Pretty Darn Great

A Most Excellent Handi-Hour at the Renwick

Looking for a way to create some fun crafts in a gorgeous setting while drinking really good beer in a glass you'll get to take home? Look no further than the Renwick's Handi-Hour....

When wonderful Mariah suggested going to the two-drink-ticket and all-you-can-craft event at the Renwick Gallery's Grand Salon it sounded fun. We got there about 6pm, 30 minutes after the start time and the place was packed with every crafty-girl in the city either making glass-pebble magnets or fabric-covered buttons.

Luckily Mariah's friend had snagged us seats at the button-making table and I got to work. 90 minutes and two beers later I'd made practically a breastplate of 9 gorgeous fabric buttons. 

(Above) A whole lotta cleavage. And yes, I remained dressed like that for the rest of the evening

I may doll some of them up further at home with jewels or sequins or rickrack but really they're plenty pretty as is. It was so much fun to make them - the three of us contemplated buying a button machine but after looking at the cost I think I'll content myself with the ones I made tonight. Can't wait for the next Handi-Hour to see what kind of fun crafts we'll do then!

 

Interested in trying out it for yourself?

Where: Renwick Gallery | 1661 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. (at 17th Street), Washington, D.C. | Orange and Blue Lines, Farragut West Metro

When: There was one tonight (http://www.americanart.si.edu/calendar/event.cfm?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D94465411); The next Handi-Hour is November 3rd (http://americanart.si.edu/calendar/renwick/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D95681725#/?i=1)

Warnings: Get there at start time for the best seating and materials.

Calder's Portraits, Over at the Portrait Gallery

Had the whole day Saturday to goof around, my favorite Art Aficionado and I decided to spend at least part of it soaking up some culture. He hadn't been to the American Art Museum/ Portrait Gallery over in Gallery Place so we hopped on the metro and got going.

There's a ton to see there - spent a couple of hours wandering the marble halls. Old and new, representational and very very abstract, some of it very easy to pose with and too irresistible not to photograph.

(Above) Me at the end of the day at the art + coffee area, posing with a friend

Our favorite part? The wonderful wire portraits/ sculptures in the Calder’s Portraits: A New Language exhibit. Didn't snag any pictures but the we were amazed at what Calder could evoke using just wire. My Art Aficionado noted that there was nothing in the technical execution that other people couldn't do (these were solely bended wires) but that the artistic vision necessary to conceive and create such expressive and intricate works out of simple materials and lines was extraordinary.

Light and funny and intriguing - Calder's portraits are a treat that you should go check out before they're gone. And be sure to tell the bronze busts on the third floor we said hi.

 

Interested in trying out it for yourself?

Where: National Portrait Gallery | Eighth and F Streets NW, Washington, D.C. 20001 | Red, Orange and Blue Lines, Metro Center Metro; Red, Green and Yellow Lines,  Gallery Place Metro | http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/exhcalder.html

When: The Calder exhibit is running through August 14th, the permanent exhibits are, well, permanent.

Warnings: Wear comfortable shoes - those marble floors are tough on the feet.

Cakes and Presents and Signs, Oh My!

Had a wonderful birthday this weekend with not one not two but three cakes, celebratory jello-shots, gorgeous presents, and more sweet birthday wishes than you can shake a bunch of sticks at.

And my Companion? From bringing me coffee, a crown, and noisemakers when I woke up, to putting up birthday decorations up around the apartment, to getting an extra birthday cake to have at home just in case there wasn't one for me at the day-of party we went to the man totally hit it out of the park.

(Above) The end of the sign strung across my balcony doors. No wonder he took so long to get coffee...

So thanks thanks thanks to all for everything sweet you did over the weekend, looking forward to repaying you in kind over the next year!

Just Folks - Hanging Out at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is one of my favorite parts of being in DC for the Fourth.  Every year they highlight three different places/groups/musical-genres and bring out all kinds of related food, craft, work, music, and fun. This year, wandering around the Mall, it was all about Colombia, The Peace Corps, and Rhythm and Blues Music.

(Above) Sign in the Rhythm & Blue section, in front of one of the stages

SS the SS is my regular Folklife Festival partner - we've gone together for several several years now  so I was glad to have her with me yesterday. We milled around all the exhibits, spending extra time hanging out with the mule in the Colombia area, and just lazing in the shade behind one of the Rhythm & Blues tents where the music was just the right loudness for both listening and quiet conversation. And of course we had some of the food - mango and sticky rice from the Southeast Asia tent in the Peace Corps section (a decent deal at $5), and though we were going to go Colombian for lunch we ended up doing Asian again (I had Pad Thai, believe she had the Panang).

Sure there were a million tourists crowding around on the Metro and at the event, the lines for water for long, and when I got home my flip-flop wearing feet were covered in seventeen layers of Mall dust. But the Folklife festival is a yearly tradition and if you live in the area you should really get yourself down there to check it out.
 

Interested in trying out it for yourself?

Where: Smithsonian Folklife Festival | Orange and Blue Lines, Smithsonian Metro | http://www.festival.si.edu/

When: June 30 - July 4, then again July 7 - July 11

Warnings: They have free filtered water, bring a water bottle.

Hall and Oates In Concert? Oh, Definitely on My List

First let me say that seeing this duo (with band) over at Wolftrap was great.  The weather was incredible  - it had rained all day but the weather was warm sunshiny clear when we arrived.  Coreen and her bro also did some very thorough planning. Plenty of blankets to lounge on? Check! More delicious food than twice our number could eat? Check! Plenty of tasty drinks including homemade margaritas? Check! 

We got there when the park opened and snagged a good spot where we had a good view of the stage and right next to the aisle so we didn't have to pretzel ourselves in twister-like contortions to get to and from our blankets.  The gang of us lounged and gossiped until the show started at 8.


(Above) Coreen and Me, taking a break from the gossiping

And how were Mssrs. Hall and Oates?  A little subdued. They started with a jazzy version of "Maneater" and including a couple of encores they played every major hit you'd want to hear. In consideration of my companions I kept my singing along to my favorite songs ("Say It Isn't So", "You Make My Dreams Come True", and "Private Eyes"). There may have been some high-pitched hooting along. By me, of course.


(Above) During one of the two encores. This photo looked so much better on my phone

So it was a complete good time.  We were talking about going to see Huey Lewis in July and hope we actually manage it!

 

Interested in trying out it for yourself?

Where: Wolftrap National Park for the Performing Arts | 1551 Trap Road | Vienna, Virginia 22182 | http://www.wolftrap.org/Plan_Your_Visit/Directions_and_Map.aspx

When: Well, this show is over and done but a calendar of upcoming show is at http://www.wolftrap.org/Find_Performances_and_Events

Warnings: If you get lawn seats get there early - we were waiting when the gates opened and managed something good but people who came in even half an hour later had a hard time.

Southern Gothic and I'm-Not-Sure-What at theTennessee Continuum

What did you do for Father's Day? Well SS the SS, Liz and I caught a couple of Tennessee Williams One-Act-Plays performed by the Washington Shakespeare Company, playing over at the Artisphere in Rosslyn. Was wonderful to spend some time with a couple of my best girls, seeing a couple of interesting one-at-plays.

Going in I had a vague idea of what to expect - "A double-bill of infrequently performed one-acts—Portrait of a Madonna is an early, poignant sketch of the character who would become Blanche DuBois and The Gnädiges Fräulein, a heartbreakingly yet hilarious ode to the indomitability of the human spirit."  

Portrait of a Madonna was exactly the kind of play I was expecting. Aging southern belle, barely hanging on financially or certainly not emotionally, haunted by memories of a long-ago flirtation from a man who's long-been married to someone else. Served kindness and derision by the people charged to take care of her, the play takes us through the last day before she's sent to an asylum. It was sad and pretty.

The Gnädiges Fräulein on the other hand, was wild. Man-sized birds buzzing by chasing characters around the stage! A one-eyed German singer disappointed and betrayed by love and show business! People catching fish in their mouths! A man dressed only in a loincloth and a long blond wig wandering the stage! Pot smoking! Women with syrupy thick  southern accents masturbating (yes really) in rocking chairs! Am still trying to wrap my head around it.

 

Interested in seeing it yourself?

Where: Washington Shakespeare Company | Playing at the Artisphere | 1101 Wilson Blvd | Arlington, VA 22209 | Orange or Blue Line Metro, Rosslyn | http://www.washingtonshakespeare.org/

When: Playing until July 3rd, tickets available at http://tickets.artisphere.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=32

Notes: Get there early for a good seat in the small theater, though really there are no truly bad seats in the house.

Black Velvet Amazingness

When Tiff and I were back in Austin last October we hung out with our friend Amanda. While wandering around the funky shops on South Congress we saw some gold lamé mexican wrestler masks and got to talking about things you could have on display in your bedroom that would freak a gentleman caller the heck out. And sure the idea of having a guy think you wanted him to wear a gold lucha mask cracked us up, and it may have ended there, but in the store in front of us there were some black velvet paintings.

Which set us on a whole other tangent - contemplating the scary (freaky clowns!), the not-necesarily-wrong-but-not-really-right (female nudes!), and the so-awesome-I-have-a-hard-time-its-really-as-bad-an-idea-as-I-know-it-is (that nude Burt Reynolds picture from the 70's!).

But then I came back home and except for occasional reminders (like Amanda posting that pic of Burt on Facebook and tagging me on it) I forgot all about it. Until I heard about this group in Tijuana that offers both a) an incredible collection of standard velvet paintings, and b) the option to have one custom painted. So am now contemplating which I want and where I'd like to hang it.

 

Interested in looking at them yourself?

Where: The Tijuana Black Velvet Painting Galleries of Indignico Inc. (http://velvetpaintings.com/galleries/galleries.shtml)

Notes: Am not sure which are scarier, the clowns or Cheney. Yes, That Cheney.

Bay to Breakers? Check!

I have a list of things I want to accomplish before my birthday this year. And yesterday, running the Bay to Breakers 12K in San Francisco, I got to check one of those things as done!

(Above) With my very heavy medal, at the end of the race

Growing up in the Bay Area I remember hearing about the race every year as a kid, and I think one year back when he was in High School going to see my brother David run in it. I was never much of a runner then but since I've started running the last few years I thought I'd give it a go.

It was so much fun! The course is gorgeous in a San Francisco way - starting near the Embarcadero, winding through city streets, through Golden Gate Park, and then down to the ocean. There's that killer Hayes Hill in mile 2 but most of the course slopes slightly downhill. Watching the people dressed in costumes was fun; they did a lot to cut down on floats and drunk people so it was a pretty tame crowd. I WISH they'd banned nudity - I had to hear miles of complaining of the lack of nude women while averting my eyes from the 10 or so nude men who we passed bouncing around. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww.

But the best part of the whole thing?  Running the race with my brother.  Appreciated him  staying with slow-pokey me, it was great to get that long time to catch up as we jogged through the city.

(Above) My brother David and I at the finish line

Afterwards our folks took us to Fentons (delicious old-school ice cream parlor over in Oakland) for post-race sandwiches and ice cream. David's boys tried on the race medals, my father made sure Everyone at the restaurant knew that we'd run the race, and I snagged some toasted almond ice cream; a thoroughly wonderful time was had by all.

 

Interested in trying out it for yourself?

Where: Bay to Breakers 12K, in San Francisco CA (http://zazzlebaytobreakers.com/)

When: The next one is on May 20, 2012

Warnings: Registration does tend to fill up early but as of right now with registration nowhere near open you have pleeeeeeeeeenty of time. In the meantime head over to Fentons (4226 Piedmont Avenue / Oakland, CA || http://www.fentonscreamery.com/) and grab a sundae.

Incredible In-House Art Exhibit

While in Bayou Blue for the wedding last week a portion of the family stayed in a humungous vacation rental house. There were probably 30 of us sleeping there and there was plenty of room to spare.  It was comfortable but the best part? The incredible collection of objects d'art strewn all over the place.

(Above) Paint-by-Number Ballerinas in the bedroom across the hall

The stuffed (bob-? wild-?) cat was a crafty one, you never knew where he'd show up. Found him sitting behind me on the couch one evening, staring creepily. Even better was the morning when my niece woke up to have him sitting right next to her head. Am pretty sure you could hear her yelp of surprise across the parish.

(Above) The unnamed cat, at rest

And then there was the showstopper, so notable that my stepmom showed it to me as soon as I walked in before I even got to put my bags down.

(Above) Now That's a Fish Story!

I don't think any pic could capture exactly what makes this photo so ... whatever it is. Maybe its the 80's hairdo. Or the fish flapping. Or the tight white shorts. Definitely the tight white shorts.

I could've spent a month there and never run out of things to marvel at.  Completely amazing!

This Year, Movies I Actually Want To See

Its not that I don't like Jazz in the Garden - several groups of friends of mine go and an evening lounging around in the sculpture garden drinking sangria while the faintest sounds of jazz filter around... its a pretty nice way to spend a Friday evening.

But I love love love love the free movies series that come up in the summer - Rosslyn has a "SNL in the Movies" series starting this week with movies starring various Saturday Night Live actors, and Crystal City is "By The Numbers" with movies with numbers in the titles. Absolutely can't wait for these, looking forward to spending hazy summer evenings watching some of the fine flicks they'll be showing!

 

Interested in seeing them for yourself?

Where: Jazz in the Garden is at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, located on the National Mall at 7th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, is bounded by Constitution Avenue and Madison Drive and by 7th and 9th Streets NW. |  Archives on the Yellow/Green Lines, and Smithsonian on the Blue/Orange Lines | http://www.nga.gov/programs/jazz/ ||| The movies in Rosslyn are at Gateway Park at Lee Highway near Key Bridge | Rosslyn on the Blue/Orange Lines | http://www.rosslynva.org/play/calendar/film-festival ||| The movies in Cystal City are at the courtyard at courtyard at 1850 Bell Street, near the Crystal City Metro | Crystal City on the Blue/Yellow Lines | http://crystalcity.org/do/crystal-screen-by-the-numbers

When: May 27 - September 9th for Jazz ||| April 29 - August 26th for Rosslyn Movies ||| June 6th - August 29th for Crystal City Movies

Warnings: Both the jazz and movies are in public places and alcohol is prohibited so either, don't drink, buy their booze (Jazz in the Garden) or follow college-rules and don't get caught.