Go Figure Two!

Last night was the opening for Go Figure Two! at Las Manos Magicas in Houston.  TAODA has been blessed with so many gallery shows lately.  This one is in a folk art gallery, which is a different and interesting venue for us.

a view of one of the gallery walls

the reception getting under way

my contribution:  fruit kabobs

I have three pieces in this exhibit:

The Tempter

Vespers

Wisdom

"Wisdom" is a cloth figure over a wire armature. The under tunic is made of hand dyed silk habotai, stamped with circles and swirls. A scattering of sequins are sewn on. The over tunic is made of many pieces of hand dyed silk gauze. These pieces were computer printed with the same Bible verse (“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all men generously and without reproaching, and it will be given him.” James 1:5), then the edges were burned and foiled, and lastly sewn together.

The wings are made from artificial flower petals, cut apart and hand painted, then reassembled into wings.

While in Washington DC one of our stops was the Library of Congress. This is a stunningly beautiful building!

 

I recently discovered that my ancestor South G. Preston, who was a lawyer and a Methodist minister, authored several books, three of which are in the Library of Congress!  One (The Shadow of the King) was off site and I was unable to see it, but two others, Key-Words and Phrases of the New Testament, and The Secret of Hamlet, were there and I was able to photocopy his picture and bio from the books - a very exciting find for this budding genealogist!

South G. Preston
b. 1857, d. 1908

American Heritage Awards

Last week Bob and I traveled to Washington DC.  I was honored by the DAR at the 2011 Continental Congress with two awards.  I had entered  "Thy Word" in the American Heritage exhibit a few months ago and was stunned to find out that I won first place in the doll category!

I received this award on Wednesday morning, then on Wednesday evening we watched the opening ceremony at Constitution Hall.  It was filled with pageantry:  every state flag, the Marine Corps band, a stage full of dignitaries.....

On Friday morning I received the Evelyn Cole Peters award, "Best in Show" for the craft category.  It was an amazing honor!

Before and after and in between we saw the sights and visited friends.

We had a great time.  I found out that the Original Doll Artist Council of America conference will be held in DC in 2013 - I can't wait to come back!





Napa

Our trip to Napa Valley was amazing.  The weather was perfect, the scenery gorgeous, the food was wonderful, of of course the wineries were a highlight of the trip.

The first winery we visited was Robert Mondavi, which was perfect because they give a great tour which includes learning about wine and winemaking.

Our next stop was Rutherford Hill, for a picnic on their beautiful grounds.

We purchased a lovely Malbec for our picnic and enjoyed the view from the hill.

Then we had a tour of their caves which are built into the side of the hill.  Here is the entrance to the caves:

Enjoying more wine in the caves.

The next day we toured the Culinary Institute of America Greystone campus.

When she finishes college, the family chef may want to attend the school here.

We had a wonderful lunch at the Wine Spectator Restaurant here prepared by CIA chefs.

Dessert!

We also went to Sterling Vineyards

where we took an aerial tramway up to the vineyard on the hill

another lovely view

And inspiration for a doll!

Some of our favorite visits were to the Champagne Houses

Champagne and Caviar tasting at Domaine Chandon

Cheers!

tastings at Domaine Carneros

We said farewell to the good life and made the trip back to San Francisco for the flight home.  But we had one more stop to make:

The Trumer Brewery in Berkley, CA. 

Bob got a tour and a tasting of his favorite beer.

Simply Live!

We did a lot of that - it was a great trip!