James and I left on a road trip to Colorado yesterday and the time seemed to fly! There were a few points where I was tired of sitting, but the weather and conversation were great and the skies were so beautiful that when we finally got here we both said that it had seemed like no time at all in the car. Here's a pic of the Kansas sunset.
We're here to visit a place called 910Arts. They are doing great things here in Denver. In fact, they seem to have all of the same goals that we do for our school/gallery/living space in OKC. They have taken two large warehouses and connected them through LEED Certified building and are providing not only a place for artists to work and exhibit, but also a more affordable place for them to live. They are focused on sustainability and green living too. We're going to visit a little later today and I'm really looking forward to talking to the people who got this going. It's always good to meet and talk with ordinary people doing great things. It helps me to remember that James and I can do this!!!
After we leave 910Arts, we're going on to Vail to meet up with friends and to go to the Snowball Music Festival! Check out this schedule!!!!! I can't wait to see Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes tomorrow night!!! (Have you had enough of the exclamation marks?) And then there is Pretty Lights, Big Gigantic, Local Natives, Lotus, Bassnectar and oh yeah, The Flaming Lips!!!! I think we're in for a great weekend! :)
This past week and weekend were full of art, music and drama (the good kind). Tuesday night I went to see my friend Sarah in the Vagina Monologues at OU. The group she was with was helping to raise money for the Women's Outreach Center and to bring awareness to V-Day, a global activist movement to stop violence against women and girls. Not only was the place packed, but the performance was excellent! I was so proud of Sarah and the rest of the ladies for what they did and it was my first time to experience any of the monologues so it was a great night.
Wednesday was my mandolin lesson and I've already written about that, but I have to say it was a highlight of the week. Now I just need to practice, practice, practice!
Thursday was a day to get things done! I spent a little time cleaning, hanging pictures and getting ready for some special dinner guests. Phillip and Patrick came up to help and I should say right here that it's a pretty pleasant experience to get ready for a party with those two. They make everything beautiful! (And tasty!)
Friday was the Ghostland Observatory concert at Cain's and I boogied my rear end off! The light show did not disappoint and neither did the music! Jesse, Mick, Ross, James and I had a great time and here are some pics to prove it!
Cain's Ballroom Chandelier
Nobody can resist taking pictures of the light show!
Last year, a group of friends and I went to see them in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Here's the video I made of the light show there. I took the clips with my iPhone and then made a movie out of them. I believe the light show is a brilliant art form and I love being surrounded by it and the music. You're a part of it when you experience it first hand.
Yesterday my Material Culture class took a field trip to Forgotten Meadows, a place south of Norman in Cole, Oklahoma. A man named Rich has been building this house by hand since 1977. He has a background in setting tile and you can tell by all of the surfaces of the house, inside and out. He doesn't throw much away, as it usually ends up being a part of the house. It totally makes you rethink the value and purpose of objects and also how much we feel we need to discard. He admitted to his influences including Bruce Goff and Antonio Gaudi, but Gaudi came after he had already been building in this fashion. I think it's always interesting to see what likeness an artist has to another, especially when they've never even heard of the other. Sometimes it's just all part of a collective consciousness.
Here are some images from yesterday's field trip. It really was a beautiful day and it was so nice to be outside, in the country, with friends and in such a unique place!
I love the tall grasses.
This reminded me of something out of, "Where the Wild Things Are."
The Curved Features are What reminded me of Gaudi
Looking Down into the Kitchen
Part of the Kitchen (Check out that Pink and Black Tile on the Floor. Love it!
Hallway Between Kitchen and Sitting Area
More Kitchen (There's an Organ in the Left Background)
An Organ in the Kitchen!
You Know...Rocks. :)
Ice Cube Tray Lighting
Tile Floor
Tile Floor in the Kitchen
Inside this Structure is a Small Pool with Goldfish
Top of the Stairs
Bottles in the Walls - These Could Be Found Inside and Out.
Netha and the Creature On Top of the House
Creature Keeping Watch
They Have a Trampoline! Look at Netha Go!
Have I Mentioned that I Love Trampolines Too???
Bottles in the Wall Behind a Screen
Same Image with a Hipstamatic Touch
Inside a Wood Burning Stove
Even the Dirt on the Windows Looked Like Art.
Stained Glass Window
Master Bathroom Shower - Soooooo Cool!
Cans on the Well
Rich Giving a Demonstration on How to Make a Rock.
Last night I had my first Mandolin lesson and I have to say that Jon Knudson is a great teacher. I'm so lucky to have such a talented, generous and gifted friend. We went through strumming patterns, string names, scales, chords and bluegrass style. One of the things that I thought about on the way home was the fact that music is a great metaphor for my life...maybe yours too?
When I was growing up, I took piano lessons from the time I was in the third grade until my junior year of high school. I can remember my dad asking me if the word, "crap," was written into the music because, while practicing, it would jump out of my mouth every time I made a mistake. Most of the time I made those mistakes because I was in a hurry.
Last night, I learned how to make a percussive sound on the strings without playing any tones. (I always wanted to know how to do that!) I realized that by pushing down harder on the strings, I was actually working against my goal and I would get an awful sounding chord. But if I lightly touched the strings and strummed, I would get that snare-like, percussive sound I was going for.
Both of these lessons ironically apply to my life. Because of all that I am trying to accomplish with finishing my masters, getting the building renovated, starting the non-profit and still having time for my family and friends, I find myself pushing and forcing, in order to fit it all in. I understand the importance of working with people and getting to know them is mandatory. I want to know the character of those that I will bring into my project. I also know that I can accomplish more for the people I want to serve if I work with other organizations, so it's imperative that I start to form those relationships now. It's all for the good of people, but I'm also realizing that if I don't take care of myself, I won't have anything to give. And if I don't slow down, what I have to give won't be of much quality anyway.
This applies to school, work and even to those that I love. It's easy to get caught up in pushing and pushing to make things happen, but people don't want to be pushed. I know I don't. So it's back to finding the balance between making things happen and letting people do their thing. And I feel that if I slow down and if I have a light touch with others, it will make all the difference. Thanks, music, for being such a great teacher.
Fridays are work days with James because I have class the rest of the week and need to be studying. This was probably one of the most productive work days we've ever had and I'm excited about everything that we did! We had our first meeting with the Oklahoma Center for Non Profits and I'm so glad we went because we learned A LOT! The meeting wasn't even that long but we were given so much information about how to get this school started and all of the steps we need to take. We're so fortunate to have a place like this so close by because I know we're going to have a million questions, but the ladies we met with said that they were excited for us and wanted to see us succeed. Yay!
Afterwards, we ate a late breakfast/early lunch at Classen Grill and reviewed what we learned, made a list of things we need to do and made a timeline for getting them accomplished. It feels good to have a plan and some direction of where to go next. We're pretty much just feeling our way through this process so guidance is a huge blessing. One thing that we discovered today is that because we are incorporated with the Secretary of State, we are already allowed to start fundraising. I thought we would have to wait until we received our 501(c)3 status, but for 27 months after you are incorporated, donations can still be tax deductible for donors, so we can really start making plans now and seeing what we can raise. And guess what! A very kind and awesome friend at Chipotle in Norman has contacted me because he wants to have a fundraiser for us. This could be our first one! We'll have a meeting sometime next week to start planning it. Have I mentioned lately how overwhelmed with gratitude I am? It's almost surreal how everything is falling into place!
After we ran a few errands, James and I met up with Justin Witte, Jo Wise, director of the Paseo Arts Association, and Diane. We talked about all things music for the Paseo Arts Festival. It's going to be so much fun! If anyone out there would like to volunteer, we'll need your help! The meeting went so well and I'm looking forward to working with so many great musicians. Oh! And I've put a band together so we're going to start practicing very soon and we're going to perform at the festival too. I realllllllly can't wait for that!
So to celebrate all of the goodness of the day, James and I went by the building to check out the new roof. It's hard to see in the pictures because it was only the flat part that was repaired and covered with TPO (Thermoplastic polyolefin), but this is an important step in our goal of energy conservation and efficiency so it's really just as big of a deal as the recycled material shingles that we're putting on the pitched part of the roof as early as next week! The old gal is getting a makeover! Here are a few pictures from today.
You probably can't see it but the white part of the roof (TPO) is in place and even reaches up the
backside of the pitched roof a little.
The woodwork is now in place for gutters too!
So to celebrate even further, we had a late lunch/early dinner at Iguana and sat on the patio. What a fine, fine day it was. I'm thankful for the weather and everything that we accomplished today. Now it's time to get ready for some fun. There are birthday parties and bands performing tonight. Can't wait! :)
Yesterday was full of ups and downs but I have to say the highlights were going to class, finding that the work on my house is winding up, and working a few hours at the Oklahoma Food Coop work day. Today is a delivery day so all of the people who ordered this month from Oklahoma producers will get their food! People who belong to the coop work to make this happen and they get points for doing so. Members can trade in their points for food. It's genius because it takes everybody to make it work. OH! And everyone out there who thinks I''m a little princess (yes I know who you are!) should know that I cleaned bathrooms yesterday! Ha! It was not only fun to get to work with everyone but I realized how lazy I can be and blame it on being busy. Hard work that connects you to your house or an organization you believe in is so important and rewarding. But that's a little tangent I can save for later.
Other than making new friends and helping to get ready for today, one of my favorite parts of being at the work day was getting to feed some goats. My friend and fellow member of the coop, Matt, brought his out to the field by the warehouse. After watching his daughter and another little girl play with the goats, I immediately started getting ideas of how fun it would be to have Matt over to the school, along with his goats, to talk to the kids about the place animals play in sustainability. Plus I think the kids would just like to pet and hold the "kids." Ok. Bad joke. I know. Happy Thursday!
Today marks a great occasion. I think the renovations on my house (not the backyard, but the house) might be finished. I have to say "might" so as not to jinx myself. This place has been quite a challenge since I bought it back in 2007. I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad to have an old, historic home and honestly, I'm happy with it. In fact, I love it. It's been my very expensive child. I get that term from my dad. He calls me his expensive daughter, but I swear that I'm not that bad. It's just this house. It's required a LOT of work since I moved in.
All the interior renovation and work has been finished, except for curtains. I'll be able to afford those someday. The heating and cooling system has been replaced. The new roof was put on twice, thanks to needing a new one when I moved in and then again when the hail storm hit. I've replaced the fence thanks to two fires and ice storms. The green house has been torn down and rebuilt, also thanks to the hail storm. And most recently, I got a new deck.
This deck addition was a result of squirrel. "A squirrel?" you might ask. Yes, a squirrel. One day last fall I came home to find that the pumpkins on my front steps had become a feast for something with sharp, pointy claws.
Clawed up Pumpkins
One day, I pulled into the driveway and found the culprit!
Squirrel!!!
Check out the size of that belly!
Right after the squirrel had his feast, I watched him scurry up the side of my house and disappear into my attic! Yuck! I could only imagine the mess he was leaving up there! Plus I began to wake up every morning to the sound of claws scratching the floor of the attic, which was right above my bed. It was time to do something about it.
I called my friend Moses, who does such a good job helping me with the house and told him that we needed to repair the woodwork around the attic opening where the little rodent was getting in. We were going to have to paint after that job, so I felt like we might as well fix up all of the woodwork that had been rotting around windows, doors, etc. for the past 26 years. The previous owners hadn't really paid too much attention to that. Well guess what we found in the sun room when we took siding off that needed repair. Windows were coming out of the wall! The whole wall had to be taken down and replaced before we could paint. Ugghhh!!!
So we get that wall finished and in the process one of the workmen steps through the back deck. Of course he did! The supports below and some of the wood on top was completely rotted. Are you seeing a pattern here? One job has led to another and while I want to follow a logical progression of renovations, these were things that not only amounted to a lot of money, but also much more time than I had planned on giving. What choice did I have? None. I couldn't very well have people walking around on that deck with the possibility of bodily harm. So it had to be replaced, but I calmly explained to Moses that I couldn't afford any more projects so if he or his men broke anything while building the deck, he would be responsible for replacing or rebuilding it. He very sweetly agreed.
Thanks a lot squirrel.
Aside from pulling up the concrete in the drive, front walk and around the pool, tearing down the pool house and rebuilding it, adding outdoor lighting, and a new awning and lights by the front door, I think I'm done. Haha! Seriously though, I'm done for a good long while. This stuff can wait.
In honor of all of the accomplishments of many, many people here (Patrick, Phillip, Moses and his team, Me, and many others like the other Patrick, Dan and his crew, Imants and I'm sure I'm leaving people out) here is a clip from the movie Money Pit. I posted it on my Facebook page earlier. It pretty much sums up the whole experience, complete with the "I just lost my mind" laugh at the end. I can relate. :)
Oh and here's a picture of the almost finished product. It is so close to what I imagined when I first bought the house and what I wanted it to look like. So I'm grateful. Almost as grateful as I am to be able to take a break from all of this work. I have a few other things on my plate. :)
Yesterday James and I drove past the building to find workmen on the roof! Thanks to the weather being nice, we're back in action! Right now they are laying the TPO on the flat part of the roof, but the shingles are ordered and should be here soon (for the pitched part of the building) and the first round of windows will be delivered later this week or early next week. They just need stain and paint and then they can be installed. We ordered the windows and doors from Wewoka Window Works. They're the best!
I think in a couple of months, the outside of the building will be finished. That should be enough time for the building permit to kick in and that's all we need in order for us to work on the inside! This is really happening!!!! So excited!
