Art Show and Auction

Every year, Catlin Gabel has an auction fundraiser. Each class creates an art project to contribute as an auction item. There is a corresponding art show in one of our galleries to display the pieces to be auctioned along with other art created this year. 

Click to see more about Magnolia and Kaleia's pieces

Pysanky Eggs by Magnolia Rush

On Sunday, my family went to our friend Thomaida's house and we made pysanky. Pysanky are eggs that you draw on with bee's wax and then you dye them. Then you cover the parts you want to stay the dye color with more wax and you dye it a new color. When you are finished decorating, you melt off the bee's wax with a candle and wipe it with a paper towel revealing all of the colors. This is Thomaida's favorite part.  

When I had done the whole process and was melting the bee's wax off my egg, my paper towel caught on fire! Then the burning paper towel fell on my lap. Papa flinged it on to the floor and stomped the fire out. In the process, I fell backward in my chair (Ahhh!) and my second egg broke! After that some people cleaned up the yoke from the egg and the burnt paper towel. After the fire was gone and the yoke was cleaned up, I laughed for a very long time! It was crazy and everyone was talking about it for the rest of the night.

It was a fun night.  Click below to see more pictures.

Dolphin Carpool

Words of the Week: Too Louder and Boong

Too Louder (adjectival phrase): strongly audible beyond what is desirable; having exceptional volume or intensity to an excessive degree. Often used to indicate the sink tap is turned on too strongly because the water is "too louder."

Boong (noun):  a deep, prolonged, resonant sound

A little art therapy to deal with the fireworks that say boong too louder. 

Kaleia, age 2

A Year in Unpublished Pictures - 2011: Part 2

Part 2 saw us in 5 different living locations, 4 flights, 3 states, 1 wedding, and 1 graduation. There was much rejoicing and much turmoil. Here you will see more of the rejoicing. If you want to read about the turmoil, check out the post: Not the way I thought it would be.

July in California: 

We flew to California the day before Kaleia's 2nd birthday to take advantage of one last free flight. We joined Brian at Azusa Pacific University for his graduate exhibition and graduation. Nana flew with us, and Grandpa Gracey and Grandma and Grandpa Rush joined us later in the week. We managed to fit in birthday celebrations for Kaleia and Brian in the midst of frantic art show preparations. Make sure to click read more. 

Breakfast at SeaTac airport, on our way to join Brian in California. This is one of Maggie's favorite pictures. 

A Date!

My school was closed for Thanksgiving and the day after. Maggie and Kaleia's school didn't. So Brian and I took advantage of the "babysitting" and had our first date since August. We visited one of the art districts here in Beijing. 

"A Blue Spider Called Jellyfish"

This summer Magnolia reached the artistic/developmental milestone of trying to represent objects with her drawings, not just making lines and circles. She'll draw, for example, a person with a circle (head) and four long lines, two out of the bottom (legs) and one on either side (arms) and then tell you their name and sometimes have you title/label it. We're not planning on making her into the next Marla Olmstead, but it is pretty fun to see this next stage develop. Below are some of our favorite chalk drawings from this summer.

Cardiff in Surrey

If you're anywhere near Surrey, BC in the next few days go see the Janet Cardiff show at the Surrey Art Gallery before it closes on Sunday.

From the website:

Forty-Part Motet is a sublimely beautiful sound installation created by one of Canada’s most significant contemporary artists.

Janet Cardiff recorded members of the Salisbury Cathedral Choir
performing Spem in Alium, by 16th century English composer
Thomas Tallis, one of the most complex pieces of polyphonic
choral music ever written.

Separate voices emanate from forty speakers. As visitors stroll
past they can single out individual singers. Standing at the
centre, the combined choral harmonies wash over listeners.

Previously shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York,
and at the Tate Gallery in England, the Surrey Art Gallery will
host its first exhibition in British Columbia.

This was one of the most beautiful, goose-bump inducing aural experiences I've ever had. Go alone, close your eyes and get lost in the rapturous polyphony or bring the kids and enjoy a unique--and free!--experience together. If you aren't moved by this you might be dead.

Cha-Ching!

On April 13 and 14, Trinity Western University had its annual Senior Show, this year entitled Tomfoolery. Brian was a guest artist as an alum and he sold all 18 of his paintings, bringing home his first artist's paycheck!