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Moon Dance Arts

2011-09-20T20:43:00.000-06:00

Gary and Kathy Arnold of Moon Dance Arts

Rolled and folded, forged and soldered, polished and imprinted, the precious metal jewelry pieces handcrafted by artists Kathy and Gary Arnold emerge from a paradoxical fusion of planned providence. Creating their jewelry requires constant mindfulness and impeccable technique; imparting strength with coldforming processes; wielding a torch at a specific angle to prevent the formation of fire scale; soldering different alloys of gold in a certain sequence. Their ability to manipulate the physical properties of metal is not intrinsically mysterious, given the knowledge and techniques they have acquired over nearly four decades as metalsmiths. However, the providential aspects of their creative union has resulted in distinctive artwork that is by turns whimsical, elegant, modern, and classic, making their gallery, Moon Dance Arts, a fortunate destination for visitors to Wimberley Square.

Metalwork Detail (photo courtesy of Moon Dance Arts)

The Moon Dance Arts gallery is nestled within the courtyard garden in Wimberley Square, behind The Old Mill Store. Prior to opening their gallery in 2009, Kathy and Gary showed and sold their jewelry pieces in over 750 juried shows, winning over 50 awards for their designs and workmanship.

“I made my first piece of jewelry around 1968,” says Gary. “I was a working professional industrial welder with a background in mechanical drawing and art. I applied that to my jewelry making as a hobby in the beginning, and found out immediately that everything I made would sell. In the 1970s, jewelry and art were undergoing a reawakening. I took jewelry as a serious expression and began to make it my life’s work.”

“We met in Houston at a show 37 years ago, and quite literally fell instantly in love,” says Kathy. “Gary was already building jewelry and I had completed 5 years at the University of Houston, College of Architecture, so I had a structural background. I had always been good with my hands and had dabbled in a lot of mediums. We immediately started building jewelry together as a team. In first show that we did together, by the end of the first day, I had sold every piece that I made, so I was totally hooked.”

Dancing Earrings (photo courtesy of Moon Dance Arts)

Describing themselves as metalsmiths rather than jewelers emphasizes their artistic medium of choice and area of forte. The gemstones that once appeared in their jewelry were abandoned in favor of the subtle colorations of white, rose, and yellow gold. Their multi-hued gold designs overlaid on sterling silver backdrops, and sinuous twists and folds of contrasting textured metal, form wearable art.

“We both love composition and finding interesting ways to break up the negative space. We hand construct each piece using sheet and wire, in a variety of different dimensions and thicknesses of metal,” says Kathy.” “Each piece we individually build, as you would construct even something out of paper, like a collage. We do a lot of forging because we believe that a piece of jewelry should last a lifetime, and knowing how to work with the materials, which relate to the concept of smithing, we use various techniques to enhance the strength.”

“Our primary interest is art in metal. Metal in the form of art,” says Gary. “We’ve always experimented in different metals. We sought out their limitations to forming and creating an artistic expression. We evolved into precious metals. One of the reasons I guess they call them precious is because they are superior to work with. There are many other metals--steel and titanium come to mind--that are wonderful to work with, but have their limitations and lend themselves more to the sculptural. To some extent, we would like to do more sculptural work, but we have found such success in our passions that we pretty much have stayed with sterling and 14K gold.”

“The metals that we buy are from a family-owned company named Hoover and Strong in Richmond, Virginia. It’s 100 percent recycled and no mining was done to get the gold. I was reading just recently that the mining and extraction of gold for one ring created 50 tons of environmental waste,” says Kathy. “95 to 98 percent of the metals that we use are strictly from that company, so we can feel good about what we do. You don’t see people wearing ostentatious and large jewelry now, because it just isn’t necessary to have so much when so many have so little. For the pieces I am choosing to build, take something small and turn it into something beautiful that can speak to someone, without all of the expenditures that are from volume of material. We understand the value of simplicity.”

So closely melded is their creative teamwork, that it is a challenge to distinguish whether a piece is designed by Kathy, Gary, or both.

“This is a really special piece to us,” says Kathy, pointing out a distinctive sterling pendant, “because at the very time I was finishing up this piece, which was to be a necklace within itself, Gary completed this piece and we just, whoof, it together, and there it was. And that’s how some of our best work has come to be.”

Their collaboration in metalsmithing and marriage is a gift that neither takes for granted, yet accept as a simple truth in their lives.

“It is quite phenomenal that Kathy and I have always learned to work in a really tight and enclosed space,” notes Gary. “We can easily be within inches of each other for hours on end in the studio, and that has always been true.

“Yes, we are very lucky,” adds Kathy. “It is who and what we are, and we know nothing else. When we are working as a team, we are completely involved in the piece that we are working on. Even a split second of distraction when you are soldering or using tools, you could injure yourself seriously or you can destroy 10 hours worth of work instantly. We look and say, ‘Excuse me, can I ask you a question, please? Could we decide on this material, do you need it?’ There’s very little chit chat that goes on, and I think that’s why our personal life has worked so well. That’s the contrast to where we actually have the time when we are not working, to have the relationship.”

Kathy and Gary moved to Wimberley in 1982, after a single visit convinced them purchase property in the area. Camping on their land, Gary and Kathy found themselves dancing in the moonlight and named their homestead, Moon Dance Ranch. Their mutual love of nature and the Hill Country are expressed as motifs in some of their jewelry designs that are not purely geometric: cypress trees, the Blanco River, the Twin Sisters, the Blue Hole.

Hiking Cypress Creek Pendant

“We are just grateful to have such a great place to be,” says Kathy. “We think of this shop as a little nest, and we feel nurtured here. We have a marvelous relationship with the Old Mill Store, Steve and his family, and all of the staff members. The Old Mill Store has carried our jewelry since 1982, and has been an important part of the success of our shop. It was a bit of a transition for us to be in the shop, walking the tightrope of ‘shall we do shows or shall we stay here?’ However, we had the common denominator of representing our work personally and meeting the people who were going to wear the jewelry. That has always been one of the driving forces of our enjoyment of building the work.”

“There is a total connection, a symbiosis between the wearer and the construction of a piece. Sometimes when we are working on the jewelry, we are actually thinking of the person, and what they might be like that might wear it. One of the greatest compliments you can pay an artist is to wear their art,” says Gary.

Geometric Earrings (photo courtesy of Moon Dance Arts)

“People ask, ‘What does this represent?’ To me it represents a geometric composition. The person who purchases and wears the work has the definition and meaning of what it means to them,” says Kathy.

“We are the makers given a gift and we are sharing that to the public. Our passion is our jewelry, and if we can’t be making that, then the rest of it doesn’t work. That’s why we are five days at the studio and two days at the gallery, because that works,” says Gary.

“Every moment of every day is spent wondering, when can we get in there and build some more jewelry? We do love it that much,” smiles Kathy.

FYI

Moon Dance Arts gallery is located in the courtyard garden of the Old Mill Store on the Wimberley Square. Follow the brick walkway to the shop. Hours are Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM – 5:30 PM. For more information, call 512-847-5274 or email studio@moondancearts.com.

Creekside Vintage

2011-09-17T20:36:00.000-06:00

Kristi Abild of Creekside Vintage

The word from the bird is that ginchiest Daddy-Os and dollies in the Hill Country dig Creekside Vintage in Wimberley, where hep cats and chicks will find the most supermurgitroid and copasetic accessories to make their pads out of this world. Like a crammed composition of mid-century modern slang, Creekside Vintage at The Quarters is packed full of an entertaining trove of vintage expressions. Step under the covered portico of its sunny yellow exterior and enter Kristi Abild’s amazing emporium of retro collectibles.

“What makes my shop different is the era I present,” says Kristi. “Most of my things are from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, not the traditional antiques that people think of. Some of the antique shops have a few of these things, but not everything. People are surprised that this much stuff is presented in a whole shop. If people are into mid-century modern, they come here.”

Lamp bases with intriguing undulations still wear their original fiberglass lampshades. Charming ceramic figurines share counter space with “mantiques” like a massive silver-toned flashlight. The array of retro colors may be your first realization that you have entered a store of a different color: ochre and cornflower blue stacking Pyrex dishes; avocado green tiki dinnerware sets; burnt umber and orange owl paintings. Wind your way from the main room into two back rooms to find collections arranged in atomic ranch vignettes from floor to ceiling. Ample browsing time is an entertaining necessity, especially if each turn brings a thrill of recognition or wash of nostalgia.

Kristi attributes her initial foray in mid-century modern design to the 1950s-era cabin that she and her husband, Mike, bought in Wimberley for river access. Contemporary furniture was too large for the 700-square foot space, so they turned to streamlined furniture designs from the mid-century modern era.

“My husband and I had contests finding period pieces for [the cabin], so that’s what started us on it. We both love shopping for this era.”

In 2006, the couple opened a Wimberley Market Day booth called Pillow Talk, to sell pillows made from vintage fabrics. However, customers seemed more intent on purchasing the vintage props that they had brought to decorate the booth. When the retail space at The Quarter became available in 2010, it was Mike who suggested that Kristi open a shop. Kristi took her husband up on the proposal and launched her hobby into a business.

“I never even had garage sales,” says Kristi. “I didn’t go to garage sales. We’ve always liked going to antique shops, but it’s different when you are not buying for yourself. I find some things, the crazier and more unique it is, the faster it sells. Some people really get it and get into it. Some of the younger folks from Austin say, ‘I just want to move in!”

Kristi enjoys the interactions with customers who come in, and how they react to what they find. Many are surprised to find items from their home are also in Kristi’s shop, until recognition dawns that their wedding gifts from years ago qualify as vintage.

“People say, ‘we had a bunch of those dishes.’ People are drawn to this for its familiarity. I have a lot of older people who just want something made in America that lasts. It’s fun and most of it is well made and has withstood the test of time. So many things now we buy, they break and we toss them away. We get a lot of Wimberley people who like being green and buying reused stuff.”

Kristi and Mike live in San Marcos, but still stay in their Wimberley cabin on weekends, enjoying the many local activities. The couple continues to have their Pillow Talk booth at Market Days, where Mike includes a dollar table that Kristi jokes is her “store outlet” for discounted items culled from Creekside Vintage. Kristi says that Mike has a great time working at Market Days, but she is pleased to be able to help customers from the cool comfort of her shop.

“Every weekend there is some kind of something that draws people here, from Market Days to the art fair. The Quarters has really gotten popular on Market Days. When it’s cooler, they’ll have live music under the trees and serve food and margaritas.”

So don’t be a square, ditz, or party pooper and put your heels on fire to Creekside Vintage. You’ll have a blast, and that’s the tale, nightingale.

FYI
Creekside Vintage is located at The Quarters in Wimberley Square,14015 RR 12, Suite 5. Hours are Monday and Thursday 11 AM to 5 PM. Friday and Saturday 11 AM to 6 PM. Sunday 12 PM to 5 PM. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday. For more information, call 512-847-9444 or email abild@centurytel.net.

Edward Povey on the Landing

2011-06-25T07:53:00.003-06:00

Edward Povey in his studio

Celebrated by international art collectors in a career that has spanned four decades, London-born artist Edward Povey is poised on the landing for the next and most illustrious steps of his already luminary career.

After leaving Wales for the United States in 2008, Edward has worked from his studio in Sub Rosa, the fantastical home he designed and shares with artist DL Tolar in Wimberley. Here in Hill Country seclusion, Edward mounted a period of reassessment of his artwork, emerging this year with bold new works, which will redefine his artistic legacy. The impetus for this latest reassessment, not the first in his storied evolution from painting multi-story murals in Wales to intimate canvases in the West Indies, was Edward’s decision to discontinue selling his works directly to private collectors. Desiring to focus on painting rather than promotion, he opted to approach major galleries in New York, London, and Germany for exclusive representation.

White Washbasin by Edward Povey

(photo courtesy of Edward Povey)

Rather than relying on his existing body of paintings, Edward saw an opportunity to elevate and hone his work before releasing pieces to major galleries. His new paintings are ambitious in scale, filling expansive canvases upwards of 40-inches by 40-inches, although still dwarfed in comparison to one of Edward’s seminal works, the 20-foot by 40-foot “Hall of Illusion.” Commissioned by the University of Wales at Bangor in 1991 for their chamber concert hall, the mural is a tour de force of figurative symbolism, populated by seventy life-sized figures, trompe l’oeil stone arches and woodwork, and the moody palettes and unsettling compositions of a dark dream.

“I feel that when we dream at night, our dreams are not sensitive,” says Edward. “They are not concerned with politeness or with any laws, which is why we sometimes have nightmares and sometimes have dreams that we don’t want to end. All other things in this world are performing functions that mean that they have to be in some way diplomatic to fulfill their roles. But the function of art is closer to dreams than any other thing we know. I feel that art has to be like the dream and the nightmare. It has to be uncensored truth about who we are. Our dreads and our loves, all mixed together.”

Living Room at Sub Rosa

Edward had a trio of transformative epiphanies during his metamorphosis in the chrysalis of Sub Rosa. First, that the subject matter for his paintings had to be “unlimited, uncensored, and ruthless.” Thus, the themes of his new paintings are “more potent, more powerful,” with a “shadowy and dreamlike quality to them.” Second, that his decades of study of modern and Renaissance masters revealed the commonality of “strong tonal balance” in all powerful compositions, regardless of style or subject. Third, that the paintings require a “powerful surface,” with more luminosity and glazing for an extraordinary glow.

"The Landing" by Edward Povey

(photo courtesy of Edward Povey)

“The Landing,” is an important example of the new collection, destined soon to drape sensuous mystery on the walls of a metropolitan gallery. A suitor with inscrutable eyes buries his face in a lush bouquet of arum lilies, preparing to rise from the landing to meet two sisters in wait. One sister grazes her hand over the lilies as several of their spadix fingers seem to reach back. The other sister lounges languorous and open, pausing from the splayed pages of her book. Their chaperone sits apart in another room. Our eyes hover around the periphery of the scene, unable to distinguish areas deliberately rendered in deep shadows.

“I feel that this is a painting about transitions, because a landing is a place of transition. It seems to me that we spend our lives always seeking a destination. Yet it is entirely spent in transit, between states. Even the states themselves, when we arrive, we transit through them. The only ultimate destination is the grave, in a sense,” says Edward.

Home Theater, Sub Rosa style

As a young man, Edward chose to pursue a career in art over music. Musical metaphors, however, often ornament his descriptions of art.

In music, Edward explains, notes are tuned to create chords, which are then built to create harmonies and an evolution of a theme. If one of the instruments is out of tune, the melody is lost. Dark tones are bass notes, light tones are cymbals, piccolos, and violins, and mid-tones are sonorous cellos and human voices. Without the tonal clarity that Edward loves, the resulting piece, whether symphony or painting, becomes discordant and muddled.

“I had noticed in the work of Caravaggio, if you take a Caravaggio painting, turn it into black and white, and then turn it upside down, it still looked great. It’s a great tonal abstract. And isn’t that ultimately what a painting is? It does have a theme perhaps, but it is also an abstract on the wall. It’s a set of tones providing, you might say, perfect music. A kind of excellence in the form of tonal music,” says Edward.

Turn “The Landing” upside down on the wall, or any of the pieces in Edward’s latest collection, and the colors and compositions resonate as tonal abstracts. The complexity of interpreting psychological meaning in the pieces simplifies to sheer appreciation for the harmony of tone, rhythm of shapes, and textural sheen.

“I feel that for a human being, meaning is all that brings value to life. The meaning that we bring to what happens. But that what happens, is not essentially meaningful. We bring meaning to it. So an artist is like a faucet; the art comes through the artist, not really from the artist. Even though you might say the faucet shapes the water as it comes out, like my life and experience shape my art, they are not my art. And so whilst on the one hand, I have theories and they are probably valid theories, nothing is inherently meaningful, which is why I can turn them upside down, and enjoy them just as much. Because ultimately, they are shapes and tones and colors. And so in that sense, your interpretation would be as valid as mine, completely as valid. Because I’m temporary in a sense, aren’t I? The work outlives me. I’m here now, but I think when I die, [the work] won’t be any the less. In a way it will be more, when I’m gone. Because then it’s without distraction, like a fruit fallen from the tree. You know, complete,” Edward laughs.

DL Tolar and Edward Povey

Edward has long shared his expertise in theory and technique, as well as the nuts and bolts of the art business in a series of lectures and workshops produced jointly with DL Tolar.

“We’ve been doing workshops in Wimberley since we moved here,” says Donna, “and we’re just wonderfully amazed at the talent hidden away in the little valleys of Wimberley. The Wimberley Valley Art League has been very supportive of our workshops.”

“In this area, there is so much talent, but people are so easy and modest about their endeavors,” says Edward. “We’ve had such fun doing the workshops. You never know who is in the class. It’s such an honor. We go places with them, you wouldn’t believe. They’ve got tears in their eyes. It may be them that history remembers, so it’s a real honor.”

The final three Povey-Tolar workshops planned with the Wimberley Valley Art League will conclude by early fall, as Edward anticipates his schedule to become filled with gallery coordination and studio time.

“Where we go in our art is really fun and stimulating, and takes us all our waking hours to do. Also it’s really difficult, because you put on a lot of paint for every stroke that actually pleases you and really accomplishes anything. It takes a huge amount of effort. And it requires for us that we be locked away almost all the time. We so need to be somewhere wonderful when we do come out. So for us, the greatest thing, which is so heartening, is that when we go out, we are in the friendliest place in the world. We really just love this area, and Austin, too. In all the world, we chose right here because we don’t know of another place that can rival this,” Edward beams.

Twins by Edward Povey

(photo courtesy of Edward Povey)

FYI

For more information, call 806-676-4009, email studio@edwardpovey.com or artist@dltolar.com, or visit the websites www.edwardpovey.com and www.dltolar.com.

“Learning to See” Master Drawing Workshop runs July 22-24 from 10AM to 6PM at the Wimberley Community Center. “Color and Glazing” Workshop runs August 19-21 from 10AM to 6PM at the Povey-Tolar Studio at Sub Rosa, Wimberley. “Learning What to See” Workshop runs September 24-25 from 10AM to 6PM at the Povey-Tolar Studio. Cost is $250 for two-day workshops and $350 for three-day workshops. Registration closes the week prior to the start of classes. For more information or registration for the Edward Povey workshops, contact Gina Cazares at gcasarez1@austin.rr.com or phone 512-847-5272.

Hall of Mirrors ceiling at Sub Rosa

Ellen Bomer and "Miss Gloria"

2011-06-25T07:35:00.006-06:00

Ellen Bomer

A dancing Bedouin bride, draped in precious jewelry. A herd of giraffes placidly grazing in the wild. The snow-capped summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. The sights that Ellen Bomer has seen in her audacious life are etched in her mind’s eye, and she longs to someday take her granddaughter, Allie, traveling, so that she may share what she has once seen. Few people can claim to have feasted at a Saudi prince’s wedding reception as Ellen has; fewer still can count themselves a survivor of a terrorist attack masterminded by Osama bin Laden.

On August 7, 1998, Ellen was on a temporary assignment at the American Embassy in Nairobi, when a truck bomb planted by al-Qaeda exploded in front of the building, killing hundreds of people and injuring thousands. Ellen, pinned beneath rubble for hours, drifted in and out of consciousness in the immediate aftermath of the explosion, her pain and fear compounded by the realization that she could not see. Ellen’s harrowing and triumphant story of her recovery, and journey in learning how to navigate the world as a blind person, are chronicled in her book, Miss Gloria.

Miss Gloria was the code name given to Ellen at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in part to protect her identity against possible further terrorist reprisals. Her pseudonym seems appropriately descriptive of Ellen’s relationship with God.

“The reason I wrote the book,” says Ellen, “was that I wanted people to understand how it was that I came to know God. To KNOW God, not just to verbalize and pray, pray, pray. Not just the motions, but the knowing. The knowing made all the difference in everything; that’s what’s made the difference with me. I don’t just recite prayers by rote because I know that there’s a person listening at the other end to what I say.”

Ellen writes poignantly of her youngest son, John, and the circumstances of his tragic death in 1987. During the first days of what would be many months spent in hospital treatment and surgeries after the bombing, Ellen has a vision of John smiling at her in heaven. As she reaches out for her son, however, she is told, “No, Ellen, it’s not your time. You have to go back and let them heal you.”

The healing proved traumatic and challenging, between the numerous eye and skin surgeries, and Ellen’s need to relearn basic life skills without the benefit of vision. Ellen describes her six-month training at the Louisiana Center for the Blind as seeming to last an eternity, and “the hardest thing I have done.” Learning how to navigate with a white cane to businesses located many blocks away, cooking a gourmet Greek feast for 30 guests, and teaching a water aerobics class to seeing and blind students, were among the empowering challenges that Ellen mastered at the “boot camp for the blind.”

“It was hard accepting that I was blind,” says Ellen. “That was hard because it took away everything. But it gave back many things.”

In a life that has experienced unimaginable losses, Ellen gained an unexpected gift in the form of her granddaughter, Allie. Nine days after Allie was born in 2000, Ellen and her husband Don were given, first temporary, and later permanent, parental custody. Ellen recounts in her book the often humorous adventures of raising an infant while blind, but says that, “Believe it or not, it was a lot easier than you think. I enjoyed having a baby. It was fun, because I had nothing else to do. And then in she came. From the day she came to now, nine and a half years later, she’s mine. She calls me momma, and I am her momma. She knows I am her grandmother, but she calls me mom.”

Ellen would love to travel the world again, but the sight that she longs to see the most is close to her Hill Country home: her granddaughter’s face.

“The truth is, I don’t really believe I am going to stay blind. I think that the technology and medical improvements will catch up to me. I don’t think I will die blind.”

Ellen was feeding Allie a bottle on the morning of September 11, 2001, with “Good Morning America” playing on the television, when the sounds of what seemed to be an action movie began.

“I heard this and I thought, ‘boy, there are some good stunts,’ and it didn’t dawn on me. I started listening closer and it was so impossible that this was real. Then the telephone started ringing and people asked if I was watching. I started crying. How horrible was that? Who would think to do something like that? It was so brutal. [Osama bin Laden] didn’t get the bang that he thought he would get when he blew up our embassy. But [9/11] really fueled the intent of our government to go after bin Laden.”

When news broke of the killing of bin Laden by U.S. Special Operations in May 2011, Ellen was interviewed by several media sources at her home in Wimberley. Given the effusive impromptu celebrations in Washington, D.C. and other American cities, newscasters wondered why Ellen, a direct victim of bin Laden’s terrorism, did not appear similarly overjoyed at the news.

“Well, how can you be happy because someone has been killed?” asks Ellen. “I never meant to judge [bin Laden] and I have been very good about not doing that. The man believed what he did. It was his mission in life.”

Writing Miss Gloria was a long process, and interestingly, the release of Ellen’s book nearly coincided with news of bin Laden’s death.

“God sets his time. I think when you are in the middle of something and it’s catastrophic, it’s hard to regurgitate things. It’s better to let it sit and simmer and you can look back at it. It’s not as painful. The things that I put in [my book] were the things that were the most emotional for me; the most ‘aha!’ moments.”

For now, Ellen enjoys what she knows to be a very precious life with the gregariousness and gumption of a person who understands she has a mission in living. With her husband Don, a hero in her life, and her community of friends and family, Ellen’s life and story continue to inspire the many it has touched.

“It’s just nice to get up in the morning and have the freedom to do what you want to do, and to go to bed at night and be at peace. I’m at peace. I know the Lord knows who I am, and he knows me by name.”

FYI
For more information about Miss Gloria or to schedule a speaking engagement or book signing with Ellen Bomer, contact LisaBeth Thomas at (512) 637-5285 or lbtj@lbtjgroup.com. Paperback and ebook versions of Miss Gloria may be ordered on www.winepressbooks.com under inspirational books.

Farewell, Thelma

2011-06-10T11:57:00.006-06:00

Thelma, my quietly helpful and kind contact from PGMS, died this week. I do not know the circumstances of her death, but that it was unexpected and sudden. Her memorial service is Saturday at 11 am, at the Dripping Springs Methodist Church. The shock of this news, of a woman that I had only known through my role as president of the Skyline Ranch Estates Water Supply Corporation, has induced more soul-searching and angst on my part than I would have imagined.

I am a terrible procrastinator, and this vice has plagued me from my school days. This time, I had procrastinated sending that basket of Trader Joe’s apple muffins to Thelma, along with the thank-you card I had already written. I had tried to deliver my card and muffins once before, soon after my term as president had ended. The office had been closed, however, and rather than driving out the next morning to deliver a batch of day-old muffins, I ate them. I had always meant to make another batch and deliver them in the morning, but there sat that empty white basket, with the card with a large pink flower on its face, day after day on my kitchen counter, through the month of May and into June. Now it is too late to deliver that card and make a new batch of apple muffins for Thelma.

The shocking finality of missing that last deadline has me writhing about deadlines in general. I had never thought of the origin of the word—DEADline. Now death is the final deadline, and I think of all of my other unfinished projects, promised to those I love, and that precarious blade hanging over my head seems to twist more menacingly than ever. It’s not that I constantly contemplate my own death, or the death of my loved ones. But I’ve never had a task that I’ve procrastinated overlong been rendered obsolete by death. A true deadline. Now I am anxious about the article that I’ve owed my sister for 4 years, and the book that I’ve owed my brother-in-law for 2 years, and the princess dress that I’ve owed Penguin for a year, and the two articles I owe my editor next week. I used to joke that if you waited long enough before finishing something, a good enough excuse would eventually come along to make the task unnecessary. I don’t want that excuse to be death.

Now I am stuck, still unable to find the willpower to overcome my inertia to finish these tasks. Finish, finish, finish, nothing is ever done in my life, it seems. Maybe I am afraid to finish. I may claim to wish closure on my obligations, but if completed, and not replaced by more obligations, wouldn’t that quicken my march toward obsolescence? Is it necessary for us to require incompletion in our lives, so we always have something to look forward to, to work toward? So that we may focus on the journey, instead of the destination of life, which is ultimately the same for everyone? No, I think I really just need to cross some things off my TO DO list that have been languishing for cankerously long.

Poor Thelma. She was there in that office, front desk greeting the entrance, working to the very end. Did she look forward to retiring soon? What did she do in her free time? Did she have a family? I guess one measure of a life well-lived is in who remembers you fondly when you die. I did not know Thelma beyond our periodic phone and email correspondences, always related to work, but in what little contact we have had over the past three years, she made a positive difference in my life. Thank you, Thelma, for your kindness, patience, and unerring helpfulness. You were a pleasure to know and work with, and I am so sorry that you had to leave this life so soon. I send you my love from this world to the better one you now are.

**************************************************

I attended Thelma's warm and tearfully joyous memorial service, and learned that she loved the color red, Bluebell ice cream, the BeeGees, and that the caring professional persona that I knew was the same loving one who embraced many family members. Pastor David Skinner compared Thelma to Martha, Mary's sister, who was so busy taking care of the preparations for receiving Jesus and his disciples in their house, that she was unable to sit at Jesus' feet as her sister, Mary, had done. Pastor Skinner observed that Thelma spent her life ensuring that others were cared for, and he believed that she had been taken home after a lifetime of service, to where she belonged, resting at the Lord's feet.

Qi Remedies

2011-05-22T12:35:00.004-06:00

Shelly Buse in her herbal pharmacy

Longhorn. Panda. Bamboo. Circle the two that go best together. Perhaps you decided that the best pairing was by categorizing longhorn and panda together as mammals. Or did you decide that the best pairing was the relationship between pandas and the bamboo they eat? Questions similar to this, with objects that could be paired either categorically or by relationship, are used in psychology studies designed to assess how people think, often cross-culturally. Some researchers posit that Westerners and Asians think differently, with Western thought processes guided individualistically, by rules and categories, and Asian thought processes guided holistically, by relationships to the whole. Pairing the longhorn and panda would suggest a Western mode of thought, while pairing the panda and bamboo would suggest an Asian mode.

While the debate rages on in the scientific community over whether the perceived differences in cognitive processes are a product of nature (brain hardwiring), nurture (cultural learning), or merely linguistics, an overview of Chinese medicine offers ample evidence of how differing philosophies of thought have evolved into vastly different healing practices between East and West.

Western medicine is founded on the physical and biochemical systems of the body, and how they are organized and function together. A disease-causing agent, such as a virus, bacteria, toxin, carcinogen, or chemical deficiency, disrupts the functioning of the body’s cells, resulting in symptomatic illness. Western physicians focus on identifying the disease indicated by the physical symptoms, and targeting treatments on the cells of the organs affected by the disease.

Traditional Chinese medicine is founded on the principles of Yin-Yang, and of qi (pronounced “chee”). Among its many attributes, qi animates life and thought, generates heat, induces motion, creates matter, and is matter in its denser form of blood and moisture. Qi, in its myriad forms and types, flows through empirically mapped routes in the body known as meridians. Pain and/or illness are the result of insufficient qi, or obstructions to the flow of qi. Qi may be blocked by varied elements, including physical injury, emotional upset, poor diet, environmental toxins, and genetic factors. Thus, to identify the location of disruption and mode of imbalance in the individual, practitioners must consider the overall physiological and psychological state of the patient. Treatment methods are formulated to reinstate the harmonious flow of qi for the individual.

Qi Remedies in Wimberley is one of several holistic havens in the Hill Country that provides traditional Chinese medical treatments, including acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, and herbal medicines. Shelly Buse, licensed acupuncturist and founder of Qi Remedies, began her practice in September 2009, following a rigorous course of study and clinical practice at the AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine in Austin.

“The thing about Chinese medicine that is different from anything in our culture,” says Shelly, “is that everything in their culture works together: their astronomy; their astrology; their martial arts; their medicine. The principles are all the same, or exceptionally close. It seems like such a comprehensive system, that it’s very comforting in a way. In Chinese medicine, everything is connected, everything has an effect on everything else, and what you have to do is find the patterns of disharmony and imbalance and reinstate balance.”

“That we treat each person differently is really beautiful because it’s true; we are all unique and we are all different. So if you come in with sciatic pain, and you’re overweight, have a damp pulse, a lot of coating on your tongue, and low energy, I treat you differently than if you’re 6-foot tall, with high energy, a red tongue, wiry pulse, and have sciatic pain. You have a different treatment, especially with the herbs, but also with the acupuncture,” says Shelly.

The World Health Organization lists nearly one hundred diseases or disorders for which acupuncture has been shown to provide therapeutic benefits, including musculoskeletal problems, gastrointestinal problems, migraines, stress, addiction, allergies, nausea, arthritis, sciatica, neuropathy, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, and depression. Respected medical institutions, including the Mayo Clinic and MD Anderson, have included acupuncture in their treatment options, primarily for pain relief.

Studying a form of healing that has existed for thousands of years, from an extraordinarily different culture and system of thought, may pose unique challenges to practitioners.

“I was called to [study traditional Chinese medicine] and had to trust that I would understand it,” Shelly laughs.

“I had to promise myself when I was in class that I would understand, one day. As more and more time goes on, I am feeling it in an innate way in my being, as opposed to 100 percent understanding it as logic. We Americans on a very base level go, ‘Oh, I understand Yin and Yang. There’s light and dark, male and female, day and night.’ But we don’t understand how deep [the theory] goes, and how profound it is. I practice and teach [Yang-style] tai chi, and I’m starting to understand Yin and Yang more deeply through tai chi,” says Shelly.

“It’s very satisfying to watch someone come in, get to know them, and understand how they live their lives and how I can help bring them back into balance,” smiles Shelly. “People who have never had [acupuncture], and are coming to me as a last resort to alleviate their pain, are just really grateful for anything that can help them.”

“Part of the reason why I went to acupuncture school was to heal myself; to learn how to be good to my own self and my own body, and to get to know my own body by treating other people. A lot of us are really kind of numb. I felt like I was numb in a lot of ways before I went to acupuncture school. I just want to encourage everybody to be healthy and to listen to their bodies, to try herbal remedies and acupuncture over pills. Good health is eating right, it’s exercising, it’s being present, it’s love--loving family and friends, and caring for yourself the way a lot of Americans don’t know how to do."

Western Medicine. Traditional Chinese Medicine. The Texas Hill Country. No need to ask which two belong best together, when all three do.

FYI
Qi Remedies is located at 111 Old Kyle Rd., Suite 210 in Wimberley and 1619 East Common, Suite 601 in New Braunfels. Hours are Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM by appointment. Shelly Buse offers Yang-style tai chi classes at the Heart of Texas Yoga studio in Wimberley. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 512-924-6392 or visit the web site at www.qiremedies.com.

Happy Tappy Heaven Hop

2011-04-10T18:51:00.003-06:00

Penguin practicing for her audition for this summer's musical theater bootcamp, hoping to be cast as Bonnie in "Anything Goes."

Wimberley Adoption Group and Rescue

2011-04-10T12:13:00.000-06:00

Pat Davis and Debbie Nordyke (and Angel)

A dog may be man’s best friend by popular adage, but the best friend of dogs in the Hill Country is WAG Rescue. Founded in June 2009, the Wimberley Adoption Group & Rescue (WAG Rescue) has rapidly become a vital and recognizable resource for dog lovers and down on their luck dogs. From rescuing and assisting in the permanent placement of stray, abandoned, unclaimed, and surrendered dogs into loving homes, to providing medical treatment and a socializing foster environment for their canine charges, WAG Rescue has saved 81 wagging tails (and counting) to date. In addition to their rescue mission, WAG Rescue has reunited lost owners with missing dogs, promoted and facilitated the spay/neuter of pets with low or no cost vouchers through Emancipet, and advocated for the humane treatment of all animals by their active presence at community events, schools, and the online community.

Earning its designation as a 501(3)(c) nonprofit organization in October 2009, a scant four months after its formation, WAG Rescue’s rapid mobilization and escalating accomplishments are powered by individuals and businesses that donate their time, services, monies, and materials. Guiding the group and providing a great deal of the elbow grease required to drive the organization, are co-founders and current board directors, Pat Davis, Debbie Nordyke, and Charlotte Bippert.

The three powerhouses originally worked together as volunteers for the Animal Referral Friends (ARF) of Wimberley, but came to realize that rescuing dogs required more funding and time than rescuing cats, the primary focus of ARF founder, Sonja Heryford.

“We’re dog people more than cat people,” says Debbie, “and we were seeing that dogs are more expensive than cats: the rescue aspects; the vet care; the treating for heartworms. We discussed with [Sonja] that we wanted to break off and do our own organization for just dogs.”

“The time and the chemistry between us was right,” says Pat, “and we had the passion of wanting this badly. I could see that there was such a need. Our ultimate goal is to get an adoption resource center built here in Wimbereley.”

WAG Rescue currently relies on dedicated volunteer foster families to care for the dogs taken into their program, and kennel space donated by Wimberley Kennel to house dogs making the difficult recovery from heartworm treatment.

“An adoption resource center would allow us to take in more dogs,” says Debbie. “Right now, we only have so much room and it breaks my heart when I have to call the San Marcos shelter [a kill shelter]. That shelter does a good job, but those dogs are not treated by a vet, are not tested for heartworm, or given any heartworm prevention. They are exposed to distemper, parvo, and other diseases. We can take in more dogs and take care of them while we look for their owners. We would keep the foster component because it’s so much better for the dogs, but we can have an adoption facility set up and coordinate with Emancipet so that they could come more often to do spay and neutering right there. We can hold classes for the community.”

“If we didn’t talk about the vision,” says Pat, “it would never happen. We know it’s going to be generous people who donate the land, and building the center would require probably $750,000.”

Yet the vision is not far-fetched for this little non-profit that can. With dog medical costs at $25,000 a year and an operating budget of just under $60,000, WAG Rescue volunteers have worked hard for their community support and grant funding.

“We were starting at the absolutely worst time we could,” says Pat. “We were constantly in front of the public as much as we could, working at Lions Club and Rotary Club events for their sponsorship. We wore WAG t-shirts, did bake sales, adoption days, garage sales-- anything to get exposure and the word out about who we are, what we do, and how we are different from ARF and PAWS.”

Unlike PAWS and ARF, WAG Rescue focuses only on canines found in Hays County, and is proactive about treating dogs for deadly heartworm disease. Heartworm disease is typically a death sentence for infected stray dogs, who are either euthanized upon diagnosis, or subjected to an excruciating death by hoards of the parasitic worms filling their heart cavities. The disease is easily preventable with inexpensive monthly oral medication.

Sponsoring veterinarians provide discounted rates for WAG Rescue, and provide the specialized heartworm treatment, including Animal Trustees of Austin, the Cypress Creek Animal Hospital, and Wimberley Veterinary Clinic.

“I really wish that people understand how easy it is to prevent heartworm, because it’s such a horrible process for dogs to go through for treatment,” says Debbie. “They inject a poison into their back muscles, and then they are in recovery for 4 to 6 weeks, depending on what symptoms they have. All of the seven dogs we have treated so far have been retested, and 4 months later, they have tested negative.”

“If they are not too far along, they are very highly treatable, and once the disease gone, the dogs are good to go again,” adds Pat.

WAG Rescue also coordinates low cost spay and neuter services with Emancipet, which brings their traveling clinic to Wimberley on the third Wednesday of the month.

In addition to being the foster coordinator, Debbie maintains a comprehensive WAG Rescue website, a blog, a Facebook page, and Twitter feed. The active online presence of WAG Rescue has enabled them to provide timely assistance with lost and found calls.

“Debbie brought this to the forefront because she is very tech savvy. Before, we just put it in the newspaper on Wednesday and Saturday and now people can go online and instantly get information,” says Pat.

“I love maintaining the website because I like writing the stories and putting the dog pictures up. It’s gratifying-- especially the Happy Wags page. I don’t know how we could do this without the Internet,” smiles Debbie.

“We are a little unique because of how much we help with lost and found,” says Debbie. “I get calls every day, which we put on 5 websites including our own. We put notices in local newspapers, whether it’s Wimberley View, Blanco, or Dripping Springs. We help people to put flyers up if they are unable to, and ask the people who find dogs, ‘Can you hold the dog for 10 days? We recommend that people contact their local veterinarians, because they all keep lost and found logs. We give 7 to 10 days for the owner to come forward. At that point, we have to make a decision and the dog becomes our property.”

With many years of retail sale experience behind her, Charlotte Bippert is shepherding the latest venture of WAG Rescue, a quality consignment store in Wimberley, with all proceeds to benefit the organization.

“Treasures on Twelve,” will provide treasure seekers and bargain hounds a colorful new place to shop in downtown Wimberley. The shop will be stocked with a mix of merchandise, both donated and on consignment. “Treasures on Twelve,” will provide an opportunity for WAG Rescue to sustain their meaningful services for as long as dogs need a best friend.

FYI: For more information on WAG Rescue, visit www.wimberleywagrescue.org or contact Debbie Nordyke at 512-394-8619 or by email at Debbie@wimberleywagsrescue.org.

Treasures on Twelve, a consignment store benefiting WAG Rescue, is located at 13620 Ranch Road 12, Suite A, at the Badger building complex across the street from Burger Barn. For information about tax deductible donations or articles for consignment, contact Charlotte Bippert at 512-394-8619.

Cold Chickens

2011-02-03T10:09:00.006-06:00

(From l to r) Rose, Martha (or Donna), and Reinette

It has been a quiet week in Lake Woeberley, my hometown.

Yesterday was a bit of a low point in the annals of stay-at-home motherhood, when I actually considered the notion of dropping the kids off at school while still dressed in my jammies. While we have learned to expect the unexpected when it comes to Texan weather, the temperature descent to 14 degrees Fahrenheit still came as a bit of a shock, and I figured, who's going to see me in my robe and winter jacket, anyhow? Still, my latent paranoia that Murphy was actually Kassandra's long lost twin oracle, and that it would be the morning that I'd be pulled over and frisked for having an "I heart San Francisco" bumper sticker on my minivan, forced me into regular clothes. A long sleeved t-shirt and sweatpants may as well be pajamas, but the simple act of dressing would be sufficient to exorcise any Murphy's Law frisking.

Squirrel gets dropped off first at her public middle school. Not only did I want to drive in my PJs but we were also as late as we possibly could have been without geting a tardy notice. If I had stayed in my pajamas, she probably wouldn't have cut it so close. I will have to take that into consideration for the next time. Anyhow, I don't know how the other kids do it, but Squirrel is always looking like a pack mule when I drop her off, overladen with a day-glo orange bag, her lunch bag, and her band instrument. No, she doesn't play the tuba, she plays the flute, but darned if that thing doesn't swell to the size of a keyboard the way she has to haul it out of the car and into the school. This is something that irks me many mornings. For all of their yessirs and ma'ams, the kids are so clueless about simple courtesies such as helping to keep the door open behind you if someone is standing in the doorway. I've seen kids barrel through and nearly slam Squirrel with the swinging door. On the other hand, I suppose I drive Texans crazy by my insistence on taking the right of way. We have our share of obnoxious drivers who tailgate you in huge trucks, but we also have our share of obnoxiously polite drivers, who will stop in their lane to let you make your left turn, or what have you, even though they have the right of way. Stop being so damn polite, I yell soundlessly at them, because they are making me go against my deeply ingrained training of waiting for my legally prescribed right of way. I guess it also makes me feel guilty because it would never occur to me to give someone else my right of way, it's mine, dammit, the driving handbook says so RIGHT HERE. So, no need to Ma'am me or give me your DMV-given right-of-way, but don't slam the door in my kid's face, willya?

Our chickens are taking the cold quite well, considering. At least the Ameracaunas, a breed that lays lovely blue eggs, are. The Barred Rocks insisted on leaving the warmth of their shed to hunker outside, under a bush. Needless to say, they aren't laying eggs. We got the chickens last year, several weeks after Easter; apparently the breeders were having a chick shortage, so it took them a while to hatch eggs for the count. I never would have thought it, but I really like my chickens. Maligned (and rightly so) for being stupendously stupid, chickens are admirably good at living life in the moment. I am now reduced to the simple-minded pleasure of watching chickens go about doing what they are good at, pecking, scratching, and making a big scene when they've laid an egg. When you have a small flock who get along well, it's a beautiful thing. We've named our chickens Donna, Martha, Reinette, and Rose, after companions to the 10th Dr. Who, in tribute to our favorite TV show in 2009. We can tell them apart, based on personality (who knew?) and differences in coloration.

Hill Country Idylls and Artworks up for Auction at Wimberley Players Benefit

2010-10-26T13:16:00.004-06:00

Fun on stage during "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"

The Wimberley Players annual benefit, Patsy! Boots & BBQ!, offers festive fun and remarkable auction items on November 7, 2010, from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM, at the 7 Star Ranch in Wimberley.

Featuring music by The Almost Patsy Cline Band from Bandera, and barbecue with all of the fixings from the Salt Lick, the dust kicked up by dancing boots will add to the unique entertainment provided by Scott Wade, dirty car artist. With fine dust as his medium and the rear windshield of a car as his canvas, Scott will depict images from prior Wimberley Players performances with a skill that has garnered international media attention.

Events on this scale are made possible only by the generosity of donors and sponsors.
“We gratefully thank Seton Medical Center Hays, Broadway Bank, Ozona National Bank, The Leaning Pear, Professional General Management Services, Inc., Canyon Lake Water Service Company, Joe and Connie Maverick, Jana White, and Dody Spencer for their generous support,” says Kathy Gamel, Event Chairman.

“The Players have come up with several terrific auction items to help raise funds to keep the Wimberley Playhouse up and running. We have unique and wonderful artworks, including “The Song,” by internationally renowned artist, Gil Bruvel. Two of the auction items are one-of-a-kind experiences,” says Charlotte Caldwell, Wimberley Players board member.

"The Song" by Gil Bruvel

“Last year, separate couples bid on the special events that were auctioned off and asked their friends to join them,” says Caldwell. “We also think it might be fun for friends to get together and decide on a group bid for each event.”

One auction item is a perfect Spring day in the Texas Hill Country. Winners will be whisked away by Texas Hill Country Excursions to the First Texas Olive Oil Company at Bella Vista Ranch, for a private tour and an alfresco cheese and wine snack, followed by a private wine tasting at Driftwood Vineyards. The excursion continues with a vintner-led tour and wine tasting at the Duchman’s Family Winery. A sumptuous four-course feast will be served in a magical setting amidst a grove of trees, complete with white linens and Waterford crystal, personal waiters, and music wafting in the Spring air.

Another auction item is an elegant Valentine’s dinner for eight at the sixty-five acre estate, Bella Vista, home of Vivian and Jim McDonald.

“The view from the grounds of the Blanco River valley is exquisite and only rivaled by the castle-like décor in the interior of the home at Bella Vista,” says Caldwell. “But there is more to the evening than just gorgeous views—just to give you a hint of what is in store, think lobster bisque, tenderloin, great wines, port, white chocolate and other equally delectable, decadent delicacies.”

From a vacation weekend at Canyon Lake to a deer hunt at Storm Ranch, several auction items have a hearty Hill Country connection, including “Texas,” digital photo art (archival pigment print) on canvas by Wimberley artist Tom Bender. Photographed by Bender during the filming of the documentary, “Captain Jack: the Story of John Coffee Hays,” the evocative image of a gun and saddlebag on horseback combines Hays County history and artistry.

"Texas" by Tom Bender

Like the recent sold-out performances of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” at the Wimberley Playhouse, ticket sales for Patsy! Boots & BBQ! have been brisk. Advance reservations are required and tickets ($50 per person) are available online at www.wimberleyplayers.org or by calling Darlene Kukla at 512-847-3884. For more information, contact Kathy Gamel, Event Chairman, at 512-847-8081 or kgamel@verizon.net.

Wimberley Players Benefit, Patsy! Boots & BBQ!, to feature The Almost Patsy Cline Band

2010-10-26T13:02:00.007-06:00

If you yearn for more of the show-stopping tunes and high-flying fun that marked the sold-out run of the Wimberley Players most recent show, “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” you will have more reasons than brides or brothers to support the Wimberley Players Benefit event, Patsy! Boots & BBQ! on November 7, 2010.

Held this year on the private grounds of 7 Star Ranch on the Blanco River in Wimberley, the event will be a festive and friendly party where checkerboard plaids meet beer and barbecue in a down-home celebration of the Wimberley Players. The Almost Patsy Cline Band begins playing from the start of the event at 3:00 PM, followed by a barbecue dinner with all the trimmings from the celebrated Salt Lick grill. The event closes at 7:00 PM, but not before several artistic treasures and extravagant services are auctioned.

“Patsy! Boots & BBQ! will help the Wimberley Players continue to produce the highest quality of comedies, musicals and dramas our audiences have come to expect, not just in Wimberley, but all of Hays County and Central Texas,” says Kathy Gamel, Event Chairman.

As expected from an event associated with the Wimberley Players, the benefit will feature crowd-pleasing entertainment, finger-lickin’ food, and extraordinary auction items.

Designated in 2003 as the official Goodwill Ambassadors of Banderas, The Almost Patsy Cline Band will delight attendees with their renditions of country classics and the fascinating back stories behind some of country western music’s timeless tunes.

Hailed as superb interpreters of country western music’s legendary musicians, The Almost Patsy Cline Band stirs souls and spreads smiles with their heartfelt renditions and entertaining stories from many celebrated musicians, including Patsy Cline, Bob Wills, and Johnny Cash. The five band members, founder Lanette Pennell, co-founder Vicki Gillespie, Rick Reynolds, Larry Nolen, and Larry Lucas, provide ample musical artistry to bring to life the halcyon songs of many superstars of the Grand Ole Opry.

From left to right: Lanette Pennell, Rick Reynolds, Larry Nolen, Larry Lucas, and Vicki Gillespie
(Photo courtesy of The Almost Patsy Cline Band)

“The reason we named the band, The Almost Patsy Cline Band, is that we wanted to keep the legacy of country music alive. It’s the country music that we love and that other people love, also,” says Lanette.

“We keep the flavor of the original [music] and add our own flair. What’s important to us is that the people are enjoying what we are doing, because that’s the reason we’re there. We are there to connect with them, make an emotional connection so they can have a good time at the event they are attending. We have quite a large variety of music to draw from, so we can tailor our music to whatever the crowd is liking at that particular time.”

“For the Patsy! Boots & BBQ! show, we are doing a combination of narration and dance music,” says Lanette.

“We’ve researched quite a few of the songs that we play and we tell the history of those songs; fun interesting facts of those songs and how those songs came about, and the circumstances of their release and airplay of the songs and artists who performed them. It really brings the songs to life. Music is a very sentimental and emotional experience.”

Selected by the Texas Commission on the Arts to be on their prestigious Texas Touring Roster, The Almost Patsy Cline Band has a long history of collaboration with non-profit organizations such as Wimberley Players.

“Non profit organizations are an integral part of any community,” says Lanette.

“They are really the backbone of humanitarian and philanthropical efforts of a community. It seems that especially in this economy, the non-profits are so needed, and they need help.”

Patsy! Boots & BBQ! is underwritten by the generosity of organizations including Seton Medical Center Hays and Broadway Bank. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available for parties wishing to support the not-for-profit Wimberley Players.

Tickets to Patsy! Boots & BBQ! are $50 per person and available online at www.wimberleyplayers.org or by calling Darlene Kukla at 512-847-3884. Advanced ticket purchase is required. For more information, contact Kathy Gamel, Event Chairman, at 512-847-8081 or kgamel@verizon.net.

Texas Yoga Retreat - October 22-24, 2010

2010-09-17T10:17:00.007-06:00

Temple and fountain at Barsana Dham

The rolling backroads of the Texas Hill Country have long offered respite to visitors weary from their frenetic and stressful lifestyles. Scenic seclusion and peaceful quiet are soothing balm to egos bruised by workday blows.

But even with the abundant antidotes to stress and tension that the area offers, all of the solitude and scenery in the world cannot provide relaxation if the restless mind never ceases its relentless cacophony of circular thoughts.

Fortunately, the resources to find true relaxation, tranquility, and mindfulness in the Hill Country are amply provided by the annual Texas Yoga Retreat, now in its 10th year of expanding and empowering the yoga community. The weekend retreat, held this year from October 22 through 24, is an opportunity to immerse oneself in yogic culture at the Barsana Dham ashram, a singular oasis of spiritual sweetness and affirming energy.

Situated on 200 acres in Austin, the Barsana Dham is a pilgrimage site and place of worship for Hindu devotees, its lovely grounds and temple designed to evoke the holy land of Braj in India. For the yoga devotees who have attended the non-denominational Texas Yoga Retreats held at Barsana Dham, the setting is ideal for the meditative learning and practice of yoga

“People have the misconception that in order to do yoga, one must be fit and lean and flexible and strong,” says Ellen Smith of Austin, one of the founding organizers of Texas Yoga Retreat.

“Really, yoga is for everybody. You can be a quadriplegic and do yoga, because the essence of yoga is the breath and the going within. The quieting of the mind so that you are more deeply connected with yourself. The retreat is for everybody; we have people who come to the retreat who have never done yoga; it’s their first exposure. And we’ve had people who have been teaching it for 30 years,” Ellen says.

Since inception, the Texas Yoga Retreat has celebrated diverse styles of yoga and other forms of moving meditation that represent myriad traditions. The retreat makes accessible the talents of yoga instructors invited from across Texas to lead workshops.

“The retreat is non-denominational, featuring some of the best teachers from each yogic tradition,” says Austin yoga instructor Charles MacInerney, a co-founder of the Texas Yoga Retreat and Ellen’s business collaborator. “This is a wonderful opportunity to explore a wide range of styles and practices to see where you find the best fit. Studying with different teachers and differing styles of yoga can generate a synergetic effect.”

An abbreviated list of sessions offered this year include Anusara yoga, pranayama, restorative yoga, yoga mudras, Iyengar, Ayurveda, Acro yoga, vinyasa flow, kundalini, qigong, Dharma yoga, and Thai yoga massage.

Joy Meditating
Photo by Charles MacInerney

“We draw on many different traditions,” says Ellen, a certified Hatha yoga instructor. “All of the styles have value, and there is so much wealth in all of the styles. The beauty of this is that with so many different styles, there is something for everyone. Not everyone wants to do a restorative class. Not everyone wants to do something that’s slow moving and mindful, so there is a whole spectrum of classes to meet each person’s needs.”

The three-day Texas Yoga Retreat is part of a longer, 8-day teacher training program that qualifies as certification credit for the Living Yoga program. Founded by Charles, Ellen, and former business partner Donna Belk shortly after the success of their first Texas Yoga Retreat, the Living Yoga program is a 200-hour certification for yoga instructors or yoga devotees wishing to deepen their practice. A major component of the Living Yoga certification is a 9-day residential program at Barsana Dham.

With up to four workshops scheduled simultaneously in morning, afternoon, and evening sessions at the retreat, participants of all levels and interests will have several options from which to choose, with ample free time to stroll alongside resident peacocks or curl up with a good book in the lounge. Participants and instructors share meals over breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with vegetarian cuisine prepared by the retreat’s popular Chef Jo. Participants may opt to find overnight accommodations elsewhere, but the experience of staying at the Barsana Dham ashram is one that makes the retreat particularly transformative and memorable.

“You don’t have to stay at the ashram, but you will reap the benefits of the immersion by staying at the ashram,” explains Ellen. “The energy there is very different. [The ashram residents] practice Bhakti, which is the yoga of devotion, so it’s a very heart-centered yoga. Everything is done, whether it is sweeping the floor or cutting the vegetables, while holding in your heart whatever is your beloved, your God, at all times. So it’s a very sweet, for lack of a better word, energy that permeates the whole property. And when you are there for an extended period of time, I’ve noticed that people really settle into that.”

The act of distancing oneself from daily routine and retreating from habitual distractions raises the potential for personal insight and awareness.

“When we are mired in the minutia of our routines and habits they seem increasingly important and more urgent,” says Charles. “But we lose sight of what is truly important in our lives. This leads to poor judgment and bad decisions. Everyone needs a vacation from time to time, most especially those who think they do not need a vacation and those who have no time for one. By getting a little distance from the computers, phones, and the myriad details and clutter of your life, you are better able to see the larger picture. This allows you to re-prioritize your life and leads to making better choices.”

“[The retreat] affords people the opportunity to really take care and nurture themselves,” says Ellen.

“And the benefits last a very long time. Not only do you get respite during the weekend, but you learn things that you can apply in your life on a daily basis to attune to that mindset. I call it an anchor. At the Barsana Dham ashram, you feel that sense of peacefulness, and you anchor that sensation to yourself so that when you leave, and you’re at work and you’re feeling stressed because of your deadline or your boss, you can pause for a moment and do some breathing and anchor in that feeling of peacefulness. That [peacefulness] is really there all the time. Can you be in that sense of peacefulness, calm, and quiet in the midst of a hurricane? That is the essence of true yoga,” smiles Ellen.

Ellen Smith (photo courtesy of Ellen Smith)

FYI
The 10th Annual Texas Yoga Retreat will be held on October 22 through 24 at the Barsana Dham ashram, 400 Barsana Road, Austin. For more information or to register, call Megan Zvezda at (214) 223-8211, register online at www.texasyoga.com, or email info@texasyoga.com.

For more information about the Living Yoga program, contact Ellen Smith at (512) 266-7926 or visit www.livingyogaprogram.com.

Anniversary Daze

2010-09-03T09:59:00.005-06:00

Yesterday felt like a bad day.

It wasn't an unmitigated disaster. The house didn't burn down, no trips to the emergency room, no unplanned deaths in the family. The day just had a general malaise about it, where situations went awry just enough to cause annoyance and anxiety.

Perhaps the pervasive negativity of the day was exacerbated by the fact it was our wedding anniversary, and we are currently in what is known as "The Silent Treatment." My husband is angry that I am sleeping in the guest bedroom for complicated personal reasons, specifically because after 19 years of marriage, I am so freaking tired to be the only adult in the household with applied knowledge in the arcane art of replacing a toilet tissue roll. My bathroom always has toilet tissue now, and that helps me to sleep better.

Breaking the mutual pact of silence to grunt, "Happy Anniversary, Dear!" just did not seem appropriate to the situation. But that wasn't really sufficient cause to classify the day as Bad.

Rather, the day took a turn for the worse after another breakdown of the Stanford University online high school system in which Squirrel is enrolled (Tuition: $2500 and counting; Hours of Successful Instruction after Week 2 of Class: Zero), and a tersely worded email from the director of the Central Texas Ballet Conservatory or CTBC (known affectionately in this household as “CutBuck,” because they are always trying to get you to part with your money). In this instance, he was informing me that the student handbook explicitly states that, “Students are not able to withdraw from the conservatory mid-semester. Your financial obligation remains for the entire fall semester.”

Notwithstanding the fact that I never received the “Student Handbook,” when I enrolled Squirrel on August 18, and that two-and-a-half weeks of instruction hardly qualifies as “mid-semester,” I understood his concern for financial ruination of his fledgling ballet conservatory. After all, if we managed to flee the institution with the skins of our slippers intact, despite the admonitions of said “Student Handbook,” what would prevent a similar exodus of other flighty ballerinas?

Still, it made me grumpy. Then livid. Then sad. Then it was time to pick up the kids from school and begin their extracurricular activities. Yesterday was the trial run of a new Thursday schedule.

Our Schedule for Thursday, September 2, 2010

3:00 PM pick up Penguin from elementary school
3:15 PM pick up Squirrel from middle school
3:30 PM – 4: 45 PM log Squirrel onto Stanford University online high school system for her class, “Fundamentals of Expository Writing.”
4:30 PM – 5:30 PM Penguin’s tap class at Lee Colee’s in Wimberley
5:30 PM – 6:30 PM Penguin’s jazz class
5:45 PM – 7 PM Squirrel’s prepoint and contemporary dance class in Dripping Springs (at The Dance Pointe, NOT “CutBuck”)
7 PM – 9 PM Rehearsals for “7 Brides for 7 Brothers” at the Wimberley Playhouse, both girls

Tom picked Penguin up from dance and brought her to the “7 Brides for 7 Brothers” rehearsal, of which he has a role as a suitor (who probably delights in changing a roll of toilet tissue for his bride-to-be, but I digress).

I dropped Squirrel off at dance, and then shopped for groceries and stopped at Sonic to get take-out for the kids (I go all out for these romantic anniversary dinners). All was going according to plan after I dropped Squirrel off (about 5 minutes late) for rehearsal and headed home. Squirrel called at 8:30 PM to say that the kids were done with rehearsal, so I headed back down in my trusty Toyota Sienna (aka, Mothership 1).

Alas, the final qualifying vote for my official “Worst Anniversary EVER” came when the kids were loaded in the car and I turned the ignition to hear, “Rat-tat-tat-tattat-ta-tatty-tat.”

It is not raining yet, but streaks of lightning are punctuating the sky. My ignition provides the sound effects.

“Rattatatataaa-tat-haaaaack-splutter-tat. Rat-a-tata-gonna-haveta-askya-rata-tata-Tom-ta-takes-ya-home-a-rattatatta.”

I am not, repeat not, going to go back into the theater and ask my husband for a ride home. I wonder about the possibility of letting the kids stay until he is done and walking home myself. It is pitch black, except for the lightning. “Stupid idea,” I counsel myself, even as my stubborn half gropes for the umbrella. “You will get hit by a car,” I hiss.

“Fine,” I growl. “However, I am NOT going to ask for a ride home.”

Fortunately, I don't have to, as the instant she opens the theater door, Penguin announces, with all of the projection and volume borne of hundreds of dollars of voice lessons, “GUESS WHAT!!OUR CAR BROKE DOWN!”

We drive silently home. I muse that, of all the places that my car could have broken down that day, it was the best possible place and time. The theater is next to an auto shop. We have a ride home. I thank my guardian angels.

Tom has a gift for me. It is a padded lap desk for my laptop, “As Seen on TV” emblazoned prominently on the box.

“You seem to be writing a lot in the guest room, so I got you this,” he mutters.

It’s cheap. It’s cheesy. But it shows a higher order understanding for my guest room exile that has nothing to do with toilet rolls. I am grudgingly touched.

Happy Early Anniversary, Dear. Considering how Anniversary Number 19 went, I’m ready to celebrate Number 20.

The Journey of Keith Sanders

2010-08-26T08:19:00.005-06:00

Keith Sanders

The evocative, abstract artwork of Keith Sanders maps his subconscious journey through a colorful and traveled life, from his start as an Okie born “with a pencil” in his hand, to the acclaimed master artist in his current Wimberley studio. The multilayer hues of his watercolors and textural acrylic paintings present a tour de force of technique and artistry, from landscapes of simple elegance to portraits of effusive whimsy.

“I think that every painting an artist does, no matter the subject, is a self portrait,” says Keith. “It’s coming out of you and your subconscious; even if it’s as realistic as a photograph, there’s something of you in there. So I call all of them self portraits.”

Inspired by lifetime events that flow from his subconscious onto paper and canvas, Keith’s “self portraits” are often thematic, with multiple paintings based on related childhood memories. A significant collection of these are represented by his “Mother Road” series of mixed media paintings.

As a child of the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, Keith spent countless hours on the storied Route 66, traveling between his grandfather’s farm in Oklahoma to a tent village in Palm Springs in Southern California. The terracotta soil, ochre dust, cerulean sky, and rainbow hues of the sunlit roadway are among the impressions evoked by this series.

Success tracked Keith in his artistic career, as measured by an impressive dossier of national exhibitions and best of show awards, and more recently as a 2007 and 2009 finalist for the Hunting PLC Art Prize, the largest art prize in the United States. Cheerfully unassuming, however, Keith keeps a black and white photo of the tent cabin that his family lived in while in Palm Springs in his studio, a reminder of his humble roots and of the transient nature of fortune.

With his artistic talent recognized and supported at an early age by his parents, and an influential mentorship by his high school art teacher, watercolorist Andrew Lester, Keith never had any doubts that he would pursue a career as an artist.

Keith began his passion for watercolors in high school, and after graduation he continued his art training at the Art Center in Los Angeles for as long as his scholarship allowed. His parents decided to return to Oklahoma at the cusp of the Korean War, and Keith opted to return with them to get drafted from his home state.

Army medic training brought him to San Antonio as a new draftee, where he met his first wife. After a year and a half stationed in the Territory of Hawaii, Keith settled in San Antonio with his wife and son in 1956 and continued his art studies at San Antonio College and Trinity University. While studying art, Keith found inspiration in the works of several artists, including Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, and John Marin, as well as the blossoming art scene in San Antonio.

In 1959 he learned that celebrated watercolorist Milliard Sheets had become the director of the Los Angeles County Art Institute. Intent on studying with one of his heroes, Keith hitchhiked to Los Angeles that year. His trip did not go as planned, however, as he was felled by a kidney stone attack that developed into a critical infection.

Keith made a U-turn after this near-death experience, and returned to his family in San Antonio. In 1969 Keith left San Antonio for the coastal inspirations of sea and fog, bridges and bays, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Almost 10 years passed before Keith, by then an established and active exhibitor, finally had his lesson with Milliard Sheets at a watercolor seminar near Monterey’s famed Cannery Row.

Over the next 26 years Keith moved inland from the Pacific coast to the Sierra Foothills near Grass Valley, continued climbing eastward to Boulder and Evergreen, Colorado, and then settled in Taos, New Mexico. Continuously experimenting and evolving in his style, Keith absorbed and interpreted landscapes in the luminously layered and sensuous planes of his watercolors. Mesmerizing and enigmatic in beauty, his artwork defies easy definition to the lay observer.

Morning on the Blanco (photo courtesy of Keith Sanders)

“Abstract would be the closest, but I usually see things in my paintings, either a horizon line or mountains or storms; it varies,” says Keith.

“A lot of people see my work and say, ‘You know, I really don’t like abstract, but I really like this, and I don’t know why.’ I can draw a horizon line here and a curve there and start painting and not know what’s coming. You just start and then things evolve. I have layers and layers of colors on top of the other. Some of these will have 10 to 15 layers. It’s a discovery every time. I’m never done. I just keep going. Sometimes if I see them years later I think, ‘Oh, I should have done this, ooh, I could’ve done that!’ Then I have to tell myself, ‘No! Leave it alone! Leave it alone! I have to control myself,” he admits with a grin.

Echoing that previous medical emergency that returned him to San Antonio as a young art student, a heart attack in 2004 became the impetus for Keith and his wife, artist Marianne Vieregg, to leave Taos for Texas.

“I became a grandfather and great grandfather and had a heart attack on my 70th birthday at [a mall] parking lot in Taos. After I recovered from that, I decided maybe it was time to get closer to my boys and grandkids, so we started looking for a place in the San Antonio area that was in the arts community. We liked Austin, so we settled here [in Wimberley].”

His paintings now reflect the idyllic scenes of the Hill Country, from “Early Morning on the Blanco” to “Jacob’s Well,” but as Keith does not often begin a piece with a set destination in mind, most of his paintings are titled by epiphany after completion.

“Jacob’s Well’ did not come from visiting the place,” says Keith, “but from my subconscious, my imagination. I started with a line here and then there and all of a sudden it’s starting to look like an oil or water well. Then I think, ‘Oh! Jacob’s Well.”

Jacob's Well (photo courtesy of Keith Sanders)

His enthusiasm and love for creative experimentation and sharing painting techniques has made Keith a popular instructor for seminars and demonstrations, for children in Wimberley’s “Arts from the Heart” program to seasoned veteran painters. As an artist who benefited from the unquestioning support of parents and early instructors, Keith bemoans the loss of art exposure and instruction to children.

“Ask any 5-year-old or 6-year-old why we need art. Oh my goodness, they are so talented at that age. They want to do it and they want to try everything and they are so creative! Then some grown-up will say, ‘What’s that? I can’t tell what it is. What side is up?’ Art is for everybody. Every kid is an artist!”

Keith maintains that 5-year-old-with-a-new-set-of-paints verve and zeal in the studio, ever the wandering and wondering artist

“An artist is never satisfied. I’m never satisfied. It’s like a curse,” he laughs. “You’re never done. I’ll probably go to my deathbed going, ‘Ooh, ooh, I want to do that one, why didn’t I do that one? Wait a minute, wait a minute I want to do another one…”

Keith Sanders with "Monterey Boatworks"

FYI
Keith Sanders is represented by the Gallery Collection at La Posada de Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM. See his paintings locally at Bent Tree Gallery, 101 Henson on Wimberley Square. Hours are 10 AM to 5 PM, Tuesday through Sunday. Cappy's Restaurant in San Antonio is exhibiting a one-man show of Keith Sanders’ work through September 10, 2010. Keith’s paintings will be part of the “Out of Their Minds” show at Creekhaven Bed and Breakfast in Wimberley on October 16, 2010. For more information, visit www.keithdevonsanders.com and www.keithsanderswatercolors.com or call Bent Tree Gallery at (512) 847-9438.

Wind, Water and Light Show at the Wesley Gallery

2010-06-23T08:22:00.009-06:00

Julie Speir and Roberta Wesley with "Critical Mass"

From the depictions of Paleolithic life in the cave paintings at Lascaux, to the fabric-draped topography of in situ artwork created by Christo, artists have long been observers and commentators of the cultural, social, and natural environments around them. Whatever their inspirations and motivations, their acts of creation enable artists to change the world around them.

Art as the catalyst for change is the principle behind a unique event organized by artists Roberta Wesley and Julie Speir of the Wesley Gallery in Dripping Springs. Entitled “Wind, Water and Light,” the event on July 10, 2010 promises to inspire and invoke public discourse on timely issues of environmental stewardship and ecological awareness.

Through the language of art, the works by approximately 30 artists will convey the “feeling about the need to pay attention to our world and to take care of it,” says Roberta. “It should be a universal statement for most people.”

Inspired by the words of Margaret Mead, that “a small group of thoughtful people could change the world,” Roberta interpreted that moment of momentum in her painting, “Critical Mass,” as her artistic statement for the event.

An impressive roster of Hill Country artists will have works represented in every medium imaginable, from acrylic to oil, watercolor to wood, glass to metal, ceramics to stone, and fabric to film. Recycled materials are components of several works, including the mesmerizing kinetic wind sculptures of Jim LaPaso and the majestic fluid grace of industrial glass sculptures by Bill Meek.

"Starburst" by Jim LaPaso

Colleen McCulla-Thomas often sculpts in stone, but is creating a metal and mixed media piece that best serves the intention of her artwork about water.

“I’m really excited about being in the show,” says Colleen, “because it’s topical and I think that the environmental movement is coming into its own. People are becoming more aware with technology and communication about how the environment is being affected and how it affects us personally. But I still think that there is a slight disconnect between being able to do what you want to do to take right action while actually being able to do it living in a contemporary world. Yet there are plenty of steps that we can do as individuals—¬not leave the lights on, not leave the water running— little things that need to be brought to the forefront and taken on board by the community at large. People get overwhelmed by their personal lives and forget that we are living on this little orb in the middle of space and that we need to protect it.”

"Calligraphy" by Colleen McCulla-Thomas

Artworks like Colleen’s water sculpture or the lyrical botanical watercolors of endangered species by Lotus McElfish can “strike that emotional cord in people,” says Julie, “and inspire them to want to take whatever the next step is in their lives to become more energy conscious and more conscious of their resources.”

The Wesley Gallery, a model of green design and energy efficiency, is an appropriate venue to showcase works of art themed around conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Constructed in 2006 by Jim Speir, Roberta’s son and Julie’s husband, the gallery building design, its compact fluorescent lighting system, and its new solar power array illustrate the family’s commitment to sustainable living and business practices.

Roberta and husband Jack Duffey were so impressed by the benefits afforded to them by the solar power system installed at their home by Lighthouse Solar of Austin that they opted to have a system installed at the gallery. Stan Pipkin, Managing Director of Lighthouse Solar, has long been interested in the transposition of public art and social awareness. It was during the solar installation project at the Wesley Gallery that the idea for “Wind, Water and Light” germinated.

“I think that artists often have unique perspectives around issues and concerns, culturally speaking and around our domestic lives,” says Stan, “and they would be powerful additions to the general conversation and public discourse on energy.”

“This was a real opportunity to use the community that [Roberta and Julie] have with artists and the language that they have around art to bring another dimension to energy conservation, distributed energy, and more broadly speaking, energy policy. The Wesley Gallery has taken the idea and made it more interesting, by bringing more people to the table and more stakeholders to participate,” says Stan.

Stakeholders for the discourse on environmental policy include the policymakers themselves, and the Wesley Gallery show is slated for visits by Texas State Representative Patrick Rose, and Hays County Commissioner, Karen Ford.

“I guess it has always been the ‘business’ of art and artists to help us see the world from a different perspective,” says Commissioner Ford.

“I think that’s the goal of this show at Wesley Gallery — to help us as ‘consumers of art and ideas’ to think about how we as humans fit in the natural world of wind, water and light. I’m eager to be at the Wesley show and see what’s in store, but I’ll also be there to promote the Rainwater Revival, a fall festival we’re touting as a celebration of collection, conservation and common sense. I applaud the gallery’s adoption of an alternative energy source and for focusing our attention on the natural elements.”

With striking artworks to heighten public awareness and motivate action, ample opportunities will be available to investigate strategies for greener living with the business exhibitors at the Wesley Gallery event.

Seth Brown, owner of Xanadu Nursery and Landscaping, will display drought resistant plants and related information in the garden area. Greg Ross of Sherwin Williams Paints will provide information about low volatile organic compound (VOC) paints.

Exhibitor Karen Boden, owner of Essential 3 Architectural Design, is an enthusiastic proponent of the benefits of green building design. Remodeling her home from slab with the essential elements of environmentally conscious design convinced her of the direction that the industry must go.

“I realized that this is what we need to do for the future. First, the comfort level—people should be able to enjoy this level of comfort. Second, the savings on energy bills. And third, the savings to the environment. I’m not one that says that you need to be totally green, but to just be conscious of how much we are using and how it’s affecting our Earth. You don’t have to go crazy, but there are so many things that you can do where you don’t have to spend that much more but make total sense,” says Karen.

Exhibitor Mark Maroney, founder of The Maroney Company, will have “a power point presentation which is an overview of green building and its elements involved.”

“Our idea is to help folks be able to use these different components collectively,” says Mark. “As builders, we will talk about the dynamics of how it can benefit the reduction of your carbon footprint by building smaller houses and packing them full of green products to help offset the cost of the green components.”

Exhibitor Lloyd Lee, owner of Hill Country EcoPower, says that he hopes to “help raise awareness for renewable energy solutions in the Dripping Springs area for wind power, water conservation, and geothermal energy. We’ve been doing geothermal installations all over the Hill Country, and it’s the most energy efficient way of heating and cooling your home.”

Lighthouse Solar will have several examples of solar projects, including the Wesley Gallery, a solar carport, and a solar umbrella.

Solar Umbrella

“It’s an off-grid system but it’s also a demonstration piece and prototype to imagine that solar can do more than sit on the roof,” says Stan Pipkin of the solar umbrella.
“A lot of what we’ve done in our company is to try to introduce solar in a more tangible and tactile way. The solar umbrella can be a picnic table, or it can be in the public realm as a charging station or an impromptu café with a coffee maker.”

The exhibits representing “Wind, Water and Light” at the Wesley Gallery promote the belief that, so long as people are moved to create works of beauty and self expression, the opposing force of humankind's destructive tendencies can be nullified.

"Relic from the Age of Oil" by Roberta Wesley

FYI
“Wind, Water and Light,” will show at the Wesley Gallery on Saturday, July 10 from 10 AM to 5 PM. The Wesley Gallery is located at 27008 Ranch Rd. 12 South, Dripping Springs. For additional information, visit www.wesleygallery.com, email art@wesleygallery.com, or call (888) 224-3644.

Wimberley Artist Workshops

2010-05-15T11:09:00.003-06:00

Artists have long enjoyed the challenge of painting en plein air, from the garden at Giverny to the wildflowers of Wimberley. To paint proficiently outdoors requires spontaneity and speed in seizing the scene as illuminated by Nature. Yet spontaneity without the knowledge of fundamental concepts and speed without technique would yield artwork that only the painter’s mother would claim to love.

Whether an ardent amateur or an adept professional, artists who seek to improve their knowledge and techniques can find inspiration and mentorship in a Wimberley Artist Workshops program. An impressive array of nationally and internationally renowned professional artists are coming year-round to the Hill Country to teach 3- to 5-day workshops in a myriad of mediums, including oil painting, pastel, sculpture, and printmaking.

“Our focus is to bring celebrated and successful artists, who are willing to share what they know, with students that really want to step up a level in their artistic endeavors,” says Rob Pitzer, co-founder of Wimberley Artist Workshops and owner of Pitzer’s Fine Arts of Wimberley.

With over 30 years of experience in the fine arts business and a treasury of relationships with distinguished artists whose works he has represented in his galleries, Rob had just started to consider the idea of organizing a series of workshops when Belinda Aber-Haddock walked into his gallery.

Belinda had recently resigned from her position in marketing and product branding to split her time between homes in Driftwood and her husband’s businesses in Combine. A self-described “Type A” personality, Belinda was seeking a project to occupy her time and energy, which had formerly been devoted to her career at Chevron.

“I have a personal interest in art and I paint and do oil paintings. But then I also have a business side to me,” says Belinda. “Rob and I were talking casually and he said, ‘I’m thinking about doing artist workshops,’ and I said, ‘Oh, do you need help?”

With the swift strokes and pace of a plein air painter, Belinda volunteered her expertise in product development and marketing communications to develop the workshops. Belinda drafted the financial plan, assessed start-up and break-even costs, and developed the century plant and cactus logo in the colors of the Texas Hill Country.

“I thought, I’ll just get an artist to come and teach a workshop, but lo and behold, it turned out to be a lot more work than I thought,” grins Rob.

Belinda Aber-Haddock and Rob Pitzer

Rob and Belinda’s chance meeting and synchronicity in timing developed rapidly into an equal partnership in Wimberley Artist Workshops, LLC. The duo agrees that theirs is an ideal partnership for this canvas, with a complete spectrum of skill sets and a complementary blend of personalities.

In a dialogue of their process for bringing the workshop from concept to reality, they interject comments to complete one another’s sentences, one line blending into the next.

“It’s perfect timing,” explains Belinda. “We are trying to be careful about it because of the economy, but from the perspective of starting from scratch, it means you’ve got nowhere to go but up.”

“ A lot of the preliminary work was figuring out what people wanted,” says Rob. “We spent a lot of time with people in the community…”

“ …and we invited artists and people who had been in other workshops and got input from potential clients and what they thought about other workshops; what they liked and didn’t like. They preferred small classes, with no more than 12 students per instructor. And space, that was the other factor,” says Belinda.

“People didn’t want to get crowded,” continues Rob. “For me, I found out that it was a lot like the gallery business in that it’s got to be a good experience for the artist and for the people taking the classes. We found out from some of the students that there are some artists who will come in and teach, but their hearts are not in it.”

“You’ve got to find an artist that’s well known but also enjoys teaching people,” says Belinda. “The teacher with the student relationship, and who that teacher is, is key to whether students make those leaps and bounds or not. It’s very important to have mentors and teachers. To do it on your own is very naïve. There are a lot of people who can paint and who have that talent, but it is a whole other talent to be able to teach.”

“And have a heart for it,” says Rob. “So we’ve been careful with that. We’ve set our goal on making sure that it’s a good experience for all the people who come and take the classes as well as the teacher. We’re trying to go that extra mile.”

That extra mile on the part of Rob and Belinda translates into a hard edge for the reputation of the arts community in Wimberley, as the Hill Country plays host to artists whose works are catalogued in some of the great museums and galleries of the world. With the addition of a consistent and structured learning venue for fine arts, the composition of Wimberley as an artistic community grows richer and more radiant.

“We are promoting Wimberley, as well,” says Belinda. “The artists who come to the workshops are looking at this as part of a vacation. They are taking time off; maybe they are flying in, renting a car, staying at a local inn, eating and shopping here. Wimberley is a destination place.”

“The reception has just been overwhelmingly positive,” says Rob of the reactions of the Wimberley Valley Art League, Chamber of Commerce, and the artists who are sharing their talents. “So it just makes it fun. This is not just another art school. It’s an artist workshop where people will get the chance to work personally with artists they normally would not be able to work with. I’ve been in the retail side for--this is my 32nd year--and it has been a big battery recharger for me,” beams Rob.

Ribbon cutting ceremony

“We’re doing something new,” says Belinda. “Any time you’re doing something new, it’s fun and challenging. I find it intellectually challenging; it’s using all the skills I have to do something of my own. I’m so fortunate to have run into Rob and that we clicked. I don’t normally believe in perfect, but this is perfect.”

FYI
Wimberley Artist Workshops is located at 13909 Ranch Road 12 with a bi-monthly schedule of workshops. A full description of artist information, workshop schedule, student level, and fees is available at www.wimberleyartistworkshops.com. Online registration for workshops is on a first come, first served basis. Contact Wimberley Artist Workshops at 512-722-6032 or email info@wimberleyartistworkshops.com with additional questions.

Rodney Bursiel Goes with the Flow

2010-03-27T23:13:00.013-06:00

Rodney Bursiel (All photos courtesy of Rodney Bursiel)

Whether eyeing the Costa Rican horizon while paddling from atop his surfboard or gazing through the lens of his trusty Nikon at legendary musicians, photographer Rodney Bursiel watches, alert in the moment to catch the perfect wave or portrait.

Staying in the moment is a way of life that has taken him adventuring from the jungles and beaches of Central America, to the jungles and beaches of Hollywood, and back around to the Texas Hill Country he calls home. His is not a linear path, the 5-year-plan path, the string of bubbles rising in a placid pool path. Instead, the rolling wave that Rodney has surfed to the present began with a family that dabbled in the visual arts, splashed into the dramatic arts, and dove into the diving world of his father.

“My father had a SCUBA shop and taught lessons for probably 30 years,” says Rodney.

“He would run dive trips in the summer—Cayman Islands, Bonaire, Honduras, all over the place, and I traveled a lot. That’s kind of where I got my wanderlust, I guess.”

After a temporary fit of practicality led Rodney to obtain a degree in marketing instead of fine arts from Southwest Texas State University, he roamed his way into the movie industry via a 2-month stint on the Houston set of the movie, “Tin Cup,” with actor Kevin Costner. Affable, eager to learn, and with the rugged good looks casting agents seek in cinema cowboys, Rodney formed friendships on the set that led to roles in other film and television projects. Rodney found himself in the enviable positions of playing opposite of Angelina Jolie as the adult son of her character in "True Women" and as a stunt actor and Josh Hartnett’s stand-in for “Pearl Harbor.”

“As a kid, I wanted to be a rock star,” Rodney grins. “But I never could play the guitar well enough, so I gave up that dream and thought that acting would be the easy way to go,” he laughs.

“I did a lot of period films, which is what kept me in as long as it did,” says Rodney. “You’re running around recreating history, shooting guns and being a kid again, playing Cowboys and Indians, for real. It was a blast. As fun as it was, it got exhausting, getting up at 4 AM, getting home after 11 PM. I have a lot of friends still in the production end of things and they do it day in and day out—I don’t know how they do it.”

Pancho Horse by Rodney Bursiel

Friendship seems the underlying current that has guided Rodney through the swells of his varied pursuits. From buddies who share his passion for surfing in El Salvador and Nicaragua, to the musicians and fashion models he photographs, Rodney’s stories brim with the good fortune of his bonds of friendship.

Rodney took underwater photographs during his boyhood dive trips, but it was not until Tinseltown was a glimmer in his wake and he was busy constructing rental cabins on his Wimberley property in 2001 that he began to dabble in photography.

“I just shot because it was fun. People started commenting, ‘These are not just snapshots, Rodney, these are good and you need to start doing something with these.’ The first couple of times I heard it, I didn’t think anything of it, but I kept hearing it over and over so I started taking it more seriously,” says Rodney.

Fallen Angels by Rodney Bursiel

Avoiding the undertow of wedding and senior portraits, Rodney focused instead on fashion photography and “the people who wanted to be photographed,” including friends in the music business. Early successes layered upon each other like breaking waves; a photograph of a friend’s guitar became the cover image for a CD by the Edwin McCain Band, a fashion shoot with clothing by designer Marrika Nakk crested into a photo shoot with J.D. Souther for "Cowboys and Indians" magazine.

J.D. Souther by Rodney Bursiel

“It’s been a string of things like that, I don’t know how it all happened,” admits Rodney. “There have been things that I’ve wanted to do, but if they don’t pan out, I just move on. I’m not counting on [photography] for an income or a living. My cabins pay the bills and give me the freedom to go shoot what I want. I find something that interests me and that’s what I’ll do. It’s a hobby with really great benefits.”

Sam Baker - Mean Eyed Cat by Rodney Bursiel

In 2007, Rodney asked for permission to photograph concerts at Blue Rock Studio in Wimberley. A friend had suggested the idea to Rodney, with neither realizing that years earlier, the owners of Blue Rock Studio had purchased a photograph by Rodney at a benefit auction. With the consent of owners Billy and Dodee Crockett, Rodney began a tradition of pre-concert portrait sessions and candid concert photographs at the Blue Rock Studio. The first concert that Rodney photographed featured Willy Porter, and Rodney was thrilled when the portrait he took was used in the musician’s posters and advertising. Now in his third season photographing the monthly concerts, Rodney describes the events as the “highlight of my month.”

With his lifelong love of music, Rodney is fan and photographer of many of his portrait subjects. Photographing musicians gives Rodney the opportune windfall of private concerts and time to hang 10 with those he admires.

“That’s the biggest perk that I love about photography,” says Rodney, “the people you meet and the bond you create. I dabbled in music forever but never got any good at that. I guess that’s why I’m shooting so much music stuff right now. It’s kind of my outlet, living life with musicians,” Rodney smiles.

Rodney’s innate visual sense and intuitive ability to put his subjects at ease have contributed to a luminous photographic style that is readily recognizable as his work. His cinematic lighting plays shadows against light, infusing facial features, calloused hands, and beloved instruments with sculpted radiance. The effect is evocative, intimate, and illuminating.

“Almost everybody that I’ve ever photographed has told me that it was one of their favorite pictures ever taken of them. I did a portrait of Cyril Neville of the Neville Brothers and he said, ‘Man, I’ve never had a portrait like this. I see everybody in my family in my face.’ Those are the words a photographer likes to hear,” grins Rodney.

Rodney considers his future as an ocean of possibilities.

“To be honest, I’m just totally open. I don’t have a 5-year or 10-year plan. Maybe that’s like everything else I’ve done; when I come across it, I’ll know it. I’ve done so many things, I guess I just get bored. Right now, at this moment, I’m totally happy with what I am and how I’m doing.”

FYI

For more information, visit www.rodneybursiel.com. For information about renting Rodney’s cabins at Canyon Sunrise, visit www.canyonsunrise.com.

Lotus Ranch

2010-03-01T10:08:00.000-06:00

Steeped in mystique since the time of ancient civilizations, the simple lotus flower has long symbolized rebirth and enlightenment by its ability to rise above the muck of its surroundings to bloom in beauty. Just as the folded petals of the lotus expand gloriously under the warmth of the sun, Lotus Ranch in Wimberley enables visitors to expand their creativity and recharge their spirits in the warmth of the Hill Country. Michael Turner, managing director of Lotus Ranch, hopes to evoke the rejuvenating aspect of the lotus flower at his 40-acre creative retreat and nature preserve.

“The lotus flower, back from the time of the Egyptians, has always been a symbol of re-energization because the flower closes up at night and opens again the next day. That’s the purpose here, letting people feel re-energized,” says Michael.

“When you are up here, you feel very remote, although we are only 4 miles from town. But because of that feeling, people are able to go into themselves and bring out some things that maybe they’ve been wanting to bring out, like their creativity.”

Facilitating the expression of latent creativity is a role in which Michael has long been interested. He describes himself as an artist who happens to make a living as a CPA, but reveals in passing a plethora of other skills and passions, from Reiki Master to magazine publisher, real estate developer to creativity coach. Rooted in his varied interests is a yen to nurture creative thinking in people and organizations.

“Stifling your creativity is not good, but a lot of people do. They think they’ve been labeled. When you were a kid, you maybe were either a band person or jock or a cheerleader. A lot of times your parents said you were good at this or your teachers said you were good at that. You think you are what your labels were at that time, but you’re not. You can be whatever you want to be, and everybody has this creative intelligence in the right side of their brain; it’s just whether they have allowed themselves to let it come out. A lot of people say, ‘I can’t draw, I can’t do art.’ You can if you allow that part of your brain to come out and learn how to use that creativity.”

Creative growth may stem from challenging one’s preconceptions about artistic talent or changing one’s environment. Wimberley seems an appropriate enclave for promoting the spirit of creative and artistic thinking, with many artists of renown finding inspiration within its natural beauty and inspiring artistry in others by example. Studio space and planned art classes at Lotus Ranch will provide a venue for creative enterprises.

Michael Turner

“It’s hard for people to change or invoke creativity when they are in the middle of the same parameters that they are on a daily basis,” says Michael.

“Corporations have found that in order for people to start thinking differently, they need to be in a different environment and away from whatever triggers their habitual thinking.”

History has repeatedly shown that major advances in society have been the result of humanity’s creative intelligence in conceptualizing the new. From Sir Issac Newton’s apple to Steve Job’s Apple, revolutionary concepts from gravity to personal computing were products of uniquely creative thinkers. For today’s businesses, the bottom line for staying on top may be thinking outside of the box.

“If you’re not thinking creatively, you can guarantee that your competitors are, and you’re going to fall behind,” cautions Michael.

“Creative thinking is what propels businesses forward. Following the leader works a bit, but you will always be behind. Hopefully, this will be a place where businesses can start thinking creatively.”

Like its eponymous flora, the idea for Lotus Ranch germinated in mud and debris, though of a Florida hurricane. Refusing to reprise another traumatic hurricane experience, Michael sought inland property in the hills. The Hill Country in North Carolina was an initial option, but discovering that Texas had its own Hill Country led Michael to explore the area until the fortuitous encounter with the property three years ago.

Performance Hall

“I love Wimberley, I just love it. It’s home. I can’t think of any place I’d rather live,” enthuses Michael.

Construction of Lotus Ranch began in late 2007, with green construction materials and techniques. In Fall 2009, construction of an apartment suite, guest bedrooms, a hearty commercial kitchen and dining hall, and airy performing arts center was completed. Expansive decks, a secluded Jacuzzi, and an immense flagstone patio enhance outdoor areas for venues ranging from family reunions to full-service weddings.

Marilyn Monroe Room

Two miles of winding trails provide natural paths for quiet contemplation and sheltered groves for yoga and meditation. Peaceful ponds on the grounds are adorned with the namesake lotus flowers and wildlife, both living and sculpted.

In a place where creativity reigns, Michael is flexible to the whole range of possibilities that Lotus Ranch may serve.

“It’s very versatile. I hope to have as many people enjoy this place as possible because it’s just so unique.”

Lotus Ranch is where the Yellow Rose of Texas meets the White Lotus of Rejuvenation to dance the night away under an auspicious Hill Country constellation.

Kitchen and Dining Room

FYI
Lotus Ranch is located at 525 Fischer Trail in Wimberley. For more information about weddings, corporate and private retreats, lodging, and facility reservations, call (512) 847-6633 or visit www.lotusranch.org. Contact Michael Turner directly at (512) 757-4500 or Mike@LotusRanch.Org.

Farewell to February

2010-02-28T21:43:00.005-06:00

Dog and Pony Show, Wimberley

Less than 5 minutes ago I heard what sounded like the first whispers of rain, and I remembered that Tom had said, "It's supposed to rain tonight," with just a hint of skepticism earlier today. First a whisper, now a hearty but friendly downpour. After so many years of empirical evidence that meteorologists are always wrong, it comes as a continuing source of pleasurable perplexity to me that they now seem to always be right.

Earlier this week, on Tuesday, February 22, to be exact, it snowed here in Wimberley. Just as predicted. First it was more like frozen rain, but on and off throughout the day we had flurries that were definitely snow by any definition. At long last my kids had the Snow Day they had dreamed about. Well, not really. I started driving them to school, but as the snow was hitting my windshield, I suddenly realized that I had not checked whether school would be in session. I looked it up on the Internet and saw that the local school district had indeed closed school. Unfortunately, it was an old post from some previous year, so by the time I called the school district and was informed that school was in session, we were quite tardy. Fortunately, neither one of my kids is in public school, so we didn't have to run through the attendance monitor gauntlet. One of the perks of private school I will miss next year, when Squirrel starts at the Wimberley public school.

Penguin was in school for about 2 hours before I received the call to pick her up due to the snow; Squirrel had a de facto snow day because she was home sick. Not sick enough to not have a little fun in the snow, however.

Today marks the official end of Chinese New Year and the Olympics. I am always sad and relieved to see the Olympics leave. I have similarly torn sentiments for the NBC coverage of the event, which was oozing with saccharine side stories and flooded by commercials, but at least their abysmal coverage exasperated me enough to limit my Olympics consumption to only somewhat unhealthy doses.

So with an Olympian burp and a brrr and a forlorn backward glance, I bid adieu to February.

New Year Resolutions 2010

2010-01-06T00:24:00.008-06:00

New Hair, Newish Pooch (Ruby the Bloodhound)

I weighed in today at 2.5 pounds less than how much I weighed when I met my husband at Stanford in graduate school. That may sound pretty good, except that I was the heaviest I'd ever been in my life, other than when I was pregnant, when I met him. Instead of the freshman 10, I gained the grad school 10. I'm not sure what to call this...the Texas 10? The Holiday 10? The 2010 10?

But you know, it's ok. I figure a little bit of squishiness isn't too bad a thing, especially after my epiphany while soaking in the Japanese baths with other middle-aged (and older) Asian women two years ago. Glimpsing the reflections of other women in the mirrors and around me, backs and buttocks, breasts and thighs, like being in a painting of nude bathers come to life, I recall feeling a sense of wonder tinged with relief that these women are beautiful. They are somewhat chubby and have wrinkles but they are beautiful.

I'm not sure if the box of Trader Joes Candycane Chocolate Joe-Joes would agree with me, though. I'm not sure why I ate the entire box. I wasn't depressed. May be it just came down to the simple fact they tasted good, and there was nobody around to tell me to stop. We'll have to see how my metabolism manages to deal with this latest transgression. Certainly there have been changes to my metabolism of late. A fairly recent realization is that the amazing ability I had developed after my first pregnancy of being able to feel comfortably warm has abandoned me. As a skinny child I was always cold. I was cold in high school, college, through my engineering career (except when sweltering out in the Central Valley on field assignments). Then I had Squirrel and then suddenly, blissfully, the little internal furnace in my belly kept me comfortably toasty. It never wore off even after she was born and continued through my second pregnancy and beyond. All the way until last fall. Now once again, I feel cold all the time. To be sure, we are having a cold snap, so everyone is probably feeling cold, except maybe my mom in Arizona, where it is 70 degrees. But, no, I sense that there has been a definite physiological change and that I have lost my pregnancy-induced ability to tolerate cold. So maybe a bit more insulation isn't a bad thing. I'm sure this cold snap will end with the onset of a new weather pattern called menopause. I suppose I should enjoy the chill while I can.

This chilly, snappy new year reminds me that I have some resolutions I need to document. I read an article that described how even having resolutions and not keeping them is better than not having any resolutions at all. I did find this to be the case in my own experience, as I accomplished more in the years I had resolutions than in the years that I did not. Perhaps it was just an illusion, but it was an effective illusion.

2010 Resolutions

1. I resolve to bring more peace and calm into my family's life. This encompasses many things, tangibly by reducing the clutter of bric-a-brac in the house and instituting a system of organization so that we don't have to spend any more time than necessary to find things; more esoterically by my approaching life with internal serenity. Indeed, this may just look like a variation on my redundant resolution of getting organized for the new year, but I am trying to apply my belief that striving for world peace starts at the individual level. For if we cannot approach our mundane daily life without causing or experiencing imagined strife, how possibly can we expect warring states and nations to make peace? If I cause the people I love anxiety and they cause me anxiety in return, what hope is there for deeply rooted enemies to be able to share their lives together in peace? I am not naive enough to suggest that my resolution will have any impact on the state of the world relative to peace. But certainly, in my tiny sphere of influence, my attempt may cause an infinitesimal shift in the collective chi energy of the world, which could resonate sufficiently in others so that my miniscule effect is magnified.

2. I resolve to complete 5 art projects this year. I was inspired by the amazing Native American artwork at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, both contemporary and historic, and in galleries in Tubac. It made me want to create, if not art, at least different handicrafts of 5 media: painting, fiber arts, ceramics or tile, glass, and mixed media. I remain reasonably convinced that art and music are humanity's greatest gift to humanity. All the other inventions we so proudly tout as examples of mankind's cleverness and intelligence are merely crude copies and attempts to explain nature's much more elegant designs. I suppose that same criticism could be said of art, but at least art and music have much less capacity for destruction than other devices and concepts created by humans.

3. I resolve to write either a letter to a friend, an article, or a blog at least once a week. Keeping in touch with my friends really needs to be its own resolution. I'm not sure why it is so difficult to pick up the phone and call, but I always manage to talk myself out of it, or the time change is too hard to compensate for, or I think I am too busy. I suppose, though, that my friends on their end go through the same process when wondering whether to call me. I need only to think of my friends and family and I can feel their presence and love. What is hard to capture is the sound of their voice, of their laughter, of their personal news in their own tones and inflections.

That's about all the resolving I can handle for the year. Happy 2010, the Year of the Tiger!

Merry Christmas to All!

2009-12-25T18:41:00.003-06:00

Two thirds of the Little Divas Too in performance

Lee Colee' Summer Musical Boot Camp 2010 and Little Divas Too

2009-12-24T19:16:00.000-06:00

2009 Musical Boot Camp-Guys and Dolls
Photo by Petesie Lee

This summer, the Wimberley Players’ Playhouse will quake with the “Music of the Night,” rumble with the Sharks and the Jets, rattle with a shivering Oliver, and roll with the indomitable spirit of Annie. Lee Coleé Studios’ annual summer musical boot camp is all grown up and ready to shake its 10th season stuff with a “Broadway Bound” spectacular, empowering talented Hill Country youth to seize the stage and inhabit the limelight.

The basic plotline remains the same: excitement reigns as 35 young performers are selected from auditions as cast members for the 2010 musical boot camp, but their youthful ardor for song and stage is sorely put to the test as they enter the grueling rehearsals required to mount a full length musical production in only 11 days. Egos are bruised, tears are shed, toes are trod, but company camaraderie and confidence prevails on Opening Night, as the performers captivate the audience with their transformation and stage savvy.

In a fitting commemoration of the 10th year of production, a new twist has been added to the story. For the first time since Wimberley entertainment dynamo, Lee Coleé, began her musical boot camp, high school and college-age performers are eligible to participate in a concurrent Teen Camp. The very success and duration of the summer boot camp program provided the impetus to open the program to teenagers, as older alumni of the boot camp clamored to return to the high point of their previous summers.

Members of Teen Camp will perform excerpts from “The Phantom of the Opera,” and “West Side Story,” enabling them the opportunity to tackle the challenge of some of Broadway’s biggest roles. These musicals differ from the lighter comedy musicals performed in previous camps, with darker thematic elements to interpret as actors, operatic vocal styles, and advanced dance choreography.

If ill-fated love provides the thematic backdrop to the Teen Camp musical selections, the 8- to 14-year-old Youth Camp members may also wonder about “Where is Love?” in their “Hard-Knock Life,” on stage. Excerpts from “Oliver” and “Annie” will provide ample male and female principal and ensemble roles for the Youth Camp to sink their acting chops into, accompanied, no doubt, by the refrain of “Food, Glorious Food!”

To guide the company members through each aspect of their performance are professional actors, singers, and choreographers. Actor Rachel McGinnis returns again this year to lead acting and improvisation workshops. Opera performer and voice coach, Cary Michaels, will coach participants in classical voice technique, rhythm studies, and voice care. Dancer and choreographer, Pam Shultz, will join the staff this year to infuse the movement on stage with the flair she has brought to several other local productions, including the love scene in “Dracula.” Triple threat performer, Lee Coleé, will once again inspire the best performances possible out of each camp participant as the musical boot camp director and producer.

“I try to make every student feel like when they’re here, we’re going to try and accomplish something every single day that they want to accomplish at some point. And make it fun. Because if it’s not fun, it’s not worth doing,” says Lee.

“Lee earns the loyalty of her students because she does not treat them like kids. She expects so much of them: and, she gets it,” says Carrie Campbell, whose daughter, Sierra Fox, has performed for the past four years in the musical boot camp.

“The schedule of 10 am to 6 pm for 11 straight days remains difficult, but it works. Sierra comes home at least once a year in tears. The kids are tired and feelings get raw. Yet the camp is the highlight of her year.”

“As a parent, I am thrilled at the confidence Lee is able to bring to her students,” says Carrie. “Sierra started with Oklahoma when she was 5. Each year I have watched as Sierra has grown in the spot light. She enjoys her time on stage, is comfortable with the attention. Lee Coleé deserves much of the credit with Sierra for the transformation.”

Little Divas Too

Lee’s gift for inspiring confidence and transformation extends to the latest incarnation of her girl’s vocal performance group, The Little Divas Too. Joining veteran Little Diva, Dorothy Anderson, are Sierra Fox, Sammy Sullivan, Tavia Harrell, and Isabelle and Genevieve Hodge. The girls, who range in age from 8 to 12, have entertained audiences at the Wimberley Market Days and the Wimberley Café. Like many other young performers with dreams of going “Somewhere” in the Hill Country heart of “America” next summer, they are already busy preparing “Tonight” for their auditions “Tomorrow.”

FYI
Auditions for “Broadway Bound” will be scheduled by appointment in January, February, and March 2010 and are open for aspiring performers from ages 8-14 (Youth Camp) and 15-20 (Teen Camp). Audition candidates are asked to bring karoke accompaniment or sheet music for their audition song, and a head/shoulder photograph. In addition to performing a memorized song, candidates will tell a short story.

Summer musical boot camp dates are June 7 through June 27, 2010, with performances dates on June 18th, 19th, 20th, 24th, 25th, 26th & 27th at the Wimberley Players’ Playhouse at 450 Old Kyle Road in Wimberley. For audition appointments, contact Lee Coleé Studios/Talent Agency at (512) 847-7934 or e-mail lee@atnip.net. More information about summer camp, voice and dance lessons, and talent agency representation is available at www.leecoleestudios.com.

River City Ballet Presents "The Nutcracker Suite and Other Holiday Treats"

2009-12-03T10:38:00.003-06:00

The River City Ballet will present its seventh annual holiday extravaganza, “The Nutcracker Suite and Other Holiday Treats,” on December 12 and 13 at the San Marcos High School Performing Arts Theater.

“The Nutcracker Suite and Other Holiday Treats,” is a special holiday event to delight the entire community, featuring the World Premier of “Ave Maria,” set to Schubert’s uplifting score, and family favorite, Act II of “The Nutcracker.” River City Ballet’s annual holiday tradition has been made all the more magical under Artistic Director and award-winning choreographer, Keith Duncan, with breathtaking new costumes, lighting, and set designs. Not to be missed are guest artists Kathryn Boren of American Ballet Theatre II as the Sugar Plum Faerie and Aaron Smyth of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre as Prince Orchade.

Performances of “The Nutcracker Suite and Other Holiday Treats” are on December 12 at 7 pm, and December 13 at 4 pm at the San Marcos High School Performing Art Center, 2601 East McCarty Lane in San Marcos. Tickets are $15 (children 2 and under are free), and are available online at www.rivercityballet.org or by calling the box office at 512-396-8736.

(Or help Squirrel's ticket count and buy your tickets from us!)

River City Ballet Announces Guest Artists for "The Nutcracker Suite and Other Holiday Treats"

2009-11-23T16:29:00.006-06:00

Dancers Kathryn Boren of American Ballet Theatre II and Aaron Smyth of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre will guest star as the Sugar Plum Faerie and Prince Orchade in the River City Ballet's production of "The Nutcracker Suite and Other Holiday Treats."

Kathryn Boren

Aaron Smyth

Kathryn Boren

Hailing from Dallas, Texas, Ms. Boren is currently one of a small handful of dancers in the elite training company, American Ballet Theatre II, in New York. ABT II dancers will train in the program for one or two years before joining American Ballet Theatre's main company or other leading national and international professional companies. A winner of several scholarships and awards for young dancers, Ms. Boren has been a National Training Scholar since 2005 and a Bender Foundation Scholar since 2008. Her previous dance training in Texas included study with Lisa Slagle and Thomas Nicholson of the Ballet Academy of Texas, as well as with Keith Duncan, the Artistic Director of River City Ballet in San Marcos.

Aaron Smyth

Mr. Smyth was born on the Gold Coast, Australia and is currently training in New York at the prestigious JKO School at American Ballet Theatre on full scholarship. Well versed in several styles of dance, Mr. Smyth has proven to be an audience and judge favorite at several dance competitions, with awards including the Gold Medal at the Genee International Ballet Competition, the Royal Academy of Dance Solo Seal Award, and the Bravo Audience Choice Award in Toronto, Canada. Most recently, Mr. Smyth was a top 4 finalist in the 2008 Australia’s Got Talent TV series.

Aaron Smyth

Performances of “The Nutcracker Suite and Other Holiday Treats,” featuring Ms. Boren and Mr. Smyth will be held at the San Marcos High School Performing Arts Theater on December 12 at 7 pm and December 13 at 4 pm. Tickets are available online at www.rivercityballet.org and at the box office (512) 396-8736.

Kathryn Boren

Wimberley Valley Art League

2009-11-11T17:19:00.001-06:00

Art, music, and appreciation of nature are not optional electives in the curriculum of life, but are core courses fulfilling the better aspects of our humanity. The Hill Country provides a plethora of opportunities to develop our appreciation and training in art and music, and the community resonates with the convergence of experienced and emerging artists.

One such confluence of aspiring and established artistry is the Wimberley Valley Art League (WVAL). Here, artists may network at WVAL events, expand their expertise at workshops and monthly meetings, and submit artwork for display at the WVAL gallery in the Wimberley Community Center.

“I think it’s a healthy environment for artists,” says Herb Smith, a photographer recognized for his evocative images of Wimberley’s natural beauty.

“I’ve always felt that about art, that you should interact with other artists. The monthly meetings have an artist demonstrate a technique and the art league sponsors workshops with well-qualified artists; there’s a real educational component. People learn just from seeing other people’s work in the shows. All of this plays a role in improving the quality of art. I think that it’s important for any artist to continue to grow,” says Herb.

“I became interested in the League really because of the different artists who give the programs,” says fiber artist Sue Anne Sullivan.

“You just learn a lot when somebody comes in and shows how they work and where they get their inspiration. But their technique is where I learn a lot about art in general and I appreciate the camaraderie among other artists. You get to hear and talk to other people, and it’s fun to enter the shows and have your work on display. It’s a challenge every time you try and do it because there’s something new every time you have to learn, and even if you don’t get in, it’s been a good experience,” Sue Anne says.

Selection for display in the bimonthly gallery exhibits is competitive, with hundreds of works submitted by WVAL members for consideration, and the subjective nature of the juror’s decisions requires perseverance and a positive attitude by the artists.

“We’ve all had successes, failures, and rejections. And rejections are right at the top of the list,” laughs current WVAL President Tom Bender, whose photographic works combine powerful imagery with a flair for surrealistic humor.

“We have such a variety of artists here and we learn from each other. And being active is the only way to learn from each other. You can join and just sit back and attend the meetings but you don’t learn as much as if you pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey Herb, I’m struggling here.’ Herb and I are vastly different if you look at his images and mine, and that’s the beauty of it. We may have a lot of photographers, but everybody has a different style.”

“It’s a learning experience,” agrees Herb. “It can be amazingly informative and inspiring.”

As the curator, Herb arranges the display of artworks in the WVAL gallery, but as a member, he is not eligible to act as juror in the selection of artwork or show winners. Jurors are culled from faculty members of local universities and owners of professional galleries and are “people in the art business whose opinion we respect,” explains Herb.

Determining the best artwork is always a subjective process. Thus, resilient artists learn to take the failures in stride, knowing that the same work rejected yesterday may become tomorrow’s “Best of Show,” or vice versa.

“I might look at a piece and like it and a juror may look at the piece and not like it. Yet that juror on a different day may like it, “ Herb laughs.

“And different jurors who are all very qualified, they’ll see it differently,” says Herb. You can talk about composition and color, and having a good technique is taken for granted. But you finally have to say it comes down to what you like.”

Sue Anne Sullivan is the committee chair for the WVAL’s largest event of the year, the Holiday Show and Sale. On November 13 through 15, the Wimberley Community Center will be transformed into an artist’s Mecca. The Holiday Show and Sale will feature a wealth of two dimensional and three dimensional artwork by WVAL members.

“We’re encouraging our members to bring affordable art that can be purchased as gifts. It’s a unique opportunity to buy original artwork at affordable prices,” says Tom.

“I think that’s the beauty of this show—we have some really top notch, internationally acclaimed artists who are members and they’re going to be exhibiting, and you have those artists who are emerging,” he says.

Live music by Irish band O’Malarkey, spirits, and sweet treats by the Sugar Shack Bakery will further enliven the Artist’s Reception on Friday, November 13.

“Buying art is an emotional work, and you are making a connection with the artist through the work, says Sue Anne. “If you can get to know the artist, then you have something even more special.”

FYI
The Wimberley Valley Art League 2009 Holiday Show and Sale is November 13-15 at the Wimberley Community Center, 14068 Ranch Road 12. Hours are 10 AM to 8 PM Friday-Saturday and Noon to 4 PM Sunday. Artist’s Reception with Irish music by O’Malarkey is on Friday, November 13 from 5 PM to 8 PM. Admission is free.

The Wimberley Valley Art League Gallery and meetings are at the Wimberley Community Center. Gallery hours are 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday-Friday, 1 to 5 PM Saturday-Sunday. The gallery is staffed for information and sales on weekends. Meetings are on the second Monday of each month from September through May. Meetings start at 6:30 PM and showcase various artist demonstrations. For more information, visit www.visitwimberley.com/artleague or call 512-826-4286.

2009-09-10T08:02:00.001-06:00

Photo Courtesy of The Smile House

ANGELS SOUGHT FOR RIVER CITY BALLET'S PRODUCTION OF "NUTCRACKER"

Make your little angel's dream come true with the excitement of performing with The River City Ballet in their lavish production of "The Nutcracker" this holiday season. Dancers between the ages of 6 through 8 will have the opportunity audition at 9 am on September 12 at The Pointe Dance Studio in San Marcos (101 East Hopkins Street) for their roles as angels. Register on arrival for this open casting call for 24 to 48 aspiring young dancers.

Rehearsals and preparations are in full swing for the 7th annual production of "The Nutcracker" by The River City Ballet (formerly River City Dance Theater). Performances of this fine arts holiday extravaganza will appeal both to audiences new to the ballet and to those who anticipate this event as a family tradition. Looking heavenly from left to right are dancers Anouk Martin-Gachot, Genevieve Hodge, and Miranda Huebner.

George Krause - Philadelphia's Prodigal Photography Son

2009-09-09T08:36:00.009-06:00

Established Artist Photographer looking for nude models of all ages, shapes, sizes, color and attitudes. The session lasts less than an hour and will either pay a modest fee or a print suitable for framing.

Be they curious or hesitant, daring or playful, people who respond to this ad will not find themselves posed before an ordinary portrait photographer, but will instead be exposed by the discerning lens of the extraordinary George Krause. His storied career scrolls over five decades and is illuminated by numerous honors and awards: the first Prix de Rome in Photography; the first Fulbright/Hayes Fellowship awarded to a photographer; multiple Guggenheim fellowships and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. His images, analyzed and extolled by art experts, are collected by curators of major museums, including the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Bibliothéque Nationale in Paris.

But no need to be intimidated by fame and superlatives, because this celebrated master of his craft wields a disarming charm and enervating energy that can soothe the starstruck and disrobe his detractors. The paradox that describes George Krause permeates through his life and works.

George was destined for the century-old family business, Krause Hardware Store, had his father, George Krause IV, not broken ranks to reinvent himself as a bohemian artist. His father’s full artistic potential could never be realized, however, with his tragic early death. Determined that George would become what his father could not, George’s mother pushed him relentlessly to study art. Soon after completing his third year at the Philadelphia College of Art, George began a series of photographs entitled “Qui Riposa,” unflinching portraits of monuments to the deceased.

“I began this series in 1957 with the idea that I had five years left to live,” George explains on his Flickr site. “My mother told me that I was just like my father and that in all likelihood, like him I would be dead at the age of 25.”

Death did not find George by age 25 but fame did, as curators of the New York Museum of Modern Art acquired his photographs for their permanent collection and selected him as one of five photographers for an exhibition. His expectation as a student in art school was that a whole lifetime of effort was needed before the exclusive privilege of a major museum show was possible. George found himself, at the start, where many would consider the pinnacle of an artistic career.

“I was very lucky, but to have it at the very beginning just turns everything upside down,” says George. “I realized [the curator] believed in my work, but he was trying to teach me a lesson and show me that it didn’t really mean anything. What he was trying to do was to have me wake up every morning, excited about what the day might bring and what you might discover.”

As a professor of art at the University of Houston from 1975 until his retirement to Wimberley in 1999, George says that he also tried to “light a fire under students and make them take away their complacency so they would work harder, be more critical of their own work, and not be so easily satisfied.”

“Most kids, when I tell them that failure is good, that you have to work with failure, that you have to seek it out so you can learn—they think I’m crazy,” he grins.

One of George’s iconic images appeared initially to be a failure, as it was rejected unanimously by the committee heading the artwork commissioned for the Philadelphia Bicentennial in 1976. “FountainHead,” depicting a boy’s face emerging masklike through the laminar flow of one of Philadelphia’s famous fountains, was deemed too frightening an image by the committee of 15 artists, all whom were George’s friends.

“At the time I thought it was a joyous expression,” says George. “Years later I tried standing in that water and it was almost like you’re drowning.”

George resubmitted another work successfully, yet it was “FountainHead” that would garner the lasting notoriety and acclaim. Nine years later at an exhibition opening, every committee member came up individually to express regret over their decision.

The mystical quality of the water that transforms the facial features of the boy in the fountain into a sculptural enigma is echoed by the mysterious quality of the light in the series of portraits called Sfumato.

Defined first by Leonardo DaVinci to describe a painting technique that utilizes intermixed layers of translucent colors, the literal Italian translation of sfumato is “dark smoke.”

Lit unconventionally from behind in a mirrored light box designed by George, subjects in the Sfumato portraits defy the expectation to appear as silhouettes. Instead, the outer limits of their form emerge from white ether and disembodied features are transformed into topographic relief. In contrast with the chiaroscuro convention of portraiture, in which three-dimensionality is conveyed by highlighting principal features, the Sfumato portraits cast shadows on principal features and highlight secondary ones. The effect is often not flattering, yet the images are universally riveting.

“With that [Sfumato light] box, the light has the ability to penetrate into the persona, into the depths of the soul,” exclaims George. “Not only is every face different, so is the presence that this light can somehow reveal. Your whole life helps make the map of your face, every face different with its peaks and valleys.”

The magical quality of the light eludes easy explanation, but George proves evidence of its power in thousands of photographs. Subtle chameleon shifts of actors are visible in portraits taken before and after costuming. The guileless candor of friends and strangers who pose for the full figure Sfumato nudes shines from larger-than-life tapestries.

Portraits courtesy of George Krause

“Strangely, I find that those who pose for the full figure nude are more comfortable with the results than those who pose for a portrait. My guess is that the face reveals much more than the body,” says George. “It really is collaboration. There’s a lot of psychology going on here, just that simple collaboration, and I love that. My subjects do place a great deal of trust in me. They can sense that I see something very beautiful and powerful in their being. The importance of the anatomy in the image is secondary to capturing the total being. This involves their psyche, their sense of humor or lack of it, their attitudes and vanities.”

Portraits courtesy of George Krause

Now in his early seventies, George retains the lesson he learned from early success in his twenties and approaches each shutter frame and new face with fresh vigor and excitement.

Portraits courtesy of George Krause

“As someone who has taught for many years, you see these young students trying so desperately to find their style, their vision, that signature. And the harder they try the more confused and obscure their goal becomes. It’s an old bromide, but once you understand and realize that you can spend your whole life in your own little garden, you will never become bored. I’m at the point where I can never exhaust it. I’ll change and I’ll grow, and it will just be better and better. So my job is just to be there to capture it; it’s like picking up beautiful pebbles,” George beams.

FYI
For more information about George Krause, visit his website at http://georgekrause.com. To view more images, visit George Krause’s photostream on Flickr.com. Email modeling interest to gkrause@austin.rr.com.

Chapel Home at Lone Man Creek

2009-07-23T00:23:00.006-06:00

Chapel Home

Once upon a time, a fair lady dreamed of creating a haven of peace, a hamlet in the woods, a home for herself and her young dog far, far away from the din and expense of the large cities in which she had lived. The lone woman settled on the bank of Lone Man Creek near the charming Village of Wimberley and set about to realize her dream.

But her mother was distressed by her choices, despairing aloud, “What are you doing way out in the country? You are never going to find a man out there!”

Unperturbed, the fair lady responded, “Mama, if God wants me to find a man, He’ll just bring him straight to my door.”

But first, however, the fair lady needed a door. Intrigued with the idea of moving an existing old house onto her land and renovating it, she soon found herself contemplating various options on the market: three-story Victorians with servants quarters; six-bedroom mansions with matching fireplaces; homes that had housed multiple generations simultaneously. Was not a cozier option available for a single woman and her dog?

Thunderous clouds and a downpour accompanied the fair lady’s chosen castle from its original keep in Locker, Texas to its new location in the Hill Country. On that grey Valentine’s Day, snorting trucks maneuvered the two halves of the structure astride their flatbeds into place. Eschewing the grand Victorian mansions, a simple country church had claimed the affection and imagination of the fair lady.

Seven years of construction, contractors, and creative command ensued. And at long last, the perfect door for the Chapel Home was created of carved wood, wrought iron, and illusion glass: immense, ornate, and stately.

Early one morning, as the fair lady strolled in front of her charming Chapel Home with her dear Shih-Tzu, a dashing man appeared at the end of her driveway. A man dashing with two large Labradors, that is, and seeing the trio barreling down on them, the fair lady promptly turned and fled.

The dashing man was a builder and renovator from the faraway land of Colorado, and although he had been vacationing nearby for weeks, their paths had never crossed until then, just as his stay was ending. Alarmed by the sudden retreat of the woman of his dreams, the dashing man called out, “Wait, I want to meet you!”

Perhaps that’s not exactly how Terri LeMaster (the fair lady) and Randy Hardin (the dashing man) would tell it, but even as its contents (and quotations) are factual, the magical charm of their story and the little white church around which their tale evolves is undeniable. Whether you call it kismet, karma, or divine providence, the forces that brought Terri and Randy together provide the definition of destiny. Just as two halves of the church were made complete on site, the partnership that formed between Terri and Randy after their meeting in 2007 is inspired by, and remains true to Terri’s original dream.
“I felt called to restore the church and share it with other people. I certainly didn’t know what I was going into,” says Terri. “I did not have a background in renovation. But my dad has been in the antiques business since I was 10 years old so I wasn’t afraid of restoration. Truly, more than anything, it has been a renovation of me. I had dreamed of sharing the property with other people but never felt like I had it ready enough. Randy really helped me turn the corner on the whole property.”

“She showed me the place and I thought, ‘Wow! What a woman!’ I like doing the old homes, and saw what I could do to help her out,” Randy says. “The hard part was over with. All I did was to help her complete her dream. She was almost there.”

Soon after their meeting, the doors of Chapel Home and the charming Guest House were opened as a welcoming retreat for life’s travelers, including amorous newlyweds embarking on their journey together, families reunited in jovial fellowship, and individuals seeking solace from the ravages of illness in a meditative and healing place.

Guest House

Terri built the adjacent Guest House as a place to live while the renovations of the Chapel Home were completed. A replica of a church from the 1800s, the Guest House was constructed using many recycled treasures, including vibrant stained glass windows salvaged from an old church, and flooring of longleaf pine shiplap from the original interior walls of the Chapel Home church. Original materials from the Chapel Home church were used as much as possible in its own renovation. The interior glows with the honeyed hues of antique wood lit by light flowing through the peaked windows.

Chapel Home Kitchen

Guest Home Windows

Antique furniture pieces, expertly restored by Terri’s father, are used throughout both houses in clever and beautiful ways. A professional designer, Terri’s aesthetic eye has infused cozy romance and gothic flair into the spacious serenity imbued by its origins as house of worship.

The Chapel Home and Guest House provide appropriate showcases for Terri and Randy’s joint venture as the design and renovation team behind the Chapel Builders Group. Specializing in remodeling and renovations, they champion a green philosophy of energy efficiency and recycling existing building materials.

Perhaps the themes of the Chapel Home story could be summarized as reuse, renewal, and romance. The latest chapter is focused on romance, as Terri has readied the property as a wedding venue. While future plans include a meditative labyrinth, organic gardens, and an amphitheater, the majestic staircase in the Chapel Home already awaits the descent of smiling brides to their beaming grooms. Among the first to be married in Chapel Home will be Terri and Randy.

And they lived in grace and peace, happily ever after.

FYI
For vacation property reservations of Chapel Home or the Guest House, contact Josie at 512-847-7460 or email josie@hillcountrysunset.com. Rental information and rates are at
www.hillcountrysunset.com/chapel_home_lone_man_creek.html.

For reservations and planning for your Chapel Home wedding, contact Terri at 512-633-5032, email terri@terrilemaster.net, or visit the wedding website at www.chapelhomeweddings.com.

For home or commercial renovation projects with the Chapel Builders Group, contact Randy at 512-558-1020 or email randy.hardin@yahoo.com.

Move Over Indiana Jones, New Archaeologists are in Town

2009-06-20T17:24:00.009-06:00

During a break in his interviews for the Headmaster position at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Wimberley, archaeologist and educator Dr. Richard Stark explored the nature trails woven through the idyllic grounds of the school. On the trail, Dr. Stark spotted an archaic stone projectile exposed by erosion, a Nolan point chiseled approximately 6,000 years ago by indigenous Hill Country inhabitants.

“That’s when I thought, this is it! I belong here,” he recounts, an easy smile lighting his face.

So too, did the interview panels, and shortly after this eureka moment in 2004, Dr. Stark became Headmaster of St. Stephen’s Episcopal School.

Having a Headmaster with a great love of the outdoors and contagious enthusiasm for archaeology gives students of the school distinctive opportunities for education and community service.

In unique collaborations with the City of Austin, the Texas Historical Commission, and local ranch owners, students from St. Stephen’s conduct archaeological surveys, identifying and mapping the presence of archaic and prehistoric cultural resources. The partnerships are mutually beneficial, enabling property and easement owners to get antiquities permitting work done, pro bono, and enriching the experiences of students in a redefined classroom of over tens of thousands of acres.

“It really expands the footprint of our school and maps on so well to our vision for how education should work,” says Dr. Stark. “Students need to apply what they’ve learned. Step out of the textbook and apply it. Step out of the parish and apply it through service to others or service to science. It’s not just the archaeology. It’s that applied methodology that I think needs to kick in at about the 6th grade. Kids need to start seeing themselves as adults that can give back to their community.”

Dr. Stark and his young student archaeologists are eager to further expand their services to the community by extending their existing letter of collaboration with the City of Austin to include collaborations with the Hill Country Conservancy and the Nature Conservancy. Just as St. Stephen’s students provided the survey data that enabled the preservation of archaeologically significant hill terraces in the routing of the Slaughter Creek Trail, they hope to provide the same assistance for an ambitious trail network envisioned to stretch approximately 35 miles from Zilker Park to the City of Austin’s Water Quality Protection Lands at Rutherford Ranch in Wimberley. Dubbed, “Walk for a Day,” the trail will cross properties and easements owned by several parties, including the Hill Country Conservancy, the Nature Conservancy, and the City of Austin.

“There’s no single coordinator for this trail; there’s no one entity that’s mapping it all out. It’s about four different entities trying to piece it together. If you have children involved, a school-led project can be kind of a glue. That to me is really the most exciting part for a long-term project for the school,” says Dr. Stark.
Generating the excitement of true discovery in a child is possible only with hands-on activities, and the rich archaeological legacy in the Hill Country is particularly empowering to students. The awe of finding a stone tool and sensing that connection with the last human hand that had touched it thousands of years ago is impossible to replicate in the confines of a textbook or computer program.

“You do that with a kiddo, and all of a sudden the chances of having them turn out to be scientists are pretty high, because they get excited,” says Dr. Stark. “It’s wonderful to get a child that’s just found something. They are scientists. Their sense of wonder is palpable.”

Students from the first through eighth grades exercise their muscles and minds in archaeology treks led by Dr. Stark throughout the school year. In reconnaissance-level pedestrian surveys, students fan out across the terrain, marking sites of interest with bright survey flags, and attempting to distinguish between rocks heated repeatedly in an ancient hearth and those merely kissed by flames in a controlled burn or wildfire. The discovery of a stone tool is always cause for excitement, as students learn the differences between form and function of tools such as Mescal knives and Clear Forks. Each stone noted and studied, whether hearth rock or tool, remains in their place of discovery, as the only collections here are of photographs of grinning kids, sketches, and GPS coordinates.

In excavation investigations, students wield shovels, rulers, buckets and sieves in student nicknamed pits: “Bob,” “Bella,” or “Pit of Despair.” Sometimes coaxing by example is needed to get students down and dirty in the shallow square excavations, as Dr. Stark hunkers enthusiastically in shirt and tie to demonstrate. Finding projectile points, including the base of a 500-year old arrowhead and a 1,200-year-old Ensor point launched from the surrounding hillside, provide additional incentive to methodically uncover each stratum.

With existing study sites ranging from the Mathis Ranch near the headwaters of Onion Creek, to the Rutherford Ranch near the school, and newly negotiated study areas such as the storied Dahlstrom Ranch, students will have no shortage of sites to explore. Piecing together the anthropology behind their finds will be an ongoing challenge.

“We don’t know what these people called themselves or what language they spoke. It’s like we’re trying to put together a puzzle with these stone tools. Say it’s a 1,000 piece puzzle and maybe we’ve found 20 of the pieces in trying to figure out what the picture is. We can infer, and that’s a key piece that I try to get the kids to think about. Here’s what you found, now make a guess, infer. And that’s an important thing for kids to do to realize that it’s science, ultimately. Hopefully, in most scientific realms, you have more than 20 pieces out of 1,000, but you are always going to have to make some sort of inferential leap of faith.”

The qualities of the Hill Country that enrich modern-day visitors and inhabitants of the area may be less tangible than those that attracted archaic and prehistoric people to this region, but the underlying basis remains the land itself. Prehistoric foragers and hunters were enriched with an abundance of flora and fauna, their specialized plant harvesting and woodworking tools providing a rich record of occupation. Herds of buffalo migrated at intervals through the former grasslands of this region, attracting nomadic hunters who left evidence of buffalo jumps, meat processing camps, and projectiles. Even wealth in the form of a trading economy found its source here, with the active quarrying and trading of prized Central Texas Chert. Obscured by the secondary growth of ash juniper and undergrowth from years of fire suppression are upland steppe terraces, which yield clues about foragers who may have identified themselves by their terrace elevation.

“Archaeology is subtext work. The world would go on just fine without archaeologists,” Dr. Stark laughs. “It’s not an essential function. But it connects so many different dots in terms of what we’re asking the kids. To me, there are trends in education. The trend right now, something we love, is interdisciplinary studies or integrated studies—it’s applied learning. I can’t think of anything better than archaeology that does all of these things; you get to integrate your history with your math and your science with your language arts," he continues.

"It’s all on one plane, and it’s applied. Plus, it’s hands on—it teaches kids how to use a shovel. It teaches kids patience. It teaches kids about the pace of good science—which is slow. It teaches kids about the value of getting dirty, and that’s not a small lesson, that it’s ok to put your nose in the dirt. I think there are all kinds of lessons to learn there.”

“I’m partial,” he grins, “but I love it.”

FYI
St. Stephen’s Episcopal School is located at 6000 FM 3237 in Wimberley. The school is accepting applications for admissions for students of all faiths in its programs for preschool through the eighth grade. Financial aid opportunities are available. For more information, call (512) 847-9857, email rstark@ststeveschool.org, or visit the school website at http://ststeveschool.org.

Blue Lapis Light

2009-05-12T10:22:00.017-06:00

Nicole Whiteside, Dancer and Choreographer of Blue Lapis Light

Quietly spoken, calm, watchful, and with a solemnly grounded presence, Nicole Whiteside does not strike one as a daredevil who would recklessly rappel off tall buildings in a single bound. Indeed, as a principal dancer with Blue Lapis Light, Austin’s celebrated site specific aerial dance company, Nicole’s flights are controlled and nuanced or exuberant and ardent—definitely not reckless. Under the artistic direction of company founder Sally Jacques, Nicole and her fellow choreographers and dancers of Blue Lapis Light consistently redefine the vocabulary of dance as a language for inspiring wonder and invoking hope.

Requiem (Photo courtesy Blue Lapis Light)

With site specific dance performances at its core identity, Blue Lapis Light has found critical and audience acclaim from its myriad of performances in Austin, including multi-media spectacles at the abandoned shell of the former Intel Building (Requiem, 2006), at the historic Seaholm Power Plant (Illumination, 2007), and on the exterior walls of the Federal Buildings (Constellation, 2008). In addition to the major annual production the company mounts, which are invariably lauded on top 10 lists of Austin’s best performance events, company members perform in many outreach venues throughout the year.

Illumination (photo courtesy Blue Lapis Light)

The stunning choreography and staging of each program is informed by the site used, and the whole of each Blue Lapis Light performance is more than the sum of its parts. Even as a performance transforms the space it occupies, in which an abandoned construction project may evoke the sublime sensation of a cathedral, or the sheer face of a high rise hotel may suggest a window into the heavens, the expectations of audiences for what the human mind and body are capable of are transformed as well.

“That encapsulates what we do,” says Nicole, “taking [mundane spaces] and transforming them into a wonderland for the senses and the spirit. To see people hovering off the ground incites a kind of reaction that is very strong and stays with people. What we do is not easy or comfortable. It’s very hard and very taxing, but we do it because we like the idea of creating something that is bigger than any individual. Something that’s like a chorus of movement, that is awe inspiring, and that can transform viewers. I always hope that when people are watching they can relax and leave the event or class feeling… hopeful.”

Classically trained in ballet and modern dance, Nicole evolved into an aerialist as the choreography of dances performed in empty warehouses ascended into vertical space. Dancers now traverse horizontal and vertical spaces in apparatus such as roller skates, skateboards, bungee cords, long swathes of fabric, ropes, netting, harnesses, and rappelling gear. Much of the choreography must be conducted at the performance site, particularly in cases where dancers are traversing the face of a building and cannot otherwise replicate the physics of swinging on an 80-foot-long pendulum. Such is the case with their upcoming production at the Austin Federal Buildings entitled Impermanence.

“It’s very scary going over the edge. You do get used to it, but no matter how many times you’ve done it, you have to consider it your first time,” says Nicole. “So you’re always checking equipment. After you get over the edge and you’re over the building, it’s like being under water. It’s a very floating sensation. And once you can relax, you can dance within the confinement of the form, and it’s really liberating.”

Rehearsal from Constellation (photo courtesy Blue Lapis Light)

As part of its summer program offerings, the Austin Waldorf School has partnered with Blue Lapis Light to offer an intensive aerial dance movement workshop. Conducted by Sally Jacques, Nicole Whiteside, Alicia Marie Carlin, and other core members of Blue Lapis Light, this series of aerial dance classes will introduce students to the basic techniques of climbing aerial fabric, moving in harnesses and bungees, and dancing in nets and hoops. The three week long sessions for middle and high school students and adults will culminate in a site specific student performance in the Austin Waldorf School gymnasium.

The Austin Waldorf School program is one of several youth and community outreach venues and classes that Nicole oversees as Director of Operations for Blue Lapis Light. When not rehearsing or performing on site, Nicole may often be found in their airy South Austin studio teaching classes.

During a recent aerial silk class, students began with relaxed stretches that quickly escalated into intense exercises to strengthen core abdominal muscles.

Alyssa Ellison as Man on the Moon

“Remember to keep your hollow body,” Nicole counseled, indicating the concave cavity of her abdomen, as students climbed onto the colorful drapes of stretchy tricot material, twisting the folds of fabric around their forelegs and ankles to elevate into stable footholds. Eventually, more complicated configurations of cloth and limbs emerged, as students struck evocatively named poses: Man on the Moon, Candycane, Pretzel, and the less desirable, Help Me My Ankle is Stuck in a Knot.

Visiting from abroad, Swiss traveler Jan Lippuner is struck by the uniqueness of this opportunity to practice aerial dance in the Hill Country. “I’d been looking everywhere and only found places in California, New York, and Colorado, until now!”

Left to Right: Casey Hubbard, Nicole Whiteside, Jan Lippuner, Alyssa Ellison, Amanda Hyde

His enthusiasm is echoed by other students, from Amanda Hyde who has been training for 5 weeks and feels the empowerment of body strengthening, to the toned cadre of three women who have been taking private lessons since last year.

Left to Right: Tree Dewey, Kate Houle, Zarah Baumann

“Zarah and I are fire dancers,” explains Tree Dewey of Austin, “and Kate did performance water skiing at SeaWorld in San Antonio. All of us are pretty active people and this was another challenge to try.”

So is aerial dancing only for the taut bodies and thrill seekers of the world? Nicole disagrees. “That’s what I really enjoy about us. We will teach anybody, at any level.”

By example and education, Blue Lapis Light challenges us to dare believe in the boundless spirit and magnificent possibilities of the creative human mind and indomitable human body.

Rehearsal from Constellation (photo courtesy Blue Lapis Light)

FYI
The Blue Lapis Light Aerial Dance Workshop at the Austin Waldorf School will be held Monday through Friday from June 29-July 17 (no class on July 3). Middle school and high school classes are from 10 AM to 1 PM. High school and adult classes are from 6 PM to 9 PM. The student workshop performance will be held on July 18. To register, visit www.austinwaldorf.org/Blue_Lapis_Light_Workshop.

Performances of IMPERMANENCE, the new site-specific aerial dance by Blue Lapis Light, will be held at 9:15 PM, June 18-21 and 24-28 at the J.J. Pickle Federal Building, 300 E. 8th St., Austin. The performance entrance is on Trinity St. between 8th and 9th St. Tickets are $20 general admission; $25 prime seating. Purchase tickets at www.austix.com or call 512-474-8497. For more information about Blue Lapis Light, visit www.bluelapislight.org.

Nicole and two monkeys on the moon

Brocante Boutique

2009-05-11T20:42:00.006-06:00

The sprawling vistas and delicate details of the Hill Country offer ready inspiration for the many creative visionaries who call this place home, but what to do and where to go when the artistic aquifers encounter drought and need recharging? If the tough go shopping when the going gets tough, look no further than the wellspring of textures, colors, and scents that flow from Brocante, Wimberley's posh “purveyors of curious goods.”

Articulate and engaging, proprietor Angela Battaglia (pronounced bah-TAH-lia) says, “I’ve had artists come in because their artistic juices are blocked and they just want to come and take it all in to get it going again. I know exactly how they feel. Sometimes I need to get out of my element and go be inspired.”

Angela is clearly in her element in the inviting space that houses Brocante (pronounced bro-CAHNT). To enter her shop is to enter her visionary world rich with heirloom treasures creatively brought to new life, and modern artisan handiworks kissed with the patina of time. Corsets encrusted with a patchwork of 19th century lace drape winsomely next to the elegant Edwardian lines of a linen dress stitched by a 21st century seamstress. The fragile fabric of a peach ball gown whispers secrets of a balmy 1940s evening, challenging the sultry Parisian pink chandelier for the title of Queen of the Night. Specialty candles and luxury soaps poured in small batches by European artisans are attended by a graceful antique swan decoy. Filigreed silver jewelry in matte Victorian black contrasts against the glazed skin of a one-of-a-kind porcelain mannequin. Everywhere one looks is another masterful vignette of decorative adornments and accessories for the home and body.

What makes Brocante, which means a French flea market, such a memorable and inspiring place to shop that artists seek its boutique balm for creative solace?

The answer lies with the artesian source of passionate and inventive entrepreneurship that describes Angela.

“I literally scour the planet for the unique, the rare, the very hard to find, the unattainable. That’s the most exciting to me, to be able to find something and say, ‘Hey, come in and look at this. I’ll bet you’ve never seen this before.’ It’s the P.T. Barnum coming out in me. That’s where I’m the happiest. That’s where I get my passion for my business. It’s the kind you lose sleep over at night,” Angela says.

"You wake up in the middle of the night and you jump up and you start sketching something that has come up in your head. It’s the commitment to what you’re doing that is sometimes painful and sometimes you have to come way out of your comfort zone to get there. I get up every morning thinking, ‘What can I do today that will be the best thing I’ve ever done?’ I feel like you’ve got to live it every day.”

Living her passion every day entails avoiding the everyday inventory provided by mass markets. Instead, Angela researches independent artists and individual companies who she senses can provide the specific products she has in mind.

“I work with a lot of really talented artists. I’ll know just by looking at what they do that they’ll be able to do what I have in my head. I’ll sketch it, and they’ll create it, and they’ll come back to me saying, ‘I can’t believe I did this!’ It is very rewarding because you’re not dealing with a big company. You’re dealing with an individual who is as passionate about what they do as I am about what I do, so if we can work together, it creates this beautiful thing.”

Angela claims that she never displayed a particular affinity for handicrafts as a child, but acknowledges the influence of the talented women in her family, members of a shrinking sisterhood of skilled lacemakers and seamstresses.

“It was something women were very skilled at and you don’t see a lot of it anymore, so that was a big influence, just everything handmade—I grew up with that. If I can’t find what I’m looking for, I’ll make it myself,” says Angela. “I’m a firm believer that if you want something really, really badly, you can literally make it appear out of thin air. You can make it happen. I do it all the time and I see other people do it all the time. I go to outrageous lengths sometimes to create something and make it because I can’t forget about it.”

Angela produced the line of Edwardian underpinnings sold in her shop— reproduction petticoats and bloomers cut from authentic era patterns. More difficult to recreate was authentic Edwardian millinery. After “long hours and research and a lot of destroyed material,” Angela made the hat she had envisioned out of vintage lace and fabric and a glorious crowning of feathers. One of many projects on which she is currently collaborating with her artist seamstresses is a line of corsets appliquéd with a patchwork of Victorian and Edwardian lace. Thus, in inventing something new out of materials culled from something old, all of the ingenious forces behind Brocante saturate new life into vintage treasures that would likely languish forgotten.

“I don’t buy and I don’t create things just to fill my store up,” says Angela. “I’ve got to feel it. I’ve got to know that this is making an impact. When people walk into my store it’s got to have a stop and gape factor about it or I’m not satisfied. If it has that effect on me, then I know it will have that effect on other people.”

FYI
Brocante is located at 14015 Ranch Rd 12 at the Wimberley Square. Hours are from Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30 AM to 5 PM. For more information, call 512-847-8577 or visit the website at www.brocantedesigns.com.

Wimberley Idol

2009-05-10T22:38:00.003-06:00

Michael Wilson Designs

2009-04-21T22:46:00.021-06:00

Michael Wilson

As a professional sushi chef at some of the toniest Japanese restaurants in Southern California, Michael Wilson was famed as a master of preparation and presentation of the materials of his trade: raw seafood, vegetables, and nori. Although able to command astronomical prices for his gastronomical delights, the Japanese-American artisan found no joy or enjoyment in his vocation. Michael attempted many escapes from his 17 years of restaurant bondage, trying his hand at acting, modeling, even selling vacuum cleaners—anything but sushi.

The path to his true calling as a woodworking artist extraordinaire was revealed by the necessity of furnishing the Pasadena home that he and his wife, Cynthia, purchased in 2000. Starting with minimal tools, a 100-square-foot workshop, and books on woodworking and design, Michael hand crafted the first of a series of furniture pieces that reside equally exquisitely as artwork in a museum, as functional showpieces in the designer home of a Hollywood client, or as furniture in the Wimberley homestead that the Wilson’s now call home.

Photo by Mike Curts

Although his journey from sushi chef to self-taught woodworking artist may appear disparate paths, Michael is eloquent in his explanation of the relationship between the two.

"The area of expertise that I was trained and associated with has tremendous amount of influence on what I’m doing here. To me, I’m almost doing the same thing," says Michael.

"The only difference is that the material I’m using is different. I was using cutting tools, and even now I use a lot of hand cutting tools. I was using very expensive, rare material. How it works with cutting those things and preparing them and presenting them in a certain way is very similar to what I’m doing now, except you can’t eat it, and it’s much harder material. But it is an organic material. Fish have grains and veins and all kinds of imperfections like worms, and all are raw materials. You have to know and understand the material to know where and how to cut. What is the best way to cut so that it is more tasty and better presented. Wood is an organic material that has grains and it’s still alive after it is cut. You can have the best material but you can really make a horrible thing out of it or you can bring out the quality of the material by knowing what to do, where to cut it, how to cut it. The shape and the design comes from the presentation, the art of presentation that I learned to do while I did sushi. I was actually very well known for my presentation and my use of cutting tools. It's exactly the same, but without the fishy smell. I love the smell of wood."

Photo by Mike Curts

The wood from which Michael crafts his intricate and organically sculptural forms are primarily reclaimed trees that have fallen naturally on the Missouri property owned by Cynthia's parents. Michael harvests the wood, including native hardwoods like cherry, walnut, and oak, and mills and seasons the pieces himself.

Photo by Mike Curts

Of his design aesthetic, Michael does not hesitate to attribute both aspects of his mixed heritage as major creative influences.

"I think my design is very much a part of who I am. It's a complete mix of my Japanese side and my Western side. It's not completely Japanese," he says. "But like this lamp," Michael explains, pointing out the airy tendrils of a gracefully curved floor lamp,"it reminds me of Japan but it is not like anything in Japan. The way things are put together is very Japanese for me. My Western influence has been learned from looking at the craftsmen, not from the culture."

Music Stand
Photo by Mike Curts

His furniture has found critical acclaim through gallery representation by Los Angeles art dealer J. F. Chen, and showings in renowned juried trade shows, such as the American Crafts Council show in Baltimore. Citing influences from woodworking artists Phillip Lloyd Powell and James Krenov, Michael says that he has already noticed an evolution in his own furniture designs since moving his family to the Hill Country from California in 2008.

Photo by Mike Curts

"There are a lot of things I've learned in this town, a lot of sculptures here that I've been able to incorporate into a more sculptural quality in my work. There are some seriously talented people here. I'm greedy enough to want to take it into my work," Michael says.

Far from exemplifying avarice, however, Michael's furniture pieces express his magnanimity of artistic gifts and vision. In his individual and commissioned pieces, Michael strives to imbue his essence into each work, such that it "is the relationship between me and my customers without me being there."

Photo by Mike Curts

"I put so much of my effort and energy into that particular piece," says Michael, "that I want that piece to speak to that person every day when that person sees it or sits in it. Every day I want my customer to wake up and go, 'Wow!' When I am making something, I put my fingerprint on it. That is what the manufactured pieces lack. They have no fingerprints. For humans, every day life is so much about communication, contact, relationships. A lot of people don't think furniture matters, or any artwork matters, but each of those items made by individual artists has a soul of its own."

FYI
Michael Wilson's studio art furniture is displayed at galleries in the Hill Country, Houston, Dallas, and Los Angeles. The Michael Wilson Design studio in Wimberley is open by appointment. For more information, call 512-847-3242, email michael@michaelwilsondesigns.com or visit the web site at www.michaelwilsondesigns.com.

Bedazzled by Blue

2009-04-15T11:14:00.007-06:00

I realized after I spoke with my dad the other week, that there are people I care about who read this blog but who do not access Facebook or Flickr or Yahoo chat. Thus, with apologies for my rash redundancy in posting bluebonnet photos in every electronic format I access, I must blogshare some photos taken on our daytrip out to Washington-on-the-Brazos on Good Friday.

Washington-on-the-Brazos is the site of the historic settlement in which Texans boldly declared their independence from Mexico in a small wooden courthouse, displayed now in replica. The declaration was followed by the subsequent nadir (or apex, depending on whose historical perspective you are espousing) of the Alamo, before a general fleeing of the populace from Mexican forces across the Brazos River during the exodus called the "Runaway Scrape."

We had planned to visit the pioneer farm and museum at the historic site, but were so distracted during the 3-hour drive by the scenery that we arrived nearly at museum closing. No matter, the joy of our travel was truly in the journey.

I have seen bluebonnets here in the Hill Country, winsome splashes of blue-violet by the side of the road that I intend to stop and photograph every time I careen by at 60 miles per hour, but never manage to find time to do. If you had asked me last year about bluebonnets, I would have told you openly and honestly that I loved them, that if I ever got around to writing a version of "My Favorite Things" about Texas (as my friend Linda challenged me to do) they would be first on the list.

However, nothing prepared me for the acres of bucolic, rolling waves of blue-violet that the drive northeast toward Chapell Hill and Brenham provided. We passed first through the dense green of a lovely pine forest, and then through carpets of blue wonder. Amazement. Astonishment. Quick, stop-the-car-now-we-must-take-a-photograph-here jaw slacked gaping.

So I hollered and pointed and shot, and even the world's third worst photographer can come up with pretty photos when the subject matter is ubiquitous and utterly photogenic. Certainly we were not alone in stopping to smell the bluebonnets. We spotted many a posed baby sitting chin deep in the flowers, their parents poised with cameras in hand. But in an entire half day of driving, seeing maybe three dozen people out enjoying the spectacle was perplexing.

Once I came home, I got to wondering. I was completely bluebonnet bedazzled. I had never seen anything like it, and I am reasonably well traveled. So why wasn't everyone else in Texas completely raving mad about bluebonnets?

Tom said that I was being unreasonable in my suggestion that Texans didn't appreciate their bluebonnets enough just because the whole of the populace was not out jumping up and down in ecstatic wonderment like myself.

"They have songs about bluebonnets," he said. "And I've seen fields of bluebonnets on the dam near Canyon Lake. It's just been dry this year so there haven't been as many in this area."

To which I contend, this is precisely the sort of mentality that subsumes an incredible natural spectacle of profound beauty and renewal into just another mundane field of flora you can find anywhere, as long as we kin git enough rain [insert stalk of buffalo grass and chew thoughtfully here].

"People are jaded," offered one friend.
"Maybe it's because it's just natural, so nobody is impressed," commented another.
I suppose that I can understand how it could happen over time, a supersaturation of the senses so that the blur of blue just fades into the background of life speeding past. I'll admit that even I, by the end of the day after passing field after field of bluebonnets, declared that I was through photographing and declined to stop.

But is the loss of wonderment inevitable? Is it not possible to appreciate the simple gift of transient natural beauty and resist developing faded jaded eyes?

I look to the Japanese for their example in their national celebration of cherry blossoms. Now there's a population who would appreciate our Texas spring spectacle. Admittedly, their annual obsession is odd and over the top in our (jaded) eyes, what with the full time cherry blossom meterologists who update maps of blooming regions and salary men sent out days in advance to save the best viewing spots for their managers. Still, I find inspiration in countless generations of families who invest appreciation wholeheartedly into the simplest of blooms, which magnified a thousandfold becomes a spectacle.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2009-03-19T16:15:00.005-06:00

It's been a quiet week in Lake Woeberley, my hometown.

The kids have been on spring break, much to Penguin's relief. "We work very hard in school, and then there's dance and piano, and singing lessons--it's exhausting!" quoth she.

Righto, quoth mom. That second grade curriculum is a real brain wringer. I am just glad I don't have to pack any lunches this week--it's exhausting!
We managed to visit with two Bay Area compadres this week, both who were in San Antonio for conferences. On Monday, the family spent the day visiting some of the beautiful missions in San Antonio before meeting a family friend at the Marriot Riverwalk in the evening. I got my dates mixed up and thought that my brother-in-law, Mike, was also in San Antonio that Monday, but it turned out that he flew in at 12 am Tuesday morning and left at 6 pm Tuesday evening. My nephew's birthday was on Wednesday, hence the quick turnaround. Not to mention, a speedy escape from Texatraz when possible is hardly errant. Fortunately, Mike didn't escape so speedily that the girls and I weren't able to run back down to San Antonio on Tuesday for a late lunch at Casa Rios with him. The St. Patrick's Day atmosphere was quite festive on the Riverwalk, as one can imagine, but at that time of day the revelry was primarily limited to garish garb of green.

I'll have to admit that things are hardly sober here. The winds of change are blowing through Woeberley, and with gusto. Just the other day, I walked into the local grocery store and had to stop and blink for a while in stupefied amazement. I vaguely remembered some construction on the premises. Construction happens very rapidly here in Texas. One day you see some scaffolding, the next day the library has doubled in size. It's pretty fascinating for someone used to the glacial pace of construction in California--not so much the construction, I suppose, but the funding and permitting process.

At any rate, I walked into the Brookshire Brothers grocery store and it had transformed from mom and pop status to something akin to a bonafide grocery store. The vast majority of the expansion was occupied by a brand new wine section. Painted a trendy (well, year 2000 trendy) sage green, the wine corner even carried a some selections of sake. I asked the manager about getting the jumbo sized bottle (for cooking wine chicken), and she said she'd look into getting a case of Gekkeikan for me. This has me plotting all sorts of requests for the Asian section, which is chock full of chop suey type brands right now. But hey, there's an ASIAN SECTION.

The next most noticeable change was in the tall, dark, and handsome new freezers that replaced their squat little predecessors. Wowee, frozen food nirvana. Now I can get multiple flavors of Swansons TV dinners, AND Gordon's fish sticks for that Omega 3 infusion.

But to save the best for last, at the checkout stand, the registers actually have scanners BUILT RIGHT INTO the counters. The cashiers can slide the items directly over the magic laser window and voila! Instant price scan. Will the wonders never cease?

It's a little scary, though. Only last year did the Village of Wimberley vote to repeal the blue laws on the books, thus allowing restaurants and grocery stores to sell alcohol. Prior to that, certain restaurants had membership clubs for which you paid a fee so that you could purchase alcohol. A week after election day, Brookshire Brothers cleared out space in their seasonal items aisle and bottles of wine were available for purchase in village limits for the first time in history. And now look, less than a year later, a brand new addition devoted to liquor is reality. The pace of my world is getting a little dizzying here. Or maybe it's just that second glass of wine.

Creekhaven Inn

2009-03-15T08:35:00.005-06:00

What had once been the stately home of a wealthy Texas family was a pallid, bare shadow of its former grandeur. When Pat and Bill Appleman found the dilapidated property for sale on the Internet, they immediately saw the potential in the rambling expanse of its structures and prime location by a lovely stretch of Cypress Creek. The couple had long been searching for the right property to open a Bed & Breakfast inn, but place after place failed to be the one they sought. That diamond in the rough turned out to be the place they now call Creekhaven Inn, a luxury Bed & Breakfast in Wimberley.

Hailing from Virginia, the couple packed their belongings and moved to Texas in February 2003 after they purchased the property. In only 4 months, the couple, with an army of contractors and talented decorative artist, Denice Calley, completely transformed the property and polished it to brilliance. Contractors gutted and renovated rooms. Carpenters built layers of decking. Stoneworkers created terraced gardens with water features. And everywhere that morose blank walls had been, they splashed color in the vibrant hues of the Texas wildflowers after which each guest room is named.

Pat and designer Denice scoured antique stores and art galleries, fabric shop and markets for the furniture, carpeting, custom-made bedspreads, artwork, and decorative touches that give each room its distinct feeling and theme. A centerpiece painting displayed in every room is the inspiration from which the color schemes and faux finishes were designed. Common to all 14 guest rooms are beds and luxe linens so comfortable that guests consistently extol their praises and luxurious spa baths which range from romantic claw-footed soaking tubs to Jacuzzis.

“Our primary market is as romantic getaway for people to relax and enjoy themselves as a couple,” says Bill. Romance and pampering packages, which include deluxe amenities such as chocolates, champagne, roses, and massage treatments, are available year round.

Guests may opt to stay in a Garden House room with a flavor that best suits their personal style of relaxation, including romantic and French in the Blue Star Room, passionate and Byzantine in the Bird of Paradise Room, or sensuous and Spanish in the Gold Poppy Room. Or for couples who are celebrating special occasions, Creekhaven Inn’s premier suites include the soothingly spacious Water Lily and the richly Tuscan Tree House, located in the Main House.

“We both thrive on that people contact, we’re hospitality people,” says Pat, who worked for over 20 years in the hotel business. “You just have that in your blood. It’s easy to enjoy people when they come to the inn to check in and they want to know what to do. We give each guest a complete tour of the place, and make sure they understand all the things they can do here and in Wimberley. We really try to give them the sense that this is a facility you can use and relax in, and not be intimidated.”

Guests are welcomed on Friday evening with a wine and hors’doeuvres reception in the airy Great Room. The spaciousness of the Great Room is echoed throughout the property, in the expansive decks and patios, and the garden pathways interspersed with whimsical tiles. From everywhere are picturesque views of the ancient Cypress grove. Guests have ample space to wander from their private decks down to the banks of Cypress Creek, passing benches and hammocks that invite pause and enjoyment of the tranquility.

“Part of what attracted me to this place was that there was a lot of property,” says Bill. “I wanted people to not just have their rooms but to have places to walk to, for peace and serenity. The other nice thing is that the rooms are situated so we can have a full house and people hardly notice anyone else here.”

Guests who leave the supreme comfort of their rooms may encounter each other in the Main House for breakfast. The dining room, in which Pat serves a hearty breakfast buffet, also serves as a gallery for works of local artists.

Creekhaven Inn is within a 10-minute walk to the quaint shops, galleries, and eateries of Wimberley Square, where guests may continue their explorations. Also within walking distance is the Blue Hole.

“People are constantly commenting how peaceful and quiet it is back here,” says Bill. “Our goal is creating an environment that people can come in and have a respite that they wouldn’t find anywhere else. Knowing that when they’ve left, you’ve accomplished that goal for them is what we strive for, and that’s what gives us pleasure.”

FYI
Creekhaven Inn is located at 400 Mill Race Lane, off RR12 and north of Wimberley Square. For reservations, call 512-847-9344 or toll free 1-800-827-1913. For more information, visit the website at www.creekhaveninn.com.

Penning the Corral Theater

2009-03-14T13:43:00.004-06:00

Affectionately maintained, but with the creases of over half a century of wear, the appeal of the Corral Theater in Wimberley has not dimmed any more than the brilliant Hill Country stars that shine above this open air movie theater. Within the rustic charm of its cedar corral fencing resides a collective herd of fond memories; generations of patrons can recall a lifelong reel of images from the Corral Theater, from wide-eyed child to free-spirited youth, attentive parent to nostalgic grandparent.

Perhaps no other gathering place in Wimberley best epitomizes the quirky and timeless traditions of this community. Where else in the Hill Country, or in the entire country for that matter, can families watch movie blockbusters on opening night played on circa 1950s projectors while perched on circa 1960s lawn chairs under a circa 14 billion-year-old night sky?

All summer long, from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekends, patrons of every age flock to the Corral Theater as the best $5 ticket in town. For some, it is a ticket to hang out with their teen friends, because socialization spots are lacking. For many, it is a ticket for a trip down memory lane, because they came every summer as children and wish to share the experience with their progeny. And for others, it is a ticket to actually see a movie at the only cinema in town.

Showtime begins at sunset on the balmy summer nights the cinema season runs, approximately 9 PM or “dark thirty” in local parlance. People begin to arrive well before showtime, carrying lawn chairs and coolers, blankets and stuffed animals. The Hill Country sky glows in hues of rose and azure and the brightest stars may just be visible as patrons amble past the gate posts and concessions stand.

Kids scurry with sleeping bags to the front, flopping belly down next to the screen as though watching the ultimate big screen TV at a slumber party. The teenagers claim historical squatting rights on the bleacher seats as far from the screen as possible. The rest of the patrons take their spots in one of the available lawn chairs or arrange their own chairs into position on the packed dirt ground. Genuine movie popcorn, candy, and soft drinks are available for a pittance at the two-story rock and wood structure that also houses the projector room.

Don’t expect anonymity as in a multiplex theater, because this is as much of a community meet and greet as it is a night at the movies. Greetings peal in the air as friends find friends, neighbors chat with neighbors. When the movie starts, chatting may continue in the back to the consternation of some, but the audience is amiable and sometimes the projectionist will turn up the volume.

“It’s adorable,” says Cindy Gerber of Wimberley. “Unique and laid back. It’s under a beautiful Texas sky. This has so much more character than sitting inside a movie theater.”

The pieced-Masonite screen is framed by large oak trees, and as the sky turns inky and the moon rises, projections on the screen may echo the surrounding velvet night. The illusion may be interrupted when the house lights come on by either a scheduled or unscheduled break during the screening. Scheduled breaks are the nightly drawings for prizes like movie passes to The Corral and shave ice from TropicalSno. Unscheduled breaks occur if the sound goes out or the film melts. In either case, good-natured applause is given for the winners of the drawing and for the projectionist who fixes the problem when the house lights go out and the movie resumes.

Selecting family friendly movies is top on the list of requirements for Mary Anderson, owner of The Corral and the nearby camp retreat, Rocky River Ranch. However, movie themes and ratings have changed drastically since she first began assisting at the theater in 1966. Her annual challenge is to schedule only G or PG-rated movies during the three weekends that campers from the Rocky River Ranch attend.

“It’s hard for us to find three movies that come out during that time period that I’m ok with kids watching and that the kids would want to watch,” says Rue Hatfield, executive director of the Rocky River Ranch.

On other weekends, the option includes films rated PG-13, allowing for previous summer blockbusters such as “Indiana Jones” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

“I made the friends with the bookers from Disney, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, all these movie companies,” says Mary. “I can just give them a call, or sometimes they call me because they know I run a theater with family-type movies and say, ‘Mary, we have a new movie coming out that you’re going to have to show at your theater.’ Disney and Paramount will give me all of their movies on nationwide opening day, just like the big theaters,” she says.

Just before and after the regular season, the Corral Theater screens movies for fundraising events. The first two fundraising events in May 2009 will benefit the St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Youth Mission and the Wimberley High School Academic Boosters Club Scholarship Fund.

The Corral Theater may also be rented for private events and parties, where the celebrants may watch favorite DVD movies or live out movie star fantasies by projecting home videos onscreen. The possibility of organizing a film festival here about sustainability and the green movement intrigues Marc Gitterle of Wimberley, who rates the Corral Theater as “a Wimberley Treasure.”

Indeed, the setting would be perfect, as the Corral Theater is the picture of natural and historic sustainability.

FYI
The Corral Theater is located on Flite Acres Road, off Ranch Road 3237 in Wimberley. The cinema season runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekends. Showtimes are Friday through Sunday at sunset (approx. 9 PM). Tickets are $5 each, under 4 and over 84 free. For more information, visit the website at http://corraltheatre.com/ or call (512) 847-2547 for rental reservations.

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You may recall my posting about this place when we went last summer to see Indiana Jones 4. It's so much more fun to write fast and snarky on blog, but see, I can write nice, too. With enough time.

Shave Ice - Texas Style

2009-03-14T13:21:00.005-06:00

When I first learned that we were possibly moving to Wimberley, a friend e-mailed to console me that when she had Googled this mysterious place in Texas, she had learned that there was a shave ice place. I thought that maybe there was a little Pacific Islander enclave in Wimberley but that didn't turn out to be the case. Still, at least I have a place to take all my islander friends if they ever come to visit me.

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Begin with a reggae beat. Count in 4/4 time, one-two-three-four, but put the accents on beats two and four, instead of one and three. That’s offbeat, isn’t it? So too is Scott Owens, owner of Wimberley Shave Ice and purveyor of a confection as cool, flavorful, and colorful as the Jamaican reggae scene that draws him to that island every winter. For the rest of us who do not travel annually to a tropical island, a soft pouf of airy shave ice infused with the essence of any flavor to delight our taste buds is the economical way to enjoy an island paradise here in Wimberley.

Every spring and summer for the past 20-odd years, Scott has manned the machine that transforms a block of ice into a gently shaped mound of flaked ice, not to be confused with the granular ice ball that is a traditional Sno Cone. Whereas eating an ice ball is hard and noisy, eating a shave ice is effortless. The only difficulty you may encounter is in selecting from the dizzying array of available flavors that Scott offers.

“Yes, we make our own flavor combinations,” says Scott. “Employees want to leave their lasting impression, so they also come up with flavors. We probably have more flavors than just about anyone out there—we’ve over 120 now. We also have natural organic fruit flavors, and ones sweetened only with agave.”

Will you choose an organic fruit flavor, or the kid-pleasing Rainbow, or be surprised by an evocatively named combination: the Momminator, Jamaica Me Crazy, Strangerine Paradise? Whichever your delectable choice, remember to save your receipts for Scott’s “Buy 10, Get 1 free” giveaway. This free treat is but one drop in the proverbial bucket of the nearly $5,000 of free product that Scott gives away yearly. In lieu of monetary donations, Scott provides “Sno Cone Bucks” to teachers to give as incentives and for business fundraising. His spirit of generosity culminates every year on the last day of the season, named appropriately, “Free Day.” Usually the event takes place in mid-September, on a Friday Night Lights home game. All the shave ice is free until the flavors and ice run out, and Scott closes shop for the season.

After a period of cleaning and packing, paperwork and preparation, Scott heads to Jamaica, most often to a guest house in Oracabessa, where the “people there are like family.”

“Instead of being a tourist, I’d call myself a traveler down there,” explains Scott. “I know what’s going on with the culture. I stay with Jamaicans, I travel with Jamaicans, and so I see a whole different Jamaica [than tourists] when I’m down there. And sometimes it’s good. And sometimes it’s bad. It’s a poor, tough, country, man.” Scott stays in his “second home” until the money’s all gone and then returns to Wimberley.

“It’s the hardest thing in the world to do [leaving every season],” admits Scott. “It’s like quitting your job every year and you’re like, ‘now what are you going to do?’ When you come back, you’ve been on vacation for the last 4 months. Your whole lifestyle has been not to do any work and you have to turn around and start all over again. The hardest thing is motivating yourself to do it. I don’t know, somehow it works. I think it has something to do with people. I love people and the contact with people. And at the end of the season, I feel like I can’t stand to talk to another person because I’ve done it every day, day after day, so I go to Jamaica and I spend a lot of my time by myself. When I come back, I’m ready for that contact again.”

And the many fans of Scott’s shave ice are also ready for his return and grateful for his unique presence in the community. The impressive longevity of his business has created a fourth generation of customers, as well as families who rely upon Scott’s shave ice as their daily summer treat. Scott’s back from Jamaica, man, so join fellow shave ice lovers under the palapa shade, and beat the heat with a reggae rest at Wimberley Shave Ice.

FYI
Wimberley Shave Ice is located at 14210 Ranch Road 12 in the alley between Brookshires Bros. & King Feed. Hours of operation are 2:30 PM to 8:30 PM weekdays and 11 AM to 8:30 PM on weekends for the spring season and 11 AM to 9:30 PM 7 days a week for the summer season. Scott also operates a Tropical Sno booth at the Wimberley Market Days and can provide shave ice at satellite events and parties with a minimum order of $200. For more information call (512) 847-6010.

Schwalfenberg Goldsmith Studio

2009-03-09T22:04:00.009-06:00

Rangy and lean, Joerg Schwalfenberg looks the part of a Hill Country wrangler as he sidles up against the entrance to his Wimberley studio in a cowboy hat. But this wrangler crafts lariats out of precious metals and gems, and fortunate are the fillies who are lassoed by a Schwalfenberg original piece of jewelry.

Schwalfenberg is content to call Texas home, but settling here is the culmination of a long trail ride, which winds its way backward through such exotic locales as Sri Lanka, the edgy edge of London, the beaches of Barbados, and originates in Germany at his father’s goldsmith bench. A second generation Master Goldsmith, Schwalfenberg combines Old World handiwork mastered in Germany and his award-winning design sense to create exquisitely crafted and dramatic miniature works of art.

Two years ago, when Schwalfenberg opened his eponymous goldsmith studio at the Trading Post near Wimberley Square, he started off with precious little but the tools and knowledge of his trade, business savvy, and some gold sent by his mother from Germany.

Displayed on his shop wall is a framed “Meisterbrief,” the diploma certifying Joerg (pronounced Yorg) as one of an elite Master member of the Goldsmith Guild. His certificate is crumpled and creased like an ancient document, of which Joerg jokes, “Yah, it looks like I have very, very much experience, no?” before explaining that the certificate had been sent in the same envelope as his initial investment of gold, thus bearing the brunt of mail handling.

“And I worked so hard for that certificate!” he says, widening his eyes in mock horror.

However, the training and experience required to obtain the level of Master Goldsmith is long, rigorous, and nothing to laugh about. Recognition by a guild is an essential step for any skilled craftsperson to ply their trade in Germany, and fulfilling the additional requirements to become a Master is required of anyone who wishes to open their own shop or train apprentices.

The process begins with the prospective goldsmith becoming apprenticed to a Guild company. The learning process is necessarily time-consuming because, “you are handling expensive products doing expensive things,” says Joerg. In addition to hands-on training, the apprentice devotes one day of the week to coursework that runs the gamut from political science to chemistry, art history to mathematics. The nearly four years of apprenticeship culminates in extensive testing and the detailed design and crafting of an apprenticeship piece. Only after successfully completing these steps is the apprentice a goldsmith. Before applying to become a Master Goldsmith, the goldsmith must accrue two years of work experience, often traveling from Guild to Guild to get diverse experiences. The additional coursework and technical training to become a Master takes another two to three years.

Joerg’s parents owned a goldsmith shop near Düsseldorf, where his father was “a really good goldsmith, but did not really have the desire to design. So my mother would tell him what to do.” In contrast, Joerg is constantly seeking to create and improve upon his own designs, to ultimately establish a style unmistakable as a Schwalfenberg original.

“It’s not easy developing your own style, it takes years, really. I’m still experimenting. I’m itchy because I have many more ideas in my head, but I have to be patient. Every time I make a little profit and buy some gold, my profit is gone. It takes so long for my materials to accrue.”

Perhaps recognizing the challenges that his son would face by following in his footsteps, Joerg says his father “tried to talk me out of becoming a goldsmith. ‘Be a doctor or be a lawyer,’ he’d say.”

However, Joerg persisted and his first test of commitment to the profession he sought was in the early weeks of apprenticeship—to his father.

“That was not exactly the easiest,” Joerg grins. “He is from the old school, and when I started with him and we took it seriously that I was going to apprentice under him, I had to file crosses for three weeks. The thing about crosses is that you can measure them exactly, every angle and if the lines are parallel. Every time it was not perfect, my dad would take a hammer and smash it down and say, ‘Make a new one.’ My hands were bleeding and I hated my dad. At the end of the day now, I’m very glad that I did it because I have it in my blood that I can do it; I can do it straight without problem.”

Joerg’s jewelry pieces reflect the quality of workmanship instilled by his father in those early days of apprenticeship and honed by approximately 20 years of experience. His first shop in Barbados catered to members of their political elite, and later his bench work for celebrity jeweler Stephen Webster in London lead to Joerg’s role training goldsmiths in Sri Lanka.

The myriad of jewelry-making techniques that Joerg has at his fingertips provide clients with a universe of unique jewelry options. His pieces juxtapose elaborate cutouts with richly textured metal surfaces. Natural materials such as polished stone beads are echoed and enhanced with delicate gold elements and the glitter of gemstones. Surprises abound in his use of contrasting forms inspired by nature: an impeccably jointed silver watch band is cleverly cast to resemble natural slate, expertly cut and polished gemstones dangle to reveal a precious fish.

The dust at the end of this trail is gold, and Joerg says that he and his wife, Megan Trick, and one-year-old Sophie Ann are happy on their Wimberley homestead.

“We have our daughter and so much to do in the moment,” smiles Joerg. “It’s an exciting time.”

FYI
The Schwalfenberg Goldsmith Studio was located at 13710 Ranch Road 12 at the Trading Post in Wimberley but closed in 2011. For more information, visit the website at http://www.master-goldsmith.com.

Rocky River Ranch: Where Girls Rein

2009-02-21T08:33:00.008-06:00

Flying over Central Texas, the passengers on a commercial flight from Odessa to Austin were intrigued to hear the pilot announce, “And if you look over to the right side of the plane, you’ll see the lights of the little Village of Wimberley, which is home to my favorite place in the whole world, Rocky River Ranch!” Mary “Skeet” Anderson, the owner of this venerable institution, recounts the story with her gentle smile, one of many anecdotes about how thousands of lives have been touched by this place nestled along a peaceful stretch of the Blanco River.

“[The pilot] and his family have been coming to Rocky River Ranch the 3^rd weekend in October for their family reunions for 42 years,” says Mary, who had been recognized by the pilot as she boarded. “When the plane stopped, we had people coming up to us to say, ‘Oh, my granddaughter goes to Rocky River Ranch,’ or ‘Wimberley is my favorite place to vacation.”

Mary Anderson next to the Walkin' A Wellness Center, newly renamed in her honor

From its start as a girl’s residential summer camp in 1953, Rocky River Ranch has become a Hill Country tradition: a gathering place for clan celebrations; a relaxing retreat where women can soothe their ruffled souls; and an enabling space where girls can spread their dreams to take flight as independent young women.

Rue Hatfield was one such girl, who began her camp experience at Rocky River Ranch in 1966, the same year that her Aunt Mary became the camp Assistant Director. Like the many girls who preceded her to camp, and the many who followed, Rue was infused with the spirit that is the Rocky River Ranch experience: joyful camp camaraderie, self-reliant independence, and skill-building challenges in a fun and exciting environment. Today, Rue serves as the camp’s Executive Director.

“I’m really fortunate that Rue is interested in carrying on with the camp and the tradition,” Mary says of her niece, who followed in Mary’s footsteps as counselor and director. Leadership training is inherent in a camp environment, where girls who return as campers over several summers often continue as staff-in-training and become counselors.

“I think camp is more important now than in the 60s,” says Rue. “There’s more pressure now in the schools in how you look and who you are with. And here girls just have the freedom to be who they are. They can be silly and goofy and just enjoy themselves.”

Back (left to right): Mary Anderson, Katelyn Hatfield, Christen Steen, Shanna Watson

Front (l to r): Rue Hatfield, Liz Sierra

With her dynamic team, including Summer Camp Director, Shanna Watson, and Leadership Director, Liz Sierra (also a camp alumni from the age of 7), Rue strives to continue the mission of the camp founded by Carol “Mama” Knolk and Jane Brown. The camp staff works year round to ensure that the June through August camp season is of the safest and best quality for the 7- to 14-year-old campers.

To drive under the arched gateway of Rocky River Ranch is to enter a 10-acre enclave that evokes the picturesque appeal of an Old West town.

The Wagon Yard (they are air conditioned!)

Just past the three covered wagons where the youngest campers sleep is the town center. No outlaws frequent the saloon-style Forty Niner meeting hall, however, only the competing camp teams of Cowpokes and Wranglers in a root-‘em, toot-‘em song duel or talent show.

The custom fireplace in the Forty Niner is a rock hound's treasure trove

Next door is the Gold Nugget, the canteen where campers shop for camp memorabilia and socialize over popsicles. Next over is the Lucky Strike, where arts and crafts and other indoor classes are held. Head down toward the bank of the Blanco River and there you may find girls learning to maneuver their kayaks or splashing in well-supervised summer fun. On a bluff above the river sparkles the large swimming pool, site of the singing, dancing, and synchronized swimming revue performed by the girls at the end of their 7-day, 10-day, or 14-day sessions. Down the wooded path, past the memorial for beloved co-owner Sandy Bateman, beyond the east-meets-west grove of bamboo, are the horse stables and riding arenas of the camp’s celebrated equestrian program.

Hungry campers chow down at the Grubstake dining hall, and as bellies are stretched to their limits, rousing choruses of camp songs compiled over 50 years rattle the rafters.

“I think we’re a singing camp more than other camps I know,” says Mary. “At dinner, one table will start singing and then just as it ends another table starts up, no songleader needed. They’d sing for two hours if we’d let them.”

Bedtime brings collapse in one of five air conditioned bunkhouses with names that evoke ardent nostalgia in camp alumni: Bar K, Circle B, Lazy D, Bar Nada, and Western Empress.

Mothers of girls who came to camp soon rallied for their own camp experience, and thus “Great Escapes for Women” was born nearly 40 years ago. Unlike the packed schedules of the young summer campers, the retreats for women promise naught but eating and sleeping. Scheduled to coincide with Wimberley Market weekends, however, most Great Escapees will opt to be chauffeured to market for some treasure hunting.

“The stuff that dreams are made of, right here, this is where they start,” muses summer camp alumni Elisabeth Dunagan on the Rocky River Ranch Facebook page. Mary and Rue both cherish their numerous collections of notes from happy campers, news from alumni and counselors who are camp family, and incredulous reactions of mothers who wonder how their sullen teen-aged daughters have been transformed into confident young women in the course of two weeks at camp.

While the superlatives used to describe the Rocky River Ranch by its stalwart admirers may soar, its charm and appeal are decidedly down to earth.

FYI

Rocky River Ranch is located at 100 Flite Acres Road, in Wimberley. Further information about Rocky River Ranch, including camp enrollment and event reservations, may be found on their comprehensive web site at http://www.rockyriverranch.com/, by e-mail at info@rockyriverranch.com, or by calling 1-800-863-2267.

Squirrel came to camp here the week after we moved to Texas. We were all glad to be reunited after the week, but the show the girls put on was charming, and the staff were very warm and accommodating.

2009-01-27T13:48:00.002-06:00

January 26, 2009
Chinese New Year
Year of the Ox

Dear Family and Friends and People I Spam,

It has been a quiet year in Lake Woeberley, my hometown.

Well, technically, it has been 1 year, 5 months, 28 days, 19 hours, 29 minutes, and 36 seconds, but who’s counting?

As you may recall from my last holiday missive dated 585 BC or sometime thereabout, our family was fervently clutching our innards in anticipation of our impending move to Texas, the happy consequence of my husband’s promotion to General Manager of the Water Company. In fact, I made the move sound so unbelievably exciting that half of you wrote back after we actually moved in July 2007 to the astonished tone of, “You moved to Texas??! I thought you were joking!”
Alas, I joked not, but found comfort in that the adjustment to our Texan homestead and a sturdier, surlier way of life took less than one year. Indeed, after some trial and error with the public schools and a short-lived fling with what passes as Chinese food around here, we have settled in gingerly with the scorpions and fire ants but have been welcomed wholeheartedly by the kindnesses of wonderful new friends.

I chronicled many of our misadventures in blog form at http://homeonderange.blogspot.com/. Lately, however, I have become fond of Facebook for its ability to make me feel more a part of the daily lives of faraway friends. Contrast this with blogging, which feels like the sound of me whining in my own head.

Penguin, who turned 8 on January 21, intensively campaigned to be home-schooled after her first year at public school here. We had no idea where she even learned of such a thing. Fortunately for all involved parties, one can contract out homeschooling. It’s called Montessori. When I picked Penguin up after a trial day at her new school this Fall, she declared it, “The BEST day of my life,” which made the decision to enroll her very simple.
Penguin approaches her activities with enough verve to energize even peripheral observers. Thus, we all celebrate her daily improvements on the piano when she serenades the household at 6:30 am every morning (at one point it was 4:30 am), and are inspired to try our hand at knitting and crochet and practicing our Chinese because, heck, if an 8-year-old can do it, Why Can’t We? (this would have been President Obama’s slogan had he been a pessimist).
I was very glad that both Penguin and Squirrel were able to watch the inauguration of President Obama at their schools. However, the contrast in atmosphere must have been quite great, as the Montessori is all granola peacenik parents, and the private school that Squirrel attends is a Republican stranglehold. I mean, stronghold. I suspected the headmaster of Squirrel’s school was a closet Democrat, though, because he was wearing a flagrantly loud American flag tie and a big smile the morning after Election Day. No, not JUST a tie and a smile for crying out loud.
I for one kept my political affiliations neutral with studied nonchalance. To be sure, I had an Obama sticker on my mini-van, but I also had my photo taken with a Republican llama and Sarah Palin look-alike (two separate photos, the llama didn’t resemble Sarah Palin). Fortunately, I married a Republican, so someone was able to watch the kids when I went to that inauguration bash in Austin.

Squirrel, who turned 11 on December 30, is in the 5th grade. Her school is a blatantly academic but nurturing environment, very antidisestablishmentexasarian.

As long as I don’t help her on any more general chemistry assignments, Squirrel should continue to flourish at school. I remain slightly bemused at the field trips and activities for which I volunteer (an archeological dig one day, a birthday luncheon/service project for two 90-year olds and their buddies the next day, and a bonding by bowling with the 6th graders outing another day), but it beats the field trips to the shooting ranges and big game taxidermy studios that Squirrel would have gone on at the public school. Kidding. Just kidding. But you know you are in Texas when the first safety question the pediatrician asks your child during the annual physical is, “So what would you do if you found a gun on the playground?” Seriously not kidding.

Both Squirrel and Penguin continue to trip the light fantastic at their dance studio in Sans Markups, a college town about 20 miles from Lake Woeberley. This was the first year in which I was nutty enough to succumb to Isabelle’s plea for her to perform with a local dance theater in their production of “The Nutcracker.” The dancers were beautiful, the costumes divine, the scenery exquisite—only the mothers backstage looked like hell.
My sister-in-law and my brother welcomed their crazy cute little girl, Sydney, early in the morning on December 29, 2008. I managed to finagle a weekend trip back to meet my soft little bundle of niece in mid-January and everyone generously let me hog the baby in my greedy little clutching arms.
Hubby is still fearlessly leading the quest to build an empire that brings clear, refreshing, Canyon Lake water to the taps of thousands of paying residents in Central Texas. In his spare time, he takes the family on jaunts to visit with family and explore other parts of Texas: Walt Disney World in March, Houston in May, a family reunion at Lake Chautauqua, New York in July, a road trip to Colorado over Thanksgiving, Dallas over the New Year, and Austin whenever he runs out of his favorite Familia muesli.
In addition to visiting my family and friends in California at the least drop of a hat (or baby), I have managed to ensnare some prized visits here in the heart of Texas. Many family members and friends all trekked out during the year to bring tidings of comfort and joy for us. We hope to welcome many more such visits from friends and family this coming year. (HINT HINT) It’s ok, the scorpion count has been WAY down since this drought started.
Thank you for the wonderful greetings and news from your ranch to ours. You remain in our hearts and minds and we thank you heartily for your friendship and for the time you spend with us in person and in thought. We wish you and your family happiness, health, and prosperity in the New Year.

And that’s the news from Lake Woeberley, where all the children are strong, all the pets are good looking, and all the cedar pollen counts are above average.

Happy Chinese New Year!

2009-01-26T23:10:00.003-06:00

I prepared for the Lunar New Year by madly cleaning house and making some traditional Taiwanese steamed and baked cakes. The irony is that I never before prepared so heartily for Chinese New Year. You may believe that the poignancy of being achingly far away from the familiar familial embrace and the cherished cultural customs of my motherland (i.e., California) inspired in me the yearning to recreate the age old customs handed down from generations of my forebearers. But actually, it was because this other mom from Penguin’s class invited me to participate in her annual Pro-Chinese-New-Year-look!-good-stuff-has-come-from-China-not-just-tainted-formula-propaganda-campaign. Having watched about 800 hours of the Beijing Olympics coverage over the summer, I figured I was qualified to present Chinese culture in a glaringly positive light.

The children in Penguin's classroom were very sweet and receptive, completing calligraphy artwork and papercutting projects with a focus that belied their young ages. They even politely wrapped up my sponge cakes (hoat guay in Taiwanese) and sweet rice cakes (nien gao in Mandarin) in their napkins, “To finish it at lunchtime,” some said, or according to one little boy, “To give it to my dad because I didn’t really like the sticky one.”

I can only imagine the reaction of his hapless father if the young man truly regifts his half-eaten glutinous rice cake, stuck to the inside of a paper napkin.

Happy New Year 2009!

2009-01-01T11:22:00.000-06:00

Resolving Revolving Resolutions

2008-12-31T14:55:00.025-06:00

Lake Austin Spa, February 2008

On the cusp of 2009, I had to look over my Resolutions 2008 to see how I had fared. I had completely forgotten about my resolution to finish my 40th birthday in Vegas photo album. I'd better finish that album before I go to Vegas with my sister in February 2009 for my birthday!

That resolution about learning Mandarin also slipped. Penguin helped to revitalize the attempt early in the school year when her new school friends showed a lot of interest in "learning Chinese." Thus, we practiced numbers and made my mother record the lyrics of a vast repertoire of Chinese kid songs for her to practice. Unfortunately, I didn't ride the wave of this momentum when I had the chance. I was supposed to improve well enough to practice with my friend Bill over lunch during a visit to California. Well, Bill wasn't available for lunch during my last trip to California, so I guess I'll just have to take an extension on that resolution.

Writing every day did not occur, but I think that I made a decent attempt at putting something down at near daily intervals. More stream-of-consciousness ramblings were completed than actual usable drafts, which thankfully will never see the light of day. My attempt at NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), in which legions of writers attempt to write a novel (defined as 50K words) in the month of November was slightly improved from my efforts of 2007. I logged 8000 words in 2008 instead of zero before all of the pressures of holiday travel and children's activities rendered the 50,000 word goal insurmountable by day 3. As my friend Corinne pointed out yesterday, just writing a page a day would give you a novel by the end of the year, so perhaps I should aim for something along those lines and forgo the novel in a month idea. Or perhaps I could convert my blog into a book on a website such as Blurb. I kicked around the idea as I browsed the site, but failed to do anything about it this year.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across a Blurb book that an auld acquaintance had compiled from his photographs, entitled Japanese Summer. I will bet a cup of boba tea that one of my favorite images by him of the Kiyomizudera Temple is in the book.

Photo by Masato Sugiura

In the meantime, I will encourage Squirrel in her efforts to write. She was actually disappointed when she turned 11 yesterday because she had wanted to write a novel while she was 10. I am trying to remember what I aspired to when I was 10, and I think it was to own a dog.

Probably my most significant resolution achieved was to finally finish unpacking the office and carving out the "Thought Foundry." After a month of using that wonderful space, the girls and I meandered back to the kitchen table from whence we had started. It's hard not to want to be near the home and hearth while doing homework and writing about home and hearth. The space remains ripe for future literary and artistic daydreaming pursuits in 2009.

I had set the rather unambitious goal of publishing 12 articles in 2008. I ended up with 19 published articles in the Hill Country Sun, including one cover story on the Blanco Lavender Festival. And today, a surprise in the mail, when the January 2009 issue of Hill Country Sun arrived with my photo from Cella's Fabric Shoppe on the cover and the accompanying story. This is a milestone moment for the second worst photographer I know.

The two resolution ringers I included for 2008 were of course a trip to the Lake Austin Spa with my sister, and a trip to Japan with my mother. One has to feel as though one accomplished SOMETHING in the year.

I had intended to make better use of my faux cherrywood kitchen, a resolution that I will need to carry over to 2009. Penguin did give me a cookbook for Christmas with cute cupcakes, so we decorated a selection of dogs and cats. Now we're ready to confront all of those fundraising bake sales in 2009.

And the last two resolutions were to either find a job or be at peace with not earning money, and to finish all of the projects I started. I suppose if I can be at peace with losing 45 percent (and counting) of all of the retirement income I used to have from my engineering career days, I can be at peace with living off the fat o' da husband and da land. And I did finish knitting two cats, an elephant, and weaving two scarves, so that has to count for finishing the 2008 projects that

Welcome to Sydney!

2008-12-29T17:46:00.005-06:00

G'day Mates! Introducing the cutest little new addition to the Family Tree, Sydney Patchara Shin-Yee Hsiu! Her daddy's little tax ride-off, Sydney arrived nearly 3 weeks early on December 29, 2008 at 6:41 am. She weighed 7 lbs 13 oz and is 19.5 inches long. Congratulations to my manly brother Ed and beautiful sister-in-law Alisa!

I-Mei was the fortunate first family member to see her and says that she is soft like a marshmallow, loves to be held, and scrunches up her face prior to vigorous howling if she is put down. I-Mei's nickname for her is Mooncake, but in view of Sydney's parents' prenatal obsession with primates, I was going to use Monkey as her blog moniker. I'll just compromise and henceforth, my sweetie little niecie will be known in Homeonderange blogdom as Moonkey.

After the initial shrieking into the telephone in excitement when Ed called me with the news, and the exuberant relay of messages between my sister and mother (who had just returned to Tucson after spending Christmas with us), it suddenly dawned on me that I would be shut out of the initial meet the baby week. I pouted about this until my mom found some reasonable airfares back to Oakland, and then through the happy intervention of fates, my Southwest Airline ticket vouchers arrived in the mail. So I'm giddy with joy that I'll be able to cuddle my new niece on January 17th, much sooner than I had hoped.

2008-12-25T00:00:00.004-06:00

http://www.stalvey.net/pictures/A%20Christmas%20Moose%2012%202001.jpg

Merry Chrismoose

And a Schnozzy New Year

With Warmest Wishes from the Hodge Family to Yours
May peace, contentment, and good health be your faithful companions in the New Year, accompanied by generous flirtations with joy, excitement, and renewed hope.

A Polished Slab off the Old Block

2008-12-24T02:13:00.000-06:00

One week before Christmas, the only family member completely ready for the holiday was Penguin. Not merely in that she was ready for Santa to descend with his shower of gifts. She had withdrawn money from her bank account. She had gone Christmas shopping. She had wrapped her gifts. She had labeled her gifts. In addition, she had managed to complete hand-knitted projects for both of her dance instructors, her sister, her grandmother, and probably also for me. And her knitted kitty is cuter than mine. Just what kind of sick genetic travesty is this?

Checking Lists Twice

2008-12-23T22:39:00.009-06:00

It was a quiet week in Lake Woeberley, my hometown.

NOT.

In an interesting and not entirely detestable development, I determined that I lost 3-1/2 pounds over the past week from simply forgetting to eat. That, and from nervous anxiety and the general mayhem and perpetual motion required to see Squirrel through her first Nutcracker performance and the post-opening night gala for 200 people that I had gallantly and misguidedly volunteered to throw.

In every dance studio recital in which my daughters have ever performed, I agonized over the minutiae of preparation from hair to makeup to costumes. I always knew that I wasn't cut out for stage motherdom, and yet after every performance, as I saw them shine on stage, I became a newly converted recital maven, raring to sign them up for the next year of classes and the pinnacle of the end of year recital.

This performance, however, proved to be a different summit altogether. Take a typical dance studio recital and multiply the level of effort and commitment by 20 and that is what was compressed into an intense 2-1/2 month timeline from audition to performance of this regional theater. After the final matinee performance on Sunday, mothers and daughters were mutually cranky and eager to escape from the performing arts center in which they had been trapped until midnight for the past several days.

I was chagrined to realize that I only managed to take two photos of Squirrel in her Polichinelle costume over the entire period, and no group photographs. Somehow it had seemed less important at the time to document the achievement, and more important for her to shed the itchy costume.

So even now, several days later, neither Squirrel or I can answer whether we would want to sign up again for this ordeal next year. Despite the lovely performances and the wealth of experience that Squirrel gained, I did not feel that post-performance euphoria that had always gripped me in the past. Perhaps it is like childbirth, and amnesia will set in and we will be raring to go again next Fall. For now, I will try my best to remember what it was like to pick up and haul in 30 poinsettias, 10 rented linen tablecloths (they were so heavy en masse that the curtain rod broke in our closet), an 8-foot Christmas tree and decorations, 12 large party trays, 200 specialty cookies, two kinds of punch, coffee urns, hot cocoa, and a dozen wooden Nutcrackers so that next year when the Gala chairman quits, I will not offer to step in as replacement.

Granted, this week in Woeberley may have been particularly challenging because we had spent the previous week in the San Francisco Bay Area in a whirlwind visit with friends and family to attend a family wedding.
We had left Texas in chilly 48 degree weather (so I thought) until we arrived in Oakland to 39 degree weather. The morning of the wedding, held in Memorial Church at Stanford, it was 11 degrees in Palo Alto.

Penguin enjoyed her role as flower girl for her Aunt Ying. The parka was not an official part of the outfit.

I have never seen Ying as happy as I saw her that day, and no doubt it was her joy that suffused her with the warmth necessary to survive that frigid photography session in the Quad.

American Girl vs. Fluffy

2008-12-09T00:30:00.007-06:00

On the drive back from Colorado, Tom and I conspired to take the girls to the American Girl doll store in Dallas as a surprise. Or perhaps I should pin the responsibility on "The Queen," our GPS, who had directed us on a southerly route toward Amarillo on Friday and woke up on Saturday determined to take us on the easterly route toward Fort Worth. It wasn't until we hit the most pimped out rest stop I ever did see (pictured above) in Donley County that I suddenly realized, "Hey, I thought that we had decided to avoid the Ft. Worth/Dallas area yesterday--why are we now heading that way?" The long answer was that we were beholden to "The Queen" and therefore subject to her whims of direction. The short answer was that we were already two hours into the drive, so onward to Dallas.

Squirrel had long slavered over the thought of owning an American Girl doll, a purchase that I had managed to avoid until it became a necessary prop for her to use in her ballet performance. I managed to snag one on E-Bay for the veritable steal of $86 plus two new outfits. What?! How much for a plastic doll manufactured in China? But I will have to admit that, even as a person who is not fond of dolls (stuffed animals were my loveys of choice), they have a certain winsome appeal. Thus, I was inspired to swallow my bile and take this opportune misdirection by "The Queen" toward Dallas and its American Girl store just to admire the giddy reactions of my doll-crazed daughters.

Squirrel was suspicious right away, however, once we arrived at the Galleria. It was hard to be secretive when scores of little girls clutching American Girl dolls under their armpits paraded by when we entered the mall. We were temporarily waylaid by an ice skating show the preceded the lighting of an enormous Christmas tree in the mall atrium.

"Did you see the American Girl logo on the ice, Mommy?" Squirrel asked.

"Uh, no," I answered truthfully, since I had only seen an enormous oval on the ice that said "American," so had conveniently ignored the fact that the Christmas tree centerpiece was covering the word, "Girl."

Ironically, after wandering through the Texas-sized mall, and surreptitiously following the "American Girl" signs out of the main mall, it was Penguin who first noticed the supersized cubelike structure. Squirrel did not have the benefit of her glasses, thus had to listen to her sister's excited exclamations as we approached the building.

The store was comprised of floor to ceiling doll displays, a bistro, and a beauty shop where you can pay up to $20 for to get your doll's hair done.

At the bistro, my girls were loaned two dolls because they didn't have any. Squirrel's doll Katya was still in the minivan since I thought it would be too obvious if I suggested that she bring it into the mall. The dolls had their own booster seats and mini menus. They declined to order. If any of this is starting to scare you, I'll note that it all seems so much more sinister writing about it now. At the time, I was lulled into a pink and purple doll haze.

I spent $90 on a doll for Penguin for Christmas, since she had enjoyed playing with Squirrel's doll so much at home. Less than a week later, Penguin came home with a doll that she had sewn at school. It is a bear, and her name is Fluffy. Penguin is justifiably proud of Fluffy.

Fluffy is enjoying a very high stature in the current pantheon of Penguin's loveys. Fluffy traveled with us to California for a family wedding, and played well with Babo, my nephew's "Ugly Doll." In fact, Penguin told me very seriously yesterday that she didn't need to get an American Girl doll for Christmas because Fluffy is her favorite doll.

Maybe I could auction that American Girl doll off on Ebay?

River City Dance Theater, San Marcos

2008-12-09T00:21:00.003-06:00

When the curtain rises on the River City Dance Theater’s sixth annual holiday extravaganza, “The Night Before Christmas,” on December 20 at the Hays Performing Arts Center, perhaps only seasoned guest artists Deann Petruschke and Simon Sliva will achieve a sustained state of flawless ease as the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. Such perfection is hard won with years of professional training, and for the young dancers of the River City Dance Theater (RCDT), they are just beginning to dip their toeshoes into the sweetly sublime and bittersweet toil that is the pre-professional world of a regional dance company.

Gone are the chubby-cheeked 3-year olds who waddled on-stage during dance recitals wearing furry lion costumes. They have stretched into dancers who have already seen years of dance training in classical ballet, jazz, and tap, and performed in recitals too numerous to remember. However, becoming a member of the RCDT entails a level of commitment to the art of dancing far beyond that required by studio dance lessons.

Ongoing training continues to challenge the individual’s muscles to flex in the prescribed elements of classical dance, adhering to graceful conventions that belie the strength and athleticism required. Through the preparation for major performances the dancers become infused with the expressiveness, musicality, and theatricality required to entertain and enthrall an audience. But unlike the dance studio, where dancers may not think far beyond their role as individual dancers, company dancers are charged with a greater degree of responsibility. They are responsible for functioning as a team, a cadre of dancers who rehearse long hours to perfect how their multiple cues and entwined choreography intermesh with each individual. They are responsible for entertaining a paying audience, lighting the stage with their skill and enthusiasm. They are responsible for acting as envoys to the community to promote the arts with their love of dance. Their responsibilities are challenging, often a daunting balancing act for students with heavy coursework and little time left for other extracurricular activities. But as expected from dancers, they meet these challenges with grace and poise, only the occasional bout of puerility to remind us that they are still young.

Opportunities for a young dancer to experience the atmosphere of the professional dance world, with the equivalent discipline of training, complexity of choreography, and quality of staging and costuming are few and far between in the Hill Country. The lack of such a regional dance opportunity led former professional ballerina Katherine Grote to found the RCDT as a non-profit organization in 2003. Her goals for the RCDT were threefold: to promote community awareness of the arts, to provide an atmosphere of professional dance experience, and to give performance opportunities for dancers. These dancers will not necessarily grow up to be professional dancers, but they will always have an appreciation of the arts and be able to instill an appreciation of the arts in the lives of those they touch and inspire.

Based in San Marcos, the RCDT was visible primarily in the community during the holidays for its presentation of the Nutcracker. However, the RCDT is actively increasing its role from a local performing company to a regional dance company. The visionary behind the transition is ballet master Keith Duncan. Mr. Duncan infuses his myriad international experiences as a former professional dancer, founder of dance companies, and award winning choreographer into his current role as Artistic Director of RCDT. Importantly, Mr. Duncan brings a firm commitment to the integrity of dance techniques, artistic expression, and dance as theater, challenging the notion that small communities can aspire to only a “good enough for here” level of technique, artistry, and entertainment.

His vision is all encompassing and requires long-term planning and growth for RCDT. Along with growing a corps of dancers whose commitment and techniques become par with professional and full length ballet choreographies, Mr. Duncan has a successive plan for raising the bar for performances staged by RCDT. Already, brilliant new costumes and choreography will debut in RCDT’s sixth annual holiday offering entitled, “The Night Before Christmas.” Comprised of two acts, the family holiday event will highlight the second act of the traditional “The Nutcracker” ballet, as well as vibrant new ballet, jazz, and tap pieces choreographed by featured artists to celebrate the spirit of the season, including “The Christmas Story,” and “Santa’s Gonna Rock.”

When the heavy curtains rise on the River City Dance Theater dancers on opening night, the air will be electric with anticipation and adrenaline-fueled energy. Perhaps the young dancers may face some bobbles and miscues, possibly noticeable only to the company members. But pride and self-confidence will make them shine in performance, along with the smiles, skills, and teamwork that they have honed over many long hours of rehearsal.

“Once they sense that they’re a company, and that the individual is important but that the group is the most important thing, then it’s breathtaking,” says Mr. Duncan. “It’s truly breathtaking.”

Link to the Smile House Photographs of the River City Theater Dancers

FYI

The River City Dance Theater will perform “The Night Before Christmas” on December 20 at 7 pm, and December 21 at 2 pm at the Hays Performing Art Center in Kyle. Tickets are $15 for adults and $11 for children, and are available at the San Marcos and Kyle Chamber of Commerce, local HEB Grocers, and at 512-396-8736.

Why Men Without Depth Perception Shouldn't Drive Big Trucks

2008-12-04T15:49:00.004-06:00

It's been a crazy week in Lake Woeberley, my hometown.

I decided early this morning that I would have to forgo my last day of training for the BJJ tournament this Saturday because of too many competing errands for Squirrel's Nutcracker performance (Squirrel-Nutcracker, heh, heh), our upcoming trip to attend my stepsister's wedding, Tom's birthday, and general holiday mayhem. Unfortunately, this meant I missed Ari's visit, but fortunately she told me that she didn't spar with Hailey and Keaton today, so they didn't learn any new techniques from her that they can pull on me during the tournament. Not that they'd have to--their old tricks, while one-handed and blind-folded would be sufficient to tie me in knots, but it's more the principle of the thing.

We passed a horrific accident this morning at the intersection of Ranch Road 12 and Winter's Mill Parkway, a 2-way stop with cross-traffic speed limits posted at 55 mph and 60 mph, and unclear right-of-way turning arrangements. How instantaneously can one's life go from inexplicable joy to unfathomable tragedy.

On a much less tragic but related theme, my afternoon pick-up of the girls from school has been hindered by the truck pictured above. It was pinned perpendicularly to our street when I left the house at 3 pm and remains in that position now, an hour later. I asked the hapless men who stood flummoxed next to their big truck to call me when they have successfully navigated their way out. I won't start to panic until another hour, 30 minutes before Penguin's impromptu after school care ends. I may have to ride my bike down the hill the 3 miles to pick her up, dodging the trucks driving at 70 mph and the broken glass from this morning's accident...but then what?

Over Thanksgiving in Colorado, my mother-in-law taught me how to purl and do a long-tailed cast on. Thus, I was inspired to try knitting this cat as a precursor to my elephant. I think that this is illustrative of Why Women Who Can't Count Shouldn't Knit. At least it's sweetly scented with lavender potpourri...

Garden of the Gods City Park, Colorado Springs

2008-11-25T15:29:00.005-06:00

Climbing was allowed at this unique city park, but only with permits. The climbers that were there that day did not look particularly technical, hanging like sacks from their ropes. The trails were paved in red concrete to match the surrounding rocks, and because scrambling on the rocks was prohibited, the kids had to burn off their energy playing tag on the pavement. We reached Georgetown, CO about 2 hours later that evening. The following day was spent at Loveland Ski Resort, where the girls were reacquainted with snow and their cousins Tim and Tom, much to their joy.

Taken late in the day, after the lifts had closed.

Carlsbad Caverns

2008-11-24T08:16:00.008-06:00

Girls on cell phones?

Whale's Mouth

Witch's Finger

Midpoint of the 2.5 mile walk through the Natural Entrance route and the Big Room perimeter route.

Cool Ladies Room

Penguin's portrait (she told me to move away because otherwise we would look like a bump with two heads)

Lion's Tail stalactites

The caves are at the same elevation as the mesa in the far background.

2008-11-23T22:01:00.001-06:00

The drive from Pecos to the border of Texas was flat and brown and decorated with stray Yucca plants and oil well pumps. The last town in Texas we passed before entering New Mexico was Orla. No cold drinks available here.

The historic marker reads:
ORLA
Gateway to Red Bluff Lake, Guadalupe Mountains, Carlsbad Caverns Recreational Areas.

Established 1890 on Pecos Valley Railroad. Developed during land promotions. Had school, general store, livery stable. In 1931 remaining merchants and postmaster Harolds moved 1/4 mile west to new highway.

2008-11-23T00:15:00.004-06:00

Well, here we are at the Swiss Clock Best Western in Pecos, Texas, en route to Golden, Colorado in Mothership 1 (i.e., my minivan). Penguin has been the most excited about this trip, what with her announcement to all of her classmates and her hand drawn countdown calendar with each day marked off with an "X." After we finally had everything loaded in the car today and were not quite to Fredricksburg, Penguin asked, "Are we out of Texas yet?" Uh, no, it has been 30 minutes, dear, only 17 and a half more hours to go. Today's stretch was 6 hours of driving, and no, we're still not out of Texas. We're heading to Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico tomorrow and should get to Golden on Monday.

Gourmet Tamale Kitchen

2008-11-20T21:24:00.005-06:00

Veronique Wade

As this year full of historic numbers draws to a close—eight gold medals, 365 electoral votes, 700 billion dollars—may we add a few more digits that should impress even the most jaded bean counters? 200,000 tamales in four years; 300 pounds of masa every two weeks; 10 pounds of masa in 120 tamales; 25 varieties of tamales; eight fingers and two thumbs on one French tamale lady. The famed tamale rolling digits behind the digits belong to Veronique Wade of Wimberley’s Gourmet Tamale Kitchen. While the sheer number of tamales rolled, frozen, steamed, and consumed with gusto from the Gourmet Tamale Kitchen may be eye-popping, it is the taste of these delectable goods that elicit the widest eyes, broadest grins, and dedication of customers who return like clockwork for “the best tamales I’ve ever tasted.”

Crafted by hand with an eye for fresh ingredients and healthy cooking techniques, the flavor-packed, corn-husk wrapped bundles are called gourmet for good reason. Lacking the lard and trans fats of conventional varieties, Veronique’s tamales are spiced to perfection with traditional fillings such as chicken, beef, and pork, as well as specialty fillings including a year-round “Holiday Tamale” with chicken, cranberries, and raspberry chipotle sauce, and the “Pork Santa Fe” with pine nuts, poblano peppers, and brandy-soaked golden raisins.

Charming and vivacious, Veronique describes in her mellifluous accent how she “had no clue what a tamale even was,” when she answered a job announcement for a tamale maker nearly 5 years ago. However, immediately finding a job was critical for the devoted mother of three in the midst of divorce, so Veronique was given the opportunity to learn on the job and has been on a roll ever since.

Veronique and her daughter Natasha

“Eventually I’d like to employ mothers like me who need a job, “says Veronique, “like I was given the chance to have a job when I needed one. I’ve had so much support from the community behind me, so I want everyone to know about how wonderful Wimberley is, and the people from Wimberley.”

With 4 years of catering and hotel management schooling in France, and international travel industry careers with Ramada and American Express, Veronique has experience in commercial kitchen and restaurant services. Thus in 2007, after years of rolling tamales for others, Veronique was poised to become top tamale when the previous business owners abruptly closed shop.

“They didn’t tell the customers,” says Veronique, “they just left town. Customers figured out and they said [to me], we’re going to find out where you live and we’re going to get you to make our tamales,” she laughs.

Since opening Gourmet Tamale Kitchen in September 2007, the menu of available tamales expanded from nine varieties to 25 varieties in response to customer requests and ideas.

“Customers requested spicier stuff, so I added jalapeños. Some people said they liked blue cheese, so I tried blue cheese. Some people asked for less salt, or no cheese in the vegetarian tamale for vegans, and I was happy to do that. All I ask is that special requests are at least two dozen tamales.”

With her presence primarily in the kitchen, Veronique particularly values the time that she can spend with customers to see their reactions to her culinary work.

“The fun part is to go to Wimberley Market days and sample tamales with customers,” Veronique grins.

Robert Peterson

Robert Peterson, who began his employment two years ago under the previous ownership, continues as gregarious spokesman and knowledgeable front person where the tamales are sold at Jean’s Antique Mall. Previous careers as a commodities trader and in social work did not provide the daily satisfaction that he says his interactions with happy customers provide.

“Every single day for the past two years there hasn’t been a day I can remember that someone hasn’t said it’s the best tamale they’ve ever eaten,” says Robert. “We have people who drive up from Houston, Dallas, and Laredo to pick up the tamales. They’ve been carried to friends and family in Alaska and California and the farthest we know about is by private jet to Jakarta. We’re selling them as fast as we can make them.”

Robert has traveled extensively in the northwest and southwest, and credits his diverse tastes with the ideas for the smoked salmon tamale and the “Pork Santa Fe.” Robert also has the enviable position as official taste tester when Veronique shows up with a newly invented batch.

“It’s the best marriage I never had,” quips Robert of their creative partnership. “She’s single, I’m single. Veronique is a little bit more ambitious than me. We are co-creators in everything else.”

“My dream is to have these tamales in the White House,” laughs Veronique. “I want to be on Oprah showing my tamales. Being from Europe, I know that some countries don’t like certain ingredients, but we have tamales that can fit the tastes of any Head of State.”

But even Heads of State will need to place their orders for holiday tamales as soon as possible, before time runs out and the freezers are emptied.

“These are what make your tamales,” Veronique says, wiggling her fingers sternly. “Last year a week and a half before Christmas, I said no more orders. Don’t call me at home on Christmas Day to beg for tamales!” Or if you do, it had best be with an invitation to ring in the New Year with dinner and a champagne toast for the French Tamale Lady.

FYI

Gourmet Tamale Kitchen closed in 2010. Veronique said that the demands of being a one-person business kept her too often away from her children.

Random Acts of Knitting and Other Strange Phenomena

2008-11-15T16:45:00.012-06:00

Did I ever tell you about the idle daydream I spun as a young engineer taking groundwater samples out in rural Merced, California? As I drove past fenced pastures with grazing livestock, I remembered how I had adored the lambs in New Zealand, their delightful antics on the verdant hillsides the very essence of springtime joy. I thought, "Someday I'll get a little land in the country and raise sheep, and with the wool I'll knit sweaters and sell them in my quaint shop." All was wool and roses in my mind's eye until I remembered that I don't knit.

Fast forward nearly two decades, and as I look across the vista of our grassy acreage that fairly bleats for want of some woolly beasts, and contemplate the coincidence of a yarn shop overflowing with eager-weaver and knit-picking artists located less than 2 miles away, I can't help but raise one shaking fist to the heavens and demand of the fates, "But I didn't freaking mean in TEXAS!!!"

I would chalk this up to another case of being careful of what you wish for but for the incontrovertible fact that I still don't knit.

I'll admit that I sidled up to the fiber arts. I can ooh and ahh at all the decadent colors of yarns, and fondle their squishy bundles, and drool over the vast repertoire of knitted projects posted with alarming frequency by my power knitting friend, Stilaholic Nartian Knits. Heck, I even handled the goods when I wove that scarf for my sister. But I don't knit, because that would entail counting and frogging and blocking and other arcane knowledge of knitter's lexicon that would suck me into the weblike Cult of Knitting. I am already indentured to the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Cult and the Ballet Stage Mother Cult and the Montessori Children's Cult; I've reached my Cumulative Cult Quota, thank you very much.

But on Friday, I saw a stringy siren that had me gawping, spellbound. The vision awoke in me an all-consuming and frankly fanatical desire to KNIT. THIS. PROJECT.

It was a stuffed elephant that had been knitted by Penguin's 8-year-old classmate. Suddenly, all of my excuses for not knitting seemed so inadequate. Wait one woolen-pickin' minute, am I a mom or a mouse? If a mere child could knit this squealingly cute little elephant as her first knitting project EVER, surely I could muster up the dexterity and mathematical prowess to end up with something at least as imperfectly adorable? A sweater would prove insurmountable, a sock would never find its mate, a hat would be a flop, a scarf would come undone, but an elephant with a schnoz the size of Delaware, now THAT's a project that can inspire me to completion. Why, maybe I can raise sheep, shear and spin their fibers into yarn, knit an entire menagerie of animals, and eventually market them to designer retailers. Or perhaps I'll just aim for making the one elephant.

With this goal in mind, I found myself with Penguin this morning at Hobby Lobby (crafts supply store) to buy some wool yarn for Penguin's future project (once she finishes her acrylic rainbow scarf), and my strange elephant compulsion. Miss Faith has been teaching Penguin how to knit at school, and she had suggested (as a self-admitted yarn snob) that wool was an easier fiber with which to work. At the checkout counter, I wondered aloud to Penguin whether one skein each was sufficient for our respective projects.

"We need to ask Miss Faith whether this is enough yarn," I said, and no sooner were these words out of my mouth when I heard a familiar voice, looked up toward my right, and saw Penguin's teacher directly opposite to us at the adjacent register talking to her daughter. I resist the idea that things are "meant to be," but even I have to admit that the coincidence she would be right there, at the same time on a Saturday morning, at the next register, in the same one of many cavernous stores in San Marcos, 15 miles from little Wimberley, at the same instant I want to ask a question of her for my sudden knitting obsession...is suspiciously uncanny. Who am I to argue with cosmic convergence? Maybe I'd better go shopping for sheep tomorrow.