Father's day ART tribute to a great man

Gonna take a break from posting pics of my trip to Europe to pay tribute to my father. For those that have not visited my website, I have a concentration of art pieces dedicated to my dad. So -- thought I'd revisit those today.

My father was perhaps one of the kindest men around and yet, he was definitely what we term a "man's man." He loved to fish, hunt, fix cars, and do carpentry. Yep, he could do just about anything he set his mind to. His day job had him traveling from town to town. He was the local field representative for Social Security but he loved his job. It allowed him time to talk with the old farmers in the area and swap stories.

He was always there for me. I remember one scout outing, a Father/Daughter campout, where we were supposed to lay out an onion trail for our dad's to follow. My girlfriend and I set out to lay our trail but didn't stay on the path. Anyway, we got ourselves thoroughly lost. Finally, we just stopped and waited. Sure enough, our Dads proved what great sniffers they had cuz they found us. I was never so glad.

His later years, he suffered rheumatoid arthritis. The medication also caused complications. It was so hard to witness this strong man getting weaker each day. When he died, I cried but kept most of the sorrow within. He died May 5, 1999. That summer, I attended an AP art institute where we were instructed to create a body of work. We did 16 pieces of art in 4 days. Very intense. I chose my father and his illness for my subject matter.

The last piece, brought tears to everyone when I presented it for critique. That's when my grief began to heal. Basically, it's a poem where one part his is repsonse the other mine. The last week of his life he'd loss the use of his hands and feet. So I used shoes, feet and shoelaces as a metaphor for his desire to embrace life even when life didn't embrace him. Above is an image meant to show his sense of humor even when faced with such adversity. The shoes to the left are full of thumbtacks, a way of showing the pain he must have endured. But - he never complained. He always had a smile on his face. I clearly remember the last day I saw him. He couldn't speak and was trying to tell me something. I couldn't understand, but his eyes twinkled with mirth and he smiled. I miss you.

Our day in Orvieto, Italy

The day we left Rome, we headed for Orvieto. So this day was mostly scenery. Once we arrived, we toured the Cathedral of Orvieto, a beautiful example of  Romanesque and Gothic architecture. After our visit to the Cathedral, we were allowed free time to explore. We enjoyed a lovely lunch at an outdoor cafe and walked around a bit.

Then we gathered for a ride on the funicular for a spectacular panoramic view. During our trip, the highs were in the upper 70s or lower 80s. Feels odd to come home to 100 degree temperatures.

Following our Orvieto excursion, we headed for Montecatini where we enjoyed a three-course dinner at the Grand Tamerici and Principe Hotel.

Mom always retires for the evening at about 8:00PM so I spent a bit of time enjoying my son's company as we walked about.

Castel Sant'Angel

Our last day in Rome, the leader of our group was to give an organ recital at one of the local churches. Previously, we had time to tour Rome on our own and my son and I became quite interested in the Castel Sant'Angel. When my mom said the recital was too late for her and she was tired of walking, my son and I decided to bow out as well. Though I really wanted to hear Benjamin play, I also really wanted to see the castle. The castle won.

So, just my son and I walked to the entrance of the castle and bought tickets. I think it was one of my favorite parts of our trip. For one, I got to spend special time with my son and two, I got to see the castle. (I love castles.)

Originally commissioned as a mausoleum for the Roman Empera Hadrian and his family around 139AD, it wasn't used as a castle until 401AD. You can see where the Romans added onto the cylindrical structure. We investigated every nook and cranny we could and walked all the way to the top for a spectacular view of Rome.

Since the castle is now a museum, they had a lot of interesting exhibits tucked away, especially items dealing with warfare. This second picture is of Rome from the palisades of the castle.

Visiting the Vatican Museum and City

Our second day in Rome was probably the most important day for our group in terms of visiting important works of art. This was the day for our scheduled trip to the Vatacan.

We woke up early and enjoyed breakfast at the Hotel Cicerone. That morning we were on our own to tour Rome at our leisure. My mom, son and I joined a few others from our group and braved the subway system. Our destination was the Church of St. Peter in Chains. We were all quite anxious to view Michelangelo's Moses.

The church itself was breathtaking and one of many such structures we would see on this trip. Photographs don't do justice to the high ceilings that tower at least 3 stories above our heads or the ornate decoration and details adorning every facet of the building.

After lunch, we met the entire group (there were 20 of us in all) and took the bus to the Vatican City. We actually caught a glimpse of the pope but in all the excitement, I didn't get my camera out fast enough.

The museum was fabulous but crowded. We were allowed photos in the museum portion and St. Peter's Basilica but not the Sistine Chapel. As awe inspiring as the Sistine Chapel was, I would have enjoyed it more if the room hadn't been full to capacity with other tourists wanting to ogle Michelangelo's work. I highly suggest going when it's not the peak season for tourists. We also saw his Pieta but it was behind glass.

Getting ready for our trip abroad - Rome!

Getting ready for this trip was quite nerve wracking just because I had so much going on at work. As mentioned in the previous post, I had a lot of packing to accomplish before leaving school. And, I had to figure out what to do with my students since I was going to miss the last week of school. Can we say hectic? But I'm happy to report I managed to pack all that I needed for the trip.

On Sunday afternoon, May 27, my son, my mom and I set out for Grapevine where we spent the night. The next morning, we visited my uncle who suffers from Alzheimers. He was in great spirits and glad to see us though I'm not sure if he really knew who we were. At 4:00 PM we boarded Lufthansa Flight 439. We had to take a connecting flight from Frankfurt to Rome. Needless to say, we were on the one plane for eleven hours and the other for almost two hours. Had the worst meal ever on that last flight. Iggg.





We arrived in Rome at 2:00 PM  on May 29.  Keep in mind the time difference.

Our first excursion was a sightseeing tour of Rome via bus followed by a stop at the colosseum. What a fabulous way to start the tour. You can't imagine just how large this place is. The photos just don't do it justice.

Our guide was very informative. The area where the colosseum was built was originally a lake. Instead of digging a hole for the structure, the Romans drained the lake. To manage the huge rocks, iron stakes were driven into the stones thus allowing an easier grip. Imagine building this around 70 AD without our modern technology. Much later these iron stakes were removed so they could be recycled. Unfortunately, removing them made the structure less sound when the earthquake of 1349 came which is what ruined the massive building. After that, the Medieval folks used the marble to build some of their churches and other important buildings. Talk about recycling.

She talked about the people and those that came to the colloseum. She pointed at this arch and said that information was written on the walls to show the crowds where to go during intermission so they could take care of needs, perhaps eat a bite, etc. This wall supposedly shows an arrow that points to the "red light" district where a man could occupy his time with a woman but though I snapped the picture, I still don't see the markings she alluded to. Maybe you can see it.

Afterwards, we traveled to our hotel where we enjoyed a three-course meal and much needed sleep.

A new move

I hadn't realized it was so long since my last post but I have great excuses. I'm been in my room at school where I teach for twenty-three years but due to changes, they are building three new art rooms. Hence, I had to pack. Twenty-three years of accumulated stuff is no easy task to pack let alone toss out. Yeah, I did my share of throwing away. We filled a large construction receptical and could have used another dumpster. I gave away tons of surplus. And I still had a stack of boxes.

This is a top view but it's about five to six feet tall. And of course this pile doesn't even include the furniture. Ack. But it's good to deep clean like this. I found things I'd forgotten I had. I'm looking forward to the new year.

So - tomorrow or the next day, I plan to give you a synopsis of my trip abroad. Too much fun.

A bookaholic when it comes to research

Okay, I confess. I'm a bookaholic when it comes to buying research books. Oh yes, I buy lots of romance also, but we'll save that for another day. Today, I decided to start my inventory project and I decided to begin with my office.

I knew I had lots of books but writing down the titles, authors and copyright dates on three shelves worth of books took all afternoon. But - I found some real treasures in doing so. Most of the books I buy come from Half-Price Books. I can spend hours just browsing for historical gems and it shows. I found at least 4 collectible books, books I bought for five or ten dollars but are worth far more. Doing a search of the books on a collectible site led to the discovery of these 4 jewels. So fun.

Books usually find their way to my place because they spark an idea, like the the book, Life at the Texas State Lunatic Asylum, 1857 – 1997 by Sarah C. Sitton. I always thought it would be fun to use an asylum as part of the setting for a book but never got any further than the idea.

I have a whole row devoted to the medieval times and Vikings. I also have a whole row on books that deal with writing like On Writing by Steven King and TheWriter’s Journey by Christopher Vogler.  I highly recommend both books. Astrology books also grace the top shelf as I find them useful in developing my characters along with a book on archtypes. Another row is devoted to just books on the old west from Texas Rangers to the Overland Trail to a Railroad Atlas. The bottom photo shows just a few of my research books.

The fun part about doing the inventory is being reintroduced to books I'd forgotten about and letting those books spark ideas. Oh yeah, the ideas are flowing. Now to find time to write. 

Yes, the Internet is a wonderful tool but sometimes I'd much rather do the research the old fashioned way.