I Missed the McNay Museum

For the life of me I still can't figure out why it took me so long to go back to visit the McNay Museum (@mcnayart).  I haven't been since they opened their new wing in 2008.  It's a fantastic new space that really brings the museum up to date with an incredible amount of room for more collections.  I was also extremely pleased to find out that admission is free for current students.  (Another bonus for attending night classes.)

The Mathews Glass Art exhibit was very neat - art deco glass vases and bowls and things that were absolutely exquisite.  The Janet Lohr exhibit had a Dia de los Muertos feel to it, but it was interesting to see how the final product was created.   And really intriguing was the Gary Lang Dividing Time installation.  It is a projection of moving lines, a real-time version of some of his other works.  It was like seeing each piece being layered on top of each other as the piece evolves.  Of course, the newly acquired Picasso paintings were a must see.  I absolutely loved the current exhibit they have going on now called "Neither Model Nor Muse: Women as Artists." It showed exclusively female artists in several different mediums, even including one done by Ms. McNay herself! 

In the new wing they have a sculpture exhibit that you can actually tweet to @mcnayinfo a certain number and get a piece of trivia about the particular piece!  I totally nerded out with that.  I love learning those little things, and this is a genius way to update the old school cassette tape audio tours.  Granted, they still have a call-in system for some of the other pieces in the other galleries, but I despise talking on the phone, so this was much better suited to me.  The delay on the return message was a little long, but the info was neat enough that I actually went back to the previous pieces.  It also was a kind of electronic notice to not rush through the exhibit too quickly- to take my time to enjoy it and really look at what I'm seeing.  I feel like I appreciated the pieces more when I knew more about them, so for me it greatly added to my enjoyment of the exhibit.  I only wish it were expanded to more of the galleries!  



I loved the new wing and the Twittering.  It felt like the museum got a great update that can make it more accessible to an increasingly techie population.  The only Going to art museums always makes me wish I knew more about art history and theory.  Perhaps then I can understand the artistry more than just feeling moved by beautiful things in a small space.

Clay Casa

I had an artistic urge recently and I decided to make myself a new clay coffee mug.  There's only one clay painting place in town, Clay Casa in the Embassy Oaks area behind 281 and Bitters.  It had the obligatory cute funky artist type people working there.  The selection of pieces was decent, but my previous experience at Clay Dreams in Boston had a bunch more.  I was intrigued by the dog-tag like pieces made for necklaces, but they were out.

I decided on two travel coffee mugs, one for me and one for the dude.  They're a solid color background with a free-handed pattern on the top and monogram letters.  His was blue with black diamonds; mine was yellow with a dark green Celtic braid.  It took me a couple very relaxing hours at the shop to complete the painting. It was the perfect things for me to do that day.  Something out of the house, relaxing, and creative. 

I went back a week later and they were good to go.  His turned out darker than I was expecting, but he liked it well enough.  I am really proud of  myself on the braid design on my mug.  It turned out really great!I can't wait to bring it in to show off at work.   Added bonus: if you do another piece when you pick up a previous piece, the studio fee is waived!  I picked a vase that I did in the same scheme as the candlestick I did in Boston that I'll use as a pencil holder on my desk at home. I still want to do the dog-tag pieces later on.  I'm just hoping they're there the next time I stop in. 

Inked

This weekend hosted the sixth annual Alamo City Tattoo Show, where I spent the majority of my weekend.  It had more than eighty booths, some of which where merchandise and supplies, but most were of out of town tattoo artists.  Most of those were from Texas. My original goal for attending this event was to review portfolios and interview local artists to get some work done sometime in the future.  I drug Courtney, Andrea, Brittany, and Amanda to attend with me.  And with them supplying second opinions and support, I surpassed my original goal and got inked.

I had a unique request for the concept of my tattoo.  At least, it seemed unique to me.  I wanted a visible secret, something that you wouldn't notice unless you looked for it.  I already had the design picked out too: a dual Celtic trinity knot.  In the pagan Celtic mythology, the trinity knot was a kind of homage to the female deity.  It represented the three stages a woman goes through in her life: the virgin, the mother, and the crone.  After the Christian invasion of the area, the trinity know was adopted by the Church as another symbol of the Holy Trinity.

The artist who finally did my piece was Erica Long from Majestic Tattoos in Pasadena, Texas.  She was able to match an ink color to my skin tone.  When it heals, you'll only be able to see my tattoo if you're looking for it.   This is my first tattoo, and I'm not gonna lie, it hurt, as evidenced by the expressiveness of my face during the process.  It only took thirty minutes or so to complete the piece, as much time as it took to set up.

Andrea was inspired by the design I chose and got the same for her, again in her skin tone color.  She said getting it on her wrist was more painful than either of her other tattoos.  But it didn't hurt near as much as Courtney's, whose stretched down her side from rib cage to hip bone and took five hours to do.  Her tree piece is beautiful and she showed so much strength in the process of getting it.

 

There was a lot of skin showing at the convention center this weekend.  Male, female; tall, short; skinny, not-so-skinny.  The fabulous thing about the popularization of tattooing in recent years:  appreciation of the human body in all its forms, acceptance of individuality, and a higher prevalence of healthy self image.  The Miss Tattoo contestants had pin-up hair and makeup styles which, to me, juxtaposed classic beauty themes with the more modern expressions.   Though the large woman walking around in a thong to display her leg and butt tattoos was a little too much for me, I appreciate the obvious display of her comfort in her own skin. 

After a couple of long days out in Live Oak, I count the time well spent.  I wonder though, if anyone else noticed that they forgot to print the hand stamps in mirror image. 

 

San Antonio Really Is Cool

Often enough I tend to think that San Antonio is deficient in culture and activities that other large Texas cities have in spades.  But as I venture outside of the little sphere of my daily commute, I find that the city really is interesting.  Last weekend was a great example.

The Pearl Brewery was an icon of the city until its operations closed in 2001.  Since then, it has been bought out and is now in the process of turning into a place of interest for both locals and tourists.  The most well known institution to set up shop in the complex is the Culinary Institute of America-San Antonio.  I didn't get a chance to see it, but it definitely has created a hub-bub of conversations.  The Riverwalk and river tours have expanded so reach all the way from the River Walk to the Pearl Brewery.  The newly landscaped river on the back side of the brewery is very pretty.  Right now there is even more construction going on as lofts are being built out in and around the original brewery.  Run Wild Sports has sponsored several of the local races I've done. For those with small kids, the Twig bookstore has a wonderful storyteller.  I think my twin sister enjoyed the storyteller more than my niece or nephew.

Now, every Saturday the complex sports a farmers market that is gaining popularity.  There were a couple dozen vendors when we were there, and maybe a hundred or so people milling about.  Local produce is common, but there were at least two bakeries, one lavender farm, a lamb vendor, and a bison vendor.  I was incredibly intrigued by the latter two, which I will have to come up with an excuse as to why I should get some of their wares.  There are different cooking demonstrations by local chefs each week as well live music.  Many people brought their dogs on the morning we went.  I spent quite a bit of time making sure my nephew didn't get too close to the unfriendly ones.   I didn't get to spend as much time there as I would have liked, but fully intend to go back on my own soon.

Another cool event I first heard of by noticing one of those over-the-street banners: the San Antonio Highland Games.  Later on, I heard them talking about it on a morning local talk radio spot.  It was held in the Helotes Festival Grounds, which is home to one of the most popular Fiesta events.  The main reason for this is to provide competitive event for professional "heavy athletics."  I didn't understand the rules of the single event that we saw, but it would have been cool to see some of the other events.  I found it interesting that a kilt and stockings are required attire for competitors.  (For Chris W. - I saw quite a few Utili-kilts!) We missed the dog events, but saw a troop of Irish dancers and several groups playing Celtic music.  I don't do Guinness, but I did have a couple pints of Belhaven which isn't as dark as Guinness, but is a very deep brown and has a woody taste.  I really want to see more of the athletic events, so I will probably try to go to this event next year.  Coolest thing - it took Mom three or so hours to remember the surname of our Scottish ancestors, but we have a crest! 

Rosencrantz and Gildenstern Are Dead

For Amanda’s birthday, Brittany and I took her out to dinner and to see a stage performance of Rosencrantz and Gildenstern Are Dead.  I oh-so-cunningly got to pay for the theater tickets and dessert, much to Amanda’s chagrin.  It definitely was a birthday of WIN!  Check out her recollection of the evening here!

We went to Paesano’s in the Quarry where Amanda got a Seared Tuna, Brittany got the Lobster Linguine, and I got Coriander-Crusted Salmon and we shared the Grand Marnier Souffle.  The bread selection was more varied than the Paesano’s on 1604 since they have a bakery on location in the Quarry.  The Grand Marnier soufflé was very nice - not super sweet, but sufficiently indulgent. All of the dishes were fantastic, per usual.

The play was at the Sterling Houston Theater in the Blue Star Arts complex downtown.  It was my first time to this theater and my second time to the Blue Star district at all.  I definitely want to go back again, perhaps to try out the Blue Star Brewery or Casbeers.  The theater itself was small, probably seating no more than a hundred people on small risers facing a floor stage.  We got seats on the second row stage right side.  We were really close to the stage and they were great seats.

I remember seeing the original Tom Stoppard movie (on VHS) in high school after we studied Hamlet.  My mom, as a statistics teacher, likes to quote the opening coin-flipping scene in some of her lessons. But other than that, I barely remembered the content of Hamlet, much less Rosencrantz and Gildenstern Are Dead.  

The San Antonio Shakespeare Company put on a really well done performance.  The actors did a really great job and the staging was great.  The title pair confuse their names, so I will refer to Guildenstern as the talkative one and Rosencrantz as the oblivious one.  My favorite performance was Guildenstern’s, and I got to shake his hand after the show.  It was hard to follow along with the Guil’s logic, but that’s kind of the point.  He talks himself in circles.  I was still really impressed by Rosencrantz.  I loved the small mannerisms Ros used instead of words to portray the character.  Alfred, the token transvestite, was also a great addition to the cast.  I was originally put off by Hamlet, thought his “insanity” was overdone, especially with the crazy-eyes he used.  After reading Hamlet, now I think it was a good choice.   We went from laughing with and at the cast at the beginning to at the edge of our seats at the end.  I felt attached to the characters, so their death made me tear up a little.  Truly a great performance.

Afterward I did manage to get through Hamlet.  Hamlet really is a player, in both the actor and a**hole sense of the word, though it is explained as his way of dealing with his father’s death.  The only person he’s even honest around is Horatio.  To everyone else he presents a different face.  Hamlet is funniest when he’s with Polonius, Ophelia’s father.  He wordsmiths circles around Polonius using completely sound logic that sounds insane.  He sends Ophelia long letters but is a jerk to her face, part of what drives her to instability and suicide.  Ros and Guil get called in by the King and Queen to try to find out what’s bothering Hamlet.  Hamlet finds out and becomes insincere and evasive with Ros and Guil in an effort to thwart the King’s desires.     

Rosencrantz and Gildenstern Are Dead flips Hamlet so that the minor characters become major and vice versa.  The action follows Ros and Guil as they get called to Denmark to help the King and Queen to discover why Hamlet is acting so weird. They do everything they are asked to do, but still end up dead at the end.  

I only read an analytical summary of the play rather than reading the original, but it was really eye opening.  Death is a huge theme in the play, in particular the inability to accurately portray death onstage.  Guil ends up deciding that death is failing to reappear, so at the end Ros and Guil disappear off the stage instead of dying onstage like the players.  Fate versus chance is also a major theme, first shown in the unlikely coin toss at the beginning.  Is it chance that Ros gets over a hundred “heads” in a row, or is it fate?

Tom Stoppard did a fantastic job with Rosencrantz and Gildenstern Are Dead and the end result is a play I wouldn’t mind analyzing in detail.  I think I would do well to never have to read Hamlet again.  I’ll be looking at San Antonio Shakespeare Company to see what else they put on in the future.  And I’ll definitely try to get down to the Blue Star Arts district soon.  This just proves that San Antonio really is arts-friendly, you just have to know where to find it!

Happy National Tortilla Chip Day!

I hope you all enjoyed your National Tortilla Chip Day celebrations!  Mine was a blast! 

As always, National Tortilla Chip Day is on February 24th.  The exact origin of the holiday is unknown.  Skeptics of the holiday still cite rumors that a tortilla chip manufacturer created the holiday as a marketing ploy, but they lack originality and are just riding the coattails of similar arguments for Christmas, Penguin Awareness Day, and Valentine's Day.

My National Tortilla Chip Day celebration was made complete by the companionship of the always lovely Brittany (@lights_aurora on Twitter).  We shared insights on Latin guitar music, middle-aged Latina women, and shirts with built-in-bras.

The venue of choice for our night was Luna, a local club that I frequent infrequently. I absolutely love this venue.  It may not look like much from the outside, but once you step inside, you are instantly transported to a very cool lounge where you are instantly cooler.  I love the red tables and chairs, the red curtains, and the blown-up jazz album covers as the wall art.  They had remodeled since the last time I've been there, and I loved how accessible the stage and performers felt.  If you go, look for all the monkeys they have around the bar!

Speaking of performers, Border Palace have a standing gig on Wednesday nights.  They were the group I heard when I went to Luna last and have been meaning to go back to hear them again since.  It's a shame it's taken me this long to go to hear them play.  Their music is amazing.  They're just two brothers with guitars, but they use the complete range of the guitar as an instrument.  Their music got me into classical and latin guitar music, which has become some of my go-to music for writing, bubble baths, and mellowing out at work. From their sets this week, I loved "Aqua" from their first CD and their rendition of "Oye Como Va."


I wasn't a huge fan of the girl who came in to play between their sets.  There was something about her voice that didn't quite jive for me.  The only song of hers I liked was a cover of a Bob Dylan song, and I'm pretty sure that it's just because the original song was that good. 

Oh, and we got free tortilla chips and salsa while at Luna.  

San Antonio Symphony Presents John Williams

Since I've graduated college, I have changed my involvement in the arts to one of being a patron, since that is something those particular industries need. I made another resolution for 2010 to remedy this: to do one artsy-fartsy thing each month.  For January, it happily coincided with my decision to take Mom to a San Antonio Symphony Pops presentation of John Williams music for her birthday.

I was reminded of how much I enjoy the symphony.

The concert was preceded by dinner at Rosario's, which was the first time Mom has been there.  It's in the King William district and on the main route for the First Friday art exhibits. I had the Pollo con Mole though I opted for the sauce on the side.  It comes "smothered" by default, but the smaller amount was very enjoyable. 

The venue was different than the previous concerts I attended, this time at the Municipal Auditorium. It was a beautiful facility in an art deco style and one of San Antonio's historic sites.  It appeared to seat more people than the Majestic Theater where I've been before.  Most of the floor seats were occupied.  There were a lot of school age kids there, which is a definite difference from the what I perceived to be the normal crowd.  Added bonus: more knee room than the cheap seats at the Majestic.

The concert was very good.  I knew almost every one of the tunes, which made the concert fly by.  I think my boyfriend was embarrased by Mom and me bobbing our heads in time with the music.  They played a lot of the memorable themes from Star Wars, Jaws, E.T., Superman and Harry Potter.  Everybody knows those, right? They also played the theme from NBC news, which was much more beautiful in its full form than the sound bytes that you normally get.

Two songs from my high school band career stand out in my mind as incredibly fun to play.  They were both John Williams tunes and they both made the program: Cowboys and 1941.  Both of these were written before Star Wars and his catapult into legend.  I remembered how much it physically hurt to play those tunes during rehearsal and I felt bad for the horns and trumpets who had to play a whole two hours of similarly ranged music. 

There were two solo pieces.  The first on the program was "Viktor's Theme" from The Terminal which featured a clarinet solo.  It was an amazing piece.  The principal clarinet did a fantastic job with it.  It makes me want to watch the film again so I can listen for the theme applied in context.  The second was the theme from Schindler's List.  The piece is both moving and haunting, but I did not love the concertmaster's performance. There's something about fast vibrato that irritates me whenever I hear it and I especially don't think it worked for this piece.

This was my first Pops concert, so I wasn't expecting their "special effects."  They had characters in costume acting onstage intermittently throughout the concert.  It seemed really hokey and detracted from the experience.  But they weren't for me.  They were for the little kid sitting next to us who pretended to be the conductor and then totally geeked out when Darth Vader took over the podium for the Imperial March from Star Wars.  And for him, it rocked. 

Again, I was inspired by a symphony concert.  Listening to classical music always fills me with all the best hopes for myself and my future, with my shooting star dreams.  And best of all, it gives me a whiff of courage to continue towards those things, no matter where I've made it on my journey thus far. 

I highly encourage anyone to attend an arts event in their city if they haven't in a while.  Our cities are filled with creative and talented people who need an audience.  I know I'm going to go back for more as soon as I can.