TAM meeting 2008

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             This was the third Texas Association of Museums meeting that I have attended. There is always loads of great lectures, but meeting and talking with people involved in museums and obsessed with history is the real joy of the meetings. This year the TAM meeting was held in Galveston, so the evening social events included h’orderves and wine at the Bishop’s Palace, Freeto pie at the Galveston Art Center, grilled shrimp at the Ocean Star Drilling Museum, and on the final night, dancing under the wings of B 52 bombers at the Lone Star Flight Museum. How can you not love history!

Chuck and the angry inch

So I called the cats in for their dinner. As they were dancing and begging at my feet I noticed the red dots on the floor. Lots of red dots. More and more red dots! They were coming from the tip of Chucks tail! Somehow he lost the end of his tail and he was flinging blood everywhere. He didn’t seem to be in any pain, but the kitchen was starting to look like a murder scene. So I rushed him to the “late night” veterinarian, and they shaved his tail and put in a few stitches, then charged me $568.00. When we got back home at 11:45 PM Chuck was really really hungry and I needed a glass of wine.

A day in the swamp

I know that for most people the idea of spending time in a swamp brings up images of alligators, snakes, and swarming mosquitoes. Things that should be avoided, especially when on vacation. But The small town of Uncertain Texas on the edge of Caddo Lake is one of those quite hide a ways that is so special that I feel guilty telling others about it.

Caddo Lake is a hunting & fishing paradise, but if you go off season the lake will transport you to a world that is filled with the sounds of birds, frogs and yes the rumble of distant alligators.  When the sun cuts through the spanish moss covered trees the water becomes a rippling mirror. And the town of Uncertain is a culture unlike any other in Texas.

Tree carving at La Reunion

Well not only was February 2nd Groundhog day it was also the first ever event to be held at the property of La Reunion TX.

 

The focus of the event was the artistic killing of 7 trees by 7 artists, including myself. We selected sick or non-native trees to turn into biodegradable art. In this way the property will return to its natural habitat while providing habitats for bug and animals. 

 

For my project I selected a small cedar (14’ tall), removed all the branches, cleaned up the trunk, and then doweled the branches back onto two sides of the trunk. The result was a two dimensional tree that looks similar to a pressed flower.

So... what the hell comes down.

So... Today was the last day of the show. I spent it packing up art work and sending the work that sold to it’s new homes.

This has been a really great event for me. The Janette Kennedy gallery is organized so that the artist is in charge of all most every aspect of putting a show together. And I must admit that it was a lot more work than I thought. Just organizing and sending out the press releases was quite a task. In the future I will be much more thankful for all the hard work that gallery owners put into an art exhibit.

Yucatan Adventure

We spent the holidays eating and climbing our way across the Yucatan.  This was the first time I have ever been Mexico and I was a bite nervous about going. But as it turned out every day was a wonderful adventure. The history, the nature, the food, the towns and the people were all just wonderful. In the town of Izamal we ate food that I would gladly travel all the way back just to eat more of.

 

The first archaeological sites we went to was Uxmal (pictured above). It had all the classic elements of a Mayan city plus large lizards climbing all over the grounds. Some of the other sites we went to were deep in the jungle and we were the only ones there!