More Victorian Tea, Gala, Street Fair Pics

Yesterday, I promised more photos from the Victorian Tea, Gala, and Street Fair in Calvert. I still haven't got my slideshow working, so I'm posting separate images. I finally was able to put these in the order that I wanted by writing down the pictures that I wanted to select, then adding them in reverse order. There is probably a better way.

I realized that it was Pearl Harbor Day and I just had to recognize this day in our history, first. So, now, I'm doing a second post with more photos.

1. Claudia Idelisse Garcia- posing for Eve Myles. Claudia appeared to be a perfect model, sitting in a ladylike pose for so long. Her beautiful outfit made this a striking possibility for a portrait to paint. Claudia is the daughter of Lee Garcia, editor of "Tea In Texas" magazine, http://www.teaintexas.com/ . Note: The wall that was being propped up behind Claudia, has been torn down. Hopefully, the new owners are going to be able to rebuild and keep the original character of the building.

2. Savanna's Mom Takes A Break- at one of the sidewalk tables of Zamykal Kolache Shop. I was interested in the way her apron draped, and the way that she touched her hair in a little breeze. I've already posted a sketch of that, just after the event.

3. Three Beautiful Ladies- joined us for the afternoon and evening. They just happen to be our cousins, Mel, Emma, and Olivia. This was the first time that we met the girls, and one of the few times that we have visited with Mel. So much time to cover and so few hours in the day. We hope to get together again soon!

4. Franz Home-This home belongs to someone else, now, but, back when Mel's grandmother was growing up, this was her home. At that time, it was the home of Roger, Virgie, and Joyce Franz. It's always been an interesting house, with it's gingerbread style trim and upstairs windows. This is one that I never have been in, although it was once a great-uncle's home. Maybe I did go in there when I was really small and just don't remember it.

5. Parish House- This Queen Anne style home has been very popular in Calvert. The fireplace with the window, porches, gingerbread, etc. are intriguing. It is now a b&b, but, was a private home. Restoration was completed by the latest owner. Also on the grounds is a fascinating carriage house that has been restored and offers a place to stay, along with the rooms in the main house. This house had beautiful woodwork inside, as I remember it when the Carters were working on it.

6. The Neighborhood- This picture shows the street leading to Calvert High School. When we were in school, the basement floor was elementary school, the second floor was middle school, and the third floor was high school. We had fairly small classes, so it worked out well. I always wondered where people went when they finished all the floors! It's a great old building, sturdy and actually looks like a school.

When they had the Victorian Tea, Gala, and Street Fair, Barbara and I took our sketching materials for our own mini Sketch Crawl and sat on a bench outside Zamykal Kolaches, and drew until we were joined by Mel and her daughters. Then we played tourist and drove around town, to show Mel a bit of where her grandmother lived, and other relatives, and also points of interest. We spent some time going over sketches and photos, talked of family history, before going our separate ways. We all stopped in Hearne at Johnny Reb's Dixie Cafe, for supper and a few pictures.

I hope that you got to go to the Christmas Tour of Homes. You can look on the Calvert, Texas website, or click on the bandstand picture in my sidebar, to see when the next event will be.

7. Larry's Place and the Bank- Main Street, Calvert-This is where we found a shady spot to sit and sketch. The building with the porches has been remodeled and looks very different from the way it once was. At one time, the upstairs was Dr. Wade's office. There was a tin overhang instead of the porch.

Calvert is a lovely place to sketch, paint, write, etc. Come join us, sometime! Look at the upcoming events for more information about the next Sketch Crawl, and the next Plain Aire Painting Workshop with Virginia Vaughan.

Pretty Ladies At Tea

Pretty Ladies at Tea

photo

This one is for Olivia, who likes pretty ladies and princesses.

Afternoon sun on a clear October day cast dappled shadows across white columns and lush green lawns in Calvert. White tables and folding chairs were placed on the back lawn of the old Barton home, across the street from the park. Ladies and gentlemen, dressed in their Victorian finery, enjoyed tea served under a clear blue sky. The post Civil War brick home with its wide porches and large white columns, provided a perfect background for the Victorian Tea, an annual event in Calvert.

Ladies chatting beneath an ancient oak tree after the tea were reminiscent of scenes from "Gone With The Wind". Did ladies from the original Barton family also share the same secrets or gossip beneath the same trees as the ladies of today? What were they talking about? Were they comfortable in their dresses and all those petticoats, corsets, and high topped boots?

Isn't it nice to think of a time when you could walk in the grass and all you had to worry about was a few red ant beds and horned toads-no fire ants!

If you missed the Tea, Gala, and street fair this year, plan on going next year. They will also have a tour of homes in Calvert at Christmas and in the spring. It isn't often that you get to see scenes like this, or have a chance to dress this way yourself.

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I hope that you will join us in Calvert for the Plein Aire Painting Workshop with Virginia Vaughan http://www.v-vaughan.com or http://www.vvaughan.blogspot.com , Saturday October 18.

Officially, we start at 8 a.m. at Mud Creek Pottery on Main Street.

Participants have the option of getting an early start by watching Vaughan do a painting demonstration at sunrise, 7:07 a.m. There will be no instruction at that time. Just watching Vaughan paint, and enjoying delicious Zamykal kolaches. If anyone wants to paint with her, they can join in and start setting up about 30 minutes before time. We won't select the location until late Friday, so, if you plan to attend, we will need to give you numbers to call to tell you where we will be.

After the demo, there will be instruction, painting on location, and the "famous Chicken Clinic".

If the weather turns bad, we can paint in the studio at Mud Creek Pottery.

This time of year, the temperatures are a bit cooler, so you might want to bring along a jacket, especially for the early morning demo. Be prepared. After all, this is Texas.

For a supply list, to register, or for more information, contact Cecelia at grannyc_54@yahoo.com. or contact Sonny at Mud Creek Pottery in Calvert.

Hope to see you there!

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20th World Wide Sketch Crawl

Saturday October 25

http://www.sketchcrawl.com

World Wide

All ages, all skill levels, all media, groups or individuals

FREE

Go out and draw your surroundings

Join us in Bryan or Calvert, or start a group in your own community

Let's Draw The Brazos Valley!

In Calvert, contact Sonny Moss at Mud Creek Pottery

In Bryan, contact Greta Watkins at the Frame Gallery

or, for more information, contact Cecelia at grannyc_54@yahoo.com

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Victorian Tea, Gala, and Street Fair in Calvert

Fan & Apron

(top)

pencil sketch

10" x 15"

(bottom)

photo

Her fan hid an impish grin, but her eyes gave her away as she looked at her mother.

"Look! I'm a grown up lady with a fan!"

Her mother rested from her duties selling kolaches inside the building, at a table on the sidewalk. She brushed her hair back with her hand as a gentle breeze tousled the brown strands.

Barbara and I sat on a bench beside the kolache shop, ready to do a little sketching, and talking with the visitors to town. We waited for our cousin from Austin to join us.

What to draw. So many things. So many memories. As I opened my sketchbook, I spotted the little girl looking over a folding fan and her mother, dressed in a long dress with a white ruffled apron. I liked the way the fabric draped in that apron and the way that the woman's fingers moved through her hair.

The little girl quickly left and I had only started the fan! So, I had to work from memory. The mother went in and out of the shop, but sat long enough for me to get part of the pose, and a photo that I could work from later.

I intended to do just a light sketch on watercolor paper, that I could use watercolors on later. I ended up spending most of my time trying to remember the pose. I added the buildings later, and those were more ficticious. For a finished picture, I would need to look at my photos. This time, I was just working from memory.

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First Baptist Church in Calvert is having their Homecoming tomorrow, celebrating their 139th year.

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If you are in the area, and looking for art supplies for the Plein Aire Painting Workshop in Calvert Saturday, you might look at Michael's in College Station. They are in the Gateway Shopping Center, across from Scott & White and near the Texas Road House and the east bypass. They were kind enough to keep a supply list for us. But, you do have to ask at the register for it. It is a courtesy to us who might need supplies and don't have our list with us.

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Have you signed up for the Plein Aire Painting Workshop in Calvert, yet?

Come and bring a friend!

Saturday October 18

8-5

sunrise to sunset

Pass the information on to someone who might be interested.

See the top of my sidebar.

Contact Cecelia at grannyc_54@yahoo.com for a supply list and more information.

Hope to see you there!

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Are you getting your group together or making plans to participate in

the 20th World Wide Sketch Crawl

Saturday Oct. 25

http://www.sketchcrawl.com/

You can join people in Calvert or Bryan, or start your own group in your own community. Or work alone.

FREE

Contact

Greta Watkins at the Frame Gallery in Bryan or Sonny Moss at Mud Creek Pottery in Calvert.

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Have you seen the Brazos Valley Art League Juried Show at the P. David Romei Art Center in College Station? There is more information on their website which is on my sidebar.

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Sketching Day in Calvert

More Pictures From Sketching in Calvert

Here are some more pictures from our most recent sketching trip in Calvert, Texas. You can see more at the posts below this one. Sorry that I haven't posted sooner, but my computer was hanging, I got into looking for genealogy things, and now, it looks like we have thunderstorms coming and I may have to unplug the computer.

1. Our morning starts with a kolache at Zamykal Kolache Shop on Main Street. Jody, the owner, is a delight to visit with. In the first picture, she is serving a customer while we were sittingat a table, eating. I had my usual strawberry kolache and a Sprite to drink. Barbara had coffee with her kolache.

I accidentally made a movie when I was trying to see if I had the flash on or off on the camera. I may try to post that later, just to try to figure out how to add video to my blog. It is very short, since I thought I was just taking a snapshot!

2. Deciding where to go to sketch always takes a while. You could find something interesting to do almost everywhere you look! We do consider where we can find shade and a nice place to sit. This time, we decided to work inside the park. Plenty of shade, and a breeze inside the bandstand and pavillions, with benches to sit on. And lots of memories there, too. This picture shows the open car door and the view of the park from where Barbara stopped the car on Pin Oak street .

3. This is the latest sign outside the park, giving the name of the park and the date. Virginia Field Park, 1868. Land was deeded to the park in that year. The park was named for Virginia Field for all of her dedication and service to the community and the park. There is a historical marker. Several of the large homes in town, including the Barton and Gibson homes, and Hammond House, once had this same type of fence around them-pipes painted white, set into concrete posts. The fences around the homes, however, had about 4 rows of pipe and were, of course, taller. I believe that I asked older people why the fence in the park was so much lower and, if I remember correctly, I was told that it was just decorative, and also a barrier to keep people on horses from riding through the flower beds and the Crepe Myrtle trees that surrounded the park. At one time, there were large concrete objects with a ring in them, on each side of the entrance, for tying up horses before people entered the park. The same hitching posts could be found at several homes, as well. Those at the park were sold and two large white rocks were left on each side of the drive to mark the park entrance. The rocks also made a good place to sit and wait for a ride after activities in the park. The same kind of rocks were at the entrance to the sidewalk in front of the high school.

4. The west entrance to the park and the bandstand. At one time, there were entrances on all 4 sides, but those were closed up years ago. There was also a drive or road all around the park, beside the flower beds. About where the baseball field was, there was sand on a curve. Some people, like my dad, when he was young, liked to drive their cars around the park, hit that sandy spot, and almost turn over. I think that some people actually did turn over. Sometimes, they just got stuck in the sand, which wasn't too much fun. When I was learning to drive, I got "Toot's" 1950 Nash hung on those big rocks that marked the entrance. She wanted to teach me to drive. "Honey" didn't want me to drive his nice new car, but "Toot" took me out anyway while he was at his store. We did fine in the streets, but I never did like tight places, and just swerved too wide trying to get out of the park, and went right up on top of the rock on my left. We walked home, she called "Honey" to come get the car off the rock, and I hid at my house for a while until I was sure that he would no longer be mad. (The car wasn't hurt.) I thought I would never drive again! But, Daddy made me drive the tractor out in the country. Eventually, I did get back to cars. I never did like close places, though. Give me at least two parking spaces on each side of me when I parked, and I just crawled when I had to cross a bridge. They used to be narrow!

5.Walking up to the bandstand. Barbara is always prepared to paint, or for any occasion. She does plein aire painting often so she has all the necessary equipment like chairs, which she is carrying in this picture. We had views of the bandstand from the east side, growing up, and from the west side after we were older.

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Martha Marshall has a new website. I've changed the link to her site under Artist's Blogs in my sidebar. You can just click on her name and it will take you there.

Myrna Waknov has an interesting video on her site today. Click on the video to see a reporter/writer from NPR Radio talking about producing work, etc.

Gretel Parker is another illustrator/writer who I'm going to add to my links in my sidebar. She has an interesting poem about cleaning the moon on her website, along with some lovely illustrations.

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If you are a vendor, or if you have things that would be appropriate for Victorian times to show, you might be interested in the street fair that they are going to have with the Victorian Festival and Tea this year, Oct. 4. They are looking for vendors. Click on the link at the top of my page for more information, or contact Jody at Zamykal Kolache Shop in Calvert. They have a discount rate for first time participants. One thing they mentioned to me was anything like quilts, aprons, or anything that people make and would be approprite for the Victorian theme.

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Pictures from our last Calvert Trip

Here's some of what I do in the car when I am going somewhere with someone else.

In the top picture, I sketched shoppers in the parking lot while my sister went into the store. Good poses and movement of figures. People walking out of the store, in the summer heat, putting things in their cars, looking at their cell phone or game. At the grocery store, one young worker pushed a shopping cart out with his head covered with some kind of cloth or poster board on a frame. I wondered how he could see where he was going!

In the second picture, I was fiddling with the camera, thinking of taking pictures of some of the shoppers, if I saw a good pose. All that was in front of me was a sidewalk and a brick wall. I thought that I should try to figure out the camera before I got to a place that I wanted to take pictures. I thought I was trying to figure out how to turn the flash off, but, instead, one of those little doohickies on the camera was to make movies. I ended up with some pictures of myself in the car mirror. Which is kind of interesting, actually. Some possibilities for doing self portraits.

The bottom picture is a sketch I did while my sister was driving. I guess this could be called a drive by, only I sure didn't try to paint. I was doing good to get this much done with a pencil!

This is the "new" water tower at Benchly, Texas. I was looking at some tiny puffy white clouds in a cerulean blue sky, more than the water tower, but thought I would fill my space on my paper with the structure.

There are more pictures that show our sketching and our trip. But this was our start on a Friday afternoon, on our way to Calvert. Maybe I will do those as a slide show, or do another post.

Where has this week gone! In fact, where has the whole month of July gone! I think I have spent most of it trying to make the computer do something or another, usually just have to give up after a while though and wait until another day. Then, another day, another problem to try to figure out. Wish these machines were more cooperative, and simple.

Please notice a couple of changes.

*Martha Marshall has a new blog. I fixed the link to her in my sidebar.

* I added a link to another interesting site under Eye Sites. This one is Age Related Macular Degeneration Support, listed as ARMD Support.

*At the top of my page, in the upper right hand corner, there is a link to the coming Victorian Gala and Tea and Street Fair in Calvert Oct. 4.

*Check out Virginia Vaughan's blog, too, in my sidebar. She has had a really fantastic opportunity this past week, teaching a workshop to the young winners of the Houston Fat Stock Show youth art show. These are some really talented kids to have won that competition! The workshop was in Kerrville, Texas, so I know that they had a wonderful experience.

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In Calvert, they are looking for vendors for their street fair to be held Oct. 4 during the Victorian Gala and Tea. If you are a vendor and would like to participate, there is more information on the link that I put at the top of the page. Groups, or anyone that would have something that is appropriate for a Victorian event, might be interested. It could be for fund raising, or even if you make something like aprons or quilts that you would like to show. The Lions Club is one group that plans to participate and have a place where people can donate their old eye glasses.

Vendors do need to dress in Victorian costume, and there is information on that on their website.

Visitors don't have to dress up, but they are encouraged to participate, if they wish.

If you, or someone you know would like to participate, there are forms and more information on the website or you can contact Jody at Zamykal Kolache Shop in Calvert.

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It looks like summer has arrived, with all its heat and dry weather. I'm amazed that people are amazed that it has reached 100 degrees and over outside, and that it is dry with no rain in sight. The amazing thing to me is that anyone is amazed! They do it every year! So called "record setting temperatures and record low rainfall". I think I've been hearing that even before we had so much news on the radio! Like over 60 years! Now, in the '5os, we really had a drought! No rain for years. We had begun to think that nature was no longer able to produce rain! We looked eagerly at dry lightning to the east, and hoped it would rain. People had to haul water from the fire department in barrels and anything they could find. Cattle died or had to be sold. But, my great-aunt predicted that the drought would last for 7 years and then we would have 7 wet years, and we did. In the '70s, without air conditioning, the thermometer often hit 117 in the shade on the south porch. We tried keeping our aquarium on that porch and I guess the poor fish just boiled when we put them in there! They didn't last long. We even tried to cool the water down, but it didn't help. They had been accustomed to air conditioning and an even temperature.

I don't know what people expect. After all, this is Texas in the summer. It's supposed to be hot and dry. We did have a couple of years when it didn't reach 100 degrees, and we had a lot of rain in the summer, without having a hurricane. Now, it seems more normal. Not so pleasant, though, if you have to be outside.

I'm keeping water in the birdbath for the birds, but they seem to have taken off for a cooler place or something. Haven't noticed them splashing in a few days. Maybe they do when I'm not looking. There were some little rabbits hopping about the yard. I think we need to put out some water on the ground for them. But then I don't want to water the fire ants. (I hope that they will move on or die out.) A small lake near us was drained a few years ago, so those critters that hung out there, had to move on to other places.

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Edie and Peggie told me that the building that I wondered about, at the red light in Calvert, was once Molly Tucker's hamburger place. I wonder what else was in there. At one time, Miss Molly had her hamburger place next door to Conitz Dry Goods Store. I'm thinking that she probably moved when the dry goods store burned in the 1950s.

Miss Molly made the best hamburgers. In fact, the only ones I would eat. She made "sissyburgers" for me and I still eat those today.

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Stay cool and have a great weekend. I'm just so glad that we have air conditioning and fans, these days!