Houston Fun
Houston and surrounding areas are still recovering from the big storm. This building with boarded up windows was very visible from the convention center.
There were many trees down and not yet cleared away.
One day we visited Bayou Bend, an elegant historic home surrounded by 14 acres of beautiful gardens featuring Azaleas, Magnolias ( a few, disturbed by the storm, blooming out of season) and Camellias, just starting to bloom. Unfortunately we arrived shortly after the last house tour of the day had started so we just did the gardens. There were many uprooted trees which, if history repeats, only means new garden spaces! This beautiful place right in the heart of Houston will surely be a spot to revisit on another trip! It would be amazing in the spring time!
Houston has a huge number of museums and over the years we have visited many of them. This year we revisited the Rothko Chapel to see it in proper light as last year when we went it was too overcast to get the full effect. Quite amazing! We also visited the Menil Collection a vast display of art and antiquities and special exhibits. The oldest item I remember was dated 22,000 BC – can you imagine?
We always visit the Houston Center for Contemporary Crafts which featured a potter this year, but also had on display an exhibit called “Unifying Threads”, fabric, fiber and thread pieces by various artists.
The rest of our “off” time was spent shopping and eating! We have over the years found special shopping opportunities that we enjoy repeating. It’s fun to explore some of the older, unique communities within the city. Antique shops and malls, used book stores, fabric places and quilt shops, bead shops, home dec, ethnic restaurants and sidewalk cafes beckon.
Some years we stray far from Houston, but this year we stayed close, glad that we had done Galveston last year!
Here’s this year’s quilt shopping haul:
You really can’t see all of the books, but I got some good ones! And plenty of thread, invisible and otherwise. See the free batting samples? The pale green one is made from pop bottles!
All 29 yards of fabric were washed and ironed yesterday, I still need to put it away. Also yesterday I finished the quilting on that Poppy quilt so now today it needs to be bound. Perhaps I can sit out on the deck this afternoon and do that as it may be our last good day!
Tags: Houston fun
November 4th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Where are the murals at the Rothko Chapel? Surely not the large grey panels! Your haul looks wonderful. I can’t distinquish the green ‘pop bottle’ batting, but I’ll take your word for it. I’m glad you had a good time. You are a sturdier gal than I am, Gunga Din!! 8>))))
November 5th, 2008 at 7:47 am
On my screen the panels look purpley- but yes- Rothko worked large and pretty monochromatic. The building was made to feature the work and has a skylight in the center that casts light on the paintings. On a gray day like last year they looked pretty black but when the light is good you can see colors- greens, purples, and others. Rose had seen his work at the Tate in London and that was more colorful she said. Sometimes it has a horizon line and almost looks like a simple landscape.
November 5th, 2008 at 10:20 am
The Rothko work I have seen has squares placed on a contrasting (or sort of contrasting) background. Or the space is broken up with horizontal lines. One of my favorites is
http://www.nga.gov/feature/rothko/classic3.shtm
– I suppose it is the colors that grab me. Where are the Burning Bush located? (or Burning Bush Bushes?)
November 10th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
The pieces I saw at the Tate had horizontal lines with various colors between the lines, sometimes partially framed with another color. Not so much a simple horizontal line, but a bit “splashy’ so it looked bumpy like a landscape in the distance. I’m not so good at describing this, but I did like what I saw, and the colors. Could maybe be reproduced in fabric with paint, or lots of machine embroidery.