What did you do on Spring Break? Some of my students have been globe-trotting. Some have been dropped off at the roller rink all week. What would I say? I hung out with Turbo-Tax? Got an oil change? Sat in my chair and stared out the window? Sometimes looking. Sometimes pondering. Often zoned out. Not in the driver's seat. Blasted back by the airbag, and can't recall the collision. A crew is smashing the concrete on my street to replace a rectangle, then another rectangle, then another.
Always fond of chairs, and this book,
Chairs. Edited by George Nelson. Published by Whitney Publications, copyright 1953. We had a bunch of second-hand bentwood chairs in the basement. I loved the arches and circles, the smooth, dark wood. These chairs provided the seating for Blue Bird meetings and birthday parties along the converted shuffleboard table.
I twirled on a stool at the Highland Park Pharmacy Soda Fountain (since 1912) for an early lunch -- Grilled ham and cheese on white with mayo, no lettuce, a bag of chips, and a root beer, $8.19. Old fashioned experience at 2011 prices about the same as Corner Bakery's. Plus I can like it on FaceBook. Dad would have ordered the goose liver sandwich and Mom the pimento cheese. Then they would have traded halves.
Stickley probably didn't host shuffleboard evenings or Blue Bird meetings. I headed downtown to renew my Dallas Museum of Art membership and see the
Gustav Stickley exhibit. The furniture pieces on display dated from 1901-1913. They might have inspired the pieces in Grandma's house in Pierce. Certainly the dark wood, green walls, and Craftsman aesthetic had trickled down to northeast Nebraska before the first World War. I wished my Ohio friend Mary could have joined me, as she is a student of the American Arts and Crafts movement.
Far more fun than Stickley was the DMA's installation in the Center for Creative Connections. The current exhibit is great fun for kids, families, and art teachers.
"Sculpting Space: 299 Chairs" is a fantastic installation created by students from DISD's Skyline High School Architecture Cluster using standard-issue fourteen-inch classroom chairs.
Just finished watching a strange artifact of American movie history. "Neptune's Daughter" starred swimming sensation Esther Williams, Ricardo Montalban, and Red Skelton. These chair formations could become synchronized swimming routines!
This one reminds me of a student I taught many years ago. He couldn't pronounce his "L" sound. Yes, this yooks yike a yunar yander!
© 2011 Nancy L. Ruder
1 comment:
Those chair sculptures are awesome!
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