It's been two weeks since I've posted on this blog. I have been otherwise totally and endlessly engaged with two small grandchildren who, with their mom, visited Houston for the aforementioned two weeks. Yep, they flew from cold rainy Seattle into Houston's summer of heat and drought.
With their arrival, I experienced a full motherhood/parenting flashback, which means that for two weeks, I did not complete one task that did not involve small children, nor did I maintain any flow of coherent thought. My right ear is in pain from sustaining the cries of rage and joy of four year old Lulu Bell and seven year old Charlie Bean. Most of their outbursts were in response to the ploys of each to irritate the other. Ah, sibling rivalry. For a first hand explanation of one of innumerable fractious moments, read The Great Paper Fan Fight.
We went to the beach for five whole days, we swam in friend's pools, we rode on the train at Hermann Park, we visited friends and family, we played at the Kids Space at Space Center Houston and the Children's Museum. We visited Beth Collins Wray where Lulu Bell sat at Dick's desk using watercolors within sight of a portrait of Matisse.
Caroline, Beth and I ate steel cut oats with molasses in the kitchen and actually had a running conversation. Oh, the wonder of colored pencils and paint under the tutelage of Matisse to properly direct a four year old's attention.
We even made a brief visit to the Houston Permitting Center, because I simply had to show off this new building to my eldest daughter. Her last visit home was almost two years ago, for the opening of Second Seating in September, 2009.
Kaneem, Charlie Bean interacted with your piece. Totally. The chimes were resounding. Joe and Andrew, the dials for your sensors were bouncing. Wish we'd been there during the work day so we'd have seen the results of children's heavy breathing.
It remains a great human mystery why I love these grandchildren so deeply and watched over them so carefully, while at the same time, pronounced profanities under my breath with unrelenting frequency. It is a mystery to me that what I will remember about these two weeks are the tender moments, the hugs and the eyes filled with wonder. I will overlook the Cheerios underfoot and my aching ear. Maybe.
And now that my head is clearing, I can, once again, write more about 1002 Washington Avenue. Plaques for the artwork have been proofed and ordered. There is a ten to fourteen day turnaround for these etched stainless steel plaques and then we'll get them installed so visitors will have the most basic information about each artwork.
COH's General Services is compiling content for four on-line tracks of information about this new facility. The interrelated tracks include the building's history, its green construction, on-going sustainability and the artwork. All of the art, by the way, relates to the city's commitment to reuse and sustainability and to Houston's broad cultural diversity.
But, let's back up a moment to bookend the discussion of my last two weeks. All of us have families and commitments and life changing events. During this year of creating artwork for 1002 Washington Avenue, it is worth noting that GONZO247 married Carolyn Casey, Joe Meppelink and his wife had a new baby and artist Dick Wray died. Life passages all.
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