Standouts of the Houston Art Car Parade

 

I dragged my mom and two sisters downtown to watch the Art Car Parade with me. After some parking adventures, I finally got to see some sculpture, Houston style- big, flashy, colorful, and usually made of trash. I'm glad some people are willing to spend so much time constructing these cars, because I would never do it! I can admire though. My personal favorites are the elephant made of pipes, the triceratops, and the tree character with the tire swing (it's probably a cultural reference I should know but don't; it had a mouth and teeth on the front; but anyone who puts a tire swing on a car gets points from me anyway). The Smartcar pulling the giant grocery cart is up there too! Of all of them, that one was truly the most humorous. I think someone was regretting their vehicle purchase. And there were several neat mechanical ones, such as the hen (the beak opened and closed), T-Rex (mouth opened and closed) and the one that looked like a big wheel being pulled by a dead scarecrow (again, probably something I'm supposed to recognize but I don't); his legs moved as if he were running slowly; really creepy; I'm glad I saw that one in the daylight.

It was a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon in the sun. This parade was pretty unusual when it began 26 years ago, but now, the difference between an art car and float that you would see in any parade is kind of blurred- other than the fact most parade floats are advertising something, and these folks are just doing it as a hobby. The parade as a whole wasn't spectacular enough to justify going every year. I'll give people a few years to create some new cars before I go again.

Minesweeper

I just reached 85% in Beginner Minesweeper this week. It would have happened a long time ago, but I first started playing this game during a road trip and accidentally kept clicking on mines every time we hit a bump in the road, so my win percentage started off really low (that was the time the 5 count losing streak happened).

I have my best results when I limit myself to one game a day. It's so tempting to play again and again and make the score go up just a little higher, but eventually, you'll lose. Of course you'll then want to play several more games to recover and end the day at your highest point. The longer you play, the more frequently you'll lose. At some point, I realized I virtually never lost the first game I played. I have lost exactly one game since then. That was the day when I decided to break my one-game-a-day rule, and sure enough, I lost my second game. There's another benefit to playing just one game a day; you don't look up and wonder where your afternoon went. Rather than being a waste of time, it's a quick mind exercise and even a discipline.

I don't flag mines at the Beginner level. The game board is so small, the mines are very easy to count on those rare occasions when I need to know how many I've found. I don't even scroll over mines with my cursor; that's when accidents happen.

I don't care how fast I complete the game. I would if Minesweeper would keep track of my average time, but it doesn't. My best time is 11 seconds. I don't want that record to drop any lower because that would reflect my exceptional luck, not my mad skills!

My Two-Dozenth Birthday

 

 

 

We played a game we made up based on the Food Network show Chopped. We split into three teams, and the game lasted three rounds. Each team competed in two rounds and judged one. Rather than chopping anyone, the judges simply gave each competing team a score based on taste, presentation, and creativity. We kept the scores secret until the end, when we added it up (Two teams tied!). Before the party, each team went shopping together and picked out four ingredients for the other teams to use during the round that they were judging. I got to taste all sorts of things I've never had before: jimica root, gnocchi, cassava chips, ancient grain milk. The only problem was, we had to taste everything before we could figure out how to use it, and we didn't know how to cook with it anyway (We allowed the use of the computer only to figure out cooking methods.) It was all edible at least! After each round was finished, and the judges tasted the food and made critical comments, we all grabbed plates and sat down to eat that course. Then it was time to clean up, and on to the next course! Maybe more pressure than I'd really like to have on my birthday, but it was fun!

Momma made a birthday cake and congratulations cake all in one. We ate it with strawberry rosewater ice cream, made using this recipe. It's a little high on the rosewater and a little low on the strawberry, but it only took a moment to grow on me. It feels fresh and light after a hearty meal and chocolate cake.

Aren't the presents that my sisters made me just delightful?

Behind the Scenes at the Masters of Design Fashion Show

I really couldn't have asked for the evening to go better. I wasn't rushed or stressed out, and neither was anyone else. Three of my original models didn't show up, but the backstage manager knew all the models' names and positions in the show, and she found three new ones for me quickly. All I had to do was stand there while she told who to try on what and approve it. All of my models had suitable shoes, even though one had to wear her own and I gave one the pair that I had planned on wearing. I got there late, but I got there in time to instruct the hair stylists and makeup artists. Three of my models were also modeling for other students, but we were all easy-going and agreed on the makeup look. Lipstick got on a shirt, but that was after my collection had been shown. The lipstick stain was near the bottom of the sleeve, and I just rolled it up a bit before the model went out again for the finale, and it looked great. We even got a free pasta dinner and cookies!

From backstage I could hear the music playing (Brooke Fraser's "Shadowfeet" and "C.S. Lewis Song) and the audience clapping, but I couldn't see how my models were walking and posing or the expressions on the audience's faces. When I stepped out at the end, I didn't know what to do or where to look. It's so disconcerting to see so many people in a room that was empty when you arrived. I smiled and waved, but at no one in particular. I can only hope I stood still and looked in the right direction long enough for the photographer to get a shot of me with the models!

My professor told me to keep one model in my best look for "the end." I didn't know whether he meant the finale walk or the awards. When the finale was over, and the professors started announcing the awards, several students and their models ran up to the door in anticipation. Somehow I didn't realize that it was that time, and I joined them late and rather uncertainly, not really sure whether I was going to be one of the winners or not. Name after name was called, and we all cheered exuberantly for our classmates. Then it was "Student of the Year." It was so loud backstage, I couldn't hear everything that was said, but I thought that this was the final award. The winners' names were called. Not mine. The last two students, other than me, who were huddled near the door, dashed out. I was disappointed. I had thought I would win something, at least a 2nd or 3rd place scholarship. The other two students came back, and the professors were still talking. Yes, they were announcing the "Best Collection," and that one belonged to me. I stepped out with my model, and we did our victory walk partway down the aisle. I said/mouthed "Thank you!" several times, even though I didn't know who to thank. I smiled a lot. I hope at least that the judges and my professors knew that this was an honor I didn't take lightly. When the professors closed the ceremony and came backstage with us, I even hugged them- for the first and last time!

Mother's Day 2014

We spent most of Mother's Day sitting around the table or in the school room, talking, which is Momma's favorite thing to do! In the evening we decorated with lots of balloons and set out her presents and flowers. Andrea and I bought her a Petite Dutch flower arrangement, and Andrea decorated a mini mason jar to hold it. Isn't that tissue paper chrysanthemum Kayley made just spectacular?

Portfolio Page : The Toilet Paper Tube Dress

I designed and sewed this dress over a year ago for Flash and Trash, and to date, it's one of my favorite things I've ever made. I modeled it too!

Visual Merchandising

This was last week, when my classmates and I displayed our entire collections for the judges. We each got a mannequin and a rolling rack and a space in the school hallway, and aside from that it was up to our own imaginations. Obviously, the clothes are the most important things; I'm glad I was working on my sewing up until the last minute, or I might have spent too much time on props and outshone the garments with those.

This collection is called "Between the Lines." I drew my inspiration from the 1920s daywear a la Coco Chanel, origami tessellations, and books. I mounted my mood board on the wall, set up a folding screen for some definition to the area, and used some cube-shaped planters as a table to place my portfolio on at a comfortable height for reading. The two smaller planters, along with some dusty volumes from my dad's bookshelf, became shoe shelves. (The day before the judging I was at Hobby Lobby to get 5/8" metal ribbon ends. I didn't find them, but I did see the folding screen and nabbed it. Then I continued my search for the ribbon ends at JoAnn, and left the store with the planters! I'm so glad the display fixtures took no extra time away from my sewing. I don't think 5/8" ribbon ends exist, though.) How to display the socks puzzled me for a bit; then a classmate designed some new footwear for his collection by putting on a shoe and covering the whole thing with duct tape. Well, of course! I put on a sock that went up my shin a ways, wrapped it in duct tape, cut it off and stuffed it- and it made a very good foot form.

We had to leave the premises before the judges arrived, so that they could remain anonymous. I ran out while my professor was yelling that we had 30 seconds or we would be disqualified. After working on this for eight months, I can't describe how good it felt to know the collection was done, and there was nothing more I could do! I'm pretty good at letting go.

When I came back a few hours later, the first thing I did was read the notes the judges left for me. They were positive and constructive and made me really happy. I got the highest points possible on construction and high points on marketability. One judge said I was both original and marketable, which isn't easy to do. The "Wow" factor response varied from judge to judge, which is understandable. One judge said the silhouette was lacking. A couple judges thought the gray was sad and was taking the black and white photographs too literally, that I should have mixed in more color. Another judge said that the gray color didn't bother them at all, and that they saw my inspiration clearly. All in all, they were very nice, and I think I will keep those little slips of paper forever.