinner with your husband.
How fun is this!!!
The bottom line is, you never really know what you are going to get when you sprinkle on a little salt. The only thing you know for sure is that you are going to get a really neat texture. So, sprinkle away.
Until next time…
(and links so you can check them out):
1. I wish I had seen Jackson Browne and Sara Watkins at the Ryman (http://www.ryman.com/; http://www.jacksonbrowne.com/; http://sarawatkins.com/).
I have to tell you a story about Sara Watkins. Our hometown Claremore, OK has the Bluegrass and Chili Festival every year. About 2001 (I think), some musicians which were going to play the Chili Fest went to my kids’ elementary school and I think they played a song (not really sure). Of course, the kids wanted to go to see them perform at the chili fest so we went and watched them that night. They were Nickel Creek: Chris Thile, Sean Watkins and Sara Watkins! They were amazing. After the show, my son said, “their music makes me feelhappy.” The way he said it, it sounded like he was experiencing a physical feeling of happiness. I thought that was so cool! We purchased a CD and the band signed it. While we were getting it signed, I told Sara Watkins that it was so nice of them to visit the school and I told her what my son had said. She was wonderfully sweet about it. They were so young and so nice to everyone.
I really wish I had seen Ms. Watkins and Jackson Browne in Nashville (I’ve loved Jackson Browne’s music since high school).
2. I wish I had gone inside the Union Station hotel (http://www.unionstationhotelnashville.com/about-us/history) . We passed it several times on our way to downtown but I never found the time to go in.
3. I wish I had taken the Grand Ole Opry tour and gone to a show at the Opry (http://www.opry.com/). A friend took the tour and then saw the show and they thoroughly enjoyed both.
4. I wish I had gone to Cheekwood Museum and Gardens (http://www.cheekwood.org/Home.aspx). After looking at their website again, I can’t believe I didn’t go. It looks sooooo cool! While we were in Nashville, Cheekwood was having a tree house exhibit. Now wouldn’t that have been great to see? (I Googled images for Cheekwood Treehouses and found lots of pictures. This website had a few but you really ought to Google it yourself (http://acrosstennessee.com/2012/08/treehouse/).
5. I wish I had peeked over the fence to get a picture of the guitar-shaped swimming pool. On our NashTrash tour the guides said it was “the most famous swimming pool you are never going to see.” According to them, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley swam in there! You can see it on Google maps by going to Music Circle and Division in Nashville. If you zoom in too much a building will block it, but I discovered something new! (Ok, you’ve probably known it all along – just humor me and think – “wow, that’s neat!”) If you zoom in too much then you turn the little compass in the upper left corner until the N is on the right, you will be able to see the guitar. Admit it, this is new to you too.
6. I wish I had seen more live shows. In a town where every open door has live music pouring out, there are really no excuses for not seeing more shows.
I guess I’ll just have to go back!
What follows are some pictures that didn’t fit in the previous two posts. I hope you enjoy.
These guys (there were two of them) greeted us each time we arrived at or departed the hotel. They were kind enough to give us an indication of the weather forecast for the day.
Cute little signs around our hotel.
Printer’s Alley sign says: “Rich in the heritage of American history, world famous Printers Alley carries a hundred year tradition of entertainment excellence. Millions of visitors have been entertained here by time honored guests ranging from W.C. Fields of Vaudeville days, to today’s superstars of stage, screen and television. These cobblestones have been trodden by five U.S. Presidents and scores of international diplomats. People from all walks of life… from all over the world come here to enjoy the variety of entertainment offered in Printers Alley. History surrounds you here. The walls of these buildings bespeak our age and heritage and serve as constant reminders of our historic entertainment past. We are proud of our heritage and prouder still to offer it to you our patrons. Thank you for visiting world famous Printers Alley.”
In an alley in downtown Nashville. Do you suppose this is an audition? Just some guys shootin’ the breeze and hummin’ a few bars? I don’t know.
Taylor Swift is supposed to live at the top of this building. I don’t know if it is true.
Did you forget something??? Ear buds? Phone charger? iPod? Never fear – you can get them here! (At Opryland Hotel.)
This is where we attended church on Sunday morning. The church was very friendly.
I met this cute little couple at the visitors center. We talked for at least 15 minutes. They run marathons! Seriously! He is very proud of the fact that he finishes first in his age group. I want to be just like them when I grow up. Just look at those beautiful smiles!
According to various sources, this alley behind the Ryman saw a lot of music stars as they ran over to Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge before, after and during their acts at the Ryman. (I understand performers didn’t make it back in time for their performances.)
The State Capitol.
Doesn’t this just make you want to be a country music fan?
Wait. How does that work? Don’t they have to stop first? If they’re stopped aren’t they going slower than 5 MPH? (A sign we saw at Sonic.)
Next up… things we wish we had done while we were in Nashville.
This is a continuation of the list of things we did while we were in Nashville. If you missed the first part, you can catch up here.
6. The Parthenon http://www.nashville.gov/Parthenon/– This is a replica of the one in Athens! It was built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee centennial celebration. It was intended to be a temporary exhibit but it was so well loved that it was rebuilt as a permanent structure in the 1920s (It took about 10 years to rebuild). The conference’s opening reception was held here and I am so glad we got to see it! We had a lot of time to look around the place as we munched on delicious finger foods. The basement houses a big exhibit on the history of the Parthenon and serves as Nashville’s art museum. I would say this is a must do if you are visiting Nashville.
This is Brenda Kay, Schunkums, Sheri Lynn and Trixie at the Country Music Hall of Fame. We weren’t here for the CMHoF tour; we were here to pick up a drink (our guides suggested Jack Daniels) and go to the rest room.
This poor man was harassed from the moment he introduced himself. His face is so red, it has turned purple!
7. Nash Trash Tour http://www.nashtrash.com/ – I wouldn’t recommend this to just anyone. In fact they don’t recommend it to anyone under the age of 13. Be prepared to get embarrassed and to laugh a lot. One poor single guy on our tour was picked on constantly by our tour guides, Sheri Lynn and Brenda Kay. My friend and I preempted their harassment by introducing ourselves as Trixie and Schunkums. Brenda Kay offered to let us out at the strip club to collect our pay checks. Canned squirty cheese and crackers are served during the tour but you have to squirt your own cracker. I highly recommend this tour for those without delicate sensibilities.
The Cascade Room at the Opryland Hotel.
8. Opryland Hotel – You really have to see this place to believe it. It is kind of like a small Disneyland without the rides. We didn’t stay here. We just went to see it. The $20 parking fee was worth the four hours we spent walking around inside. Our mission was to get dessert. We explored each of the five areas and looked at menus from all ten of the restaurants. We finally decided on the Irish Pub for our dessert. We were there after dark. I would like to have gone back during the day to see what a difference the light from the glass ceiling makes to the atmosphere. You could probably spend a long weekend here and never need to leave the hotel. (But then why would you want to do that when there are so many fun things to do in Nashville?)
9. Vanderbilt campus– It just so happens that our hotel was right across the street from Vanderbilt University. My husband and I took a nice walk through the campus, around the medical school then over to Music Row.
Fried green beans. Yum, yum!
10. Ate lots of fried food– we have a rule in our family: when we are out of town (even just a few miles out of town) we cannot eat at a restaurant that we have in our town. (Sonic is an exception – especially during happy hour). We live in a pretty small town with fairly limited dining options so it’s not hard to follow the rule. In Nashville it seems like almost everything we ate was deep fried. We even ate fried green beans! It was good food, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that I felt about ten pounds heavier by the time we left.
The green beans were from Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant. We also had sweet potato pancakes at the Pancake Pantry. Every time we went by the place there was a line out the door. It didn’t matter what time of day. The food is just that good!
Next up – some pictures that just didn’t fit anywhere else in these posts. Then – a list of places we wish we had visited while we were in Nashville.
1. The Bluebird Café http://www.bluebirdcafe.com/–
We had a great time! We went on Sunday which is song-writers night. They have two shows but once you are inside you can stay for both. Only song writers perform and they only perform material they have written themselves. The first show was a writer named Brad Cole http://www.bradcolemusic.com/. He put on a great show. The next show was probably 10 to 12 different writers performing about three songs each. They were all really good! The Bluebird hosts great song writers famous and not-so famous. Judging from my one-time experience, I would think you would get a great show any night of the week. If I ever go back to Nashville – this will definitely be on my to-do list.
2. Ryman Auditorium tour http://www.ryman.com/ – The Ryman is called the Mother Church of Country Music. It is part music hall and part museum. It claims to have the 2nd best acoustics in the world. It was built in 1892 as a great tabernacle by a businessman/steamboat captain for Rev. Sam Jones. Through the years it has been used for church, political rallies, community events and lots different kinds of entertainment. It served as the home of the Grand Ole Opry for 31 years. The tour was great; the venue is amazing. Name a band, singer or songwriter and I bet they’ve been on the Ryman stage. Oh, I’ve been on there too. When you take the tour, there is a little roped off area that is actually part of the stage. I sang, “la la la la al” just so I could say I sang on stage at the Ryman. I’m so glad I did this. Jackson Browne and Sara Watkins were playing the Ryman while we were there but we had to attend another event that night. Jackson Browne is one of my absolute favorites – I was soooo sad to miss him.
Picture: This is the Pedal Tavern. There is music, a bartender and a driver. The guests sit on the outside and pedal while they drink. In these two pictures they are stopped at a stop light. When the light turned green, the driver shouted, “pedal – let’s go – pedal” (you can see him in the second picture serving up some brew as they waited at the light).
3. Walking around downtown – especially 2nd Avenue & Broadway. I really wish the boys had been with us. I think they would have loved just walking down the street and hearing live music pouring out of every open doorway.
4. The Country Music Hall of Fame – If I were a country music fan, I’m sure I would have gotten more out of this. It was very well done. The building itself is fascinating. It looks like piano keys and from the air it supposed to look like a bass clef. There is a huge new building being built next door which is supposed to look like a guitar from the air.
5. Hatch Show Prints – This letterpress poster shop has been around since 1879! Their walls are covered with shelves and drawers of type and they have the old-fashioned crank-type letter press machines. You can go in there and watch them crank out posters. While I was there, they were making Carrie Underwood (fellow Okie) posters in pink. They have two cats and a puppy that run around the shop. Well, I think they more sleep than run but you get the idea. One cat is BIG and fat, the other cat is normal but they say it’s a bit cranky (that could be a pun since they “crank” out posters – it makes sense they would have a cranky cat – ha ha). The puppy was locked in a kennel but he was cute.
I’ll put more of the things we did in the next post. See you then!
Every year my husband attends a conference. Every year this conference is in a different city. The conference has made for some very nice vacations for me and the boys. My poor husband has had to work, but the boys and I would get to know a new city every year! Most of the time we would drive to the conference so we had some pretty awesome road trips.
This year the conference was in Nashville, Tennessee and it was our first conference without at least one of the boys (well, since Ben was born). Kinda sad, really. Ben was working and Alex was on a mission trip to Costa Rica.
In the past I would spend months finding out as much as I could about the location and all the things to do there. I was trying to keep the boys entertained and I wanted their experiences to be as enriching as possible. This year was different. I didn’t do any planning! Next year I will be doing the planning again. I just felt like I let a great opportunity slip by me – the opportunity to get to know a really cool city.
This year was my husband’s 21st year in the conference. He was inducted as a life member which means he doesn’t have to be appointed every four years. Great news for us! He gave a short speech and we got to go to the life-members dinner. I’m so proud of him.
(This is a really blurry picture of him speaking at the conference.)
Next I’ll tell you some of the things we (mostly I) did in Nashville.
Colorado is so beautiful! This picture was taken last year in Vail. We were enjoying beautiful weather, scenery and flowers while our fellow Oklahomans were suffering through heat and drought.
Like the Woodland Sunflowers from a previous post, I used these purple Lupine flowers as inspiration for a painted scarf.
I mixed up some sodium alginate to use as resist but I made it too thick. (I was pretty impressed with myself that I was able to mix it at all!) You can see that the line kept its color very well. However, in several places the line was so thin that the dye bled through. In spite of its imperfections, I still really like this piece.
Rainbows in Waterfalls 