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I had mentioned to several people about going to the fair in Kerrville, and had a couple of interested responses. But when I woke up Monday at some ungodly early hour, I was ready to leave right then. I was also feeling sort of crabby and not good company, and decided to fly solo rather than wake people up and try to drag them along. So off I went.
The drive was beautiful as early summer in the Hill Country would be. I was feeling extra moody for some reason, though, and had bouts of feeling lonely. This is my dark emo secret; even when I am surrounded by people I can feel lonely for no good reason. I remember that far back into my childhood. Not sure where it comes from. All the better reason for me not to have inflicted myself on friends, so I muddled through.
Seeing old sights cheered me up. I had a pretty pleasant adolescence compared to many, and look back at my old home town with fondness. I only lived in Kerrville for 3 1/2 years, but it was a very formative 3 1/2 years, building up my pagan roots which I didn't discover for a long time, and where a lot of my 'firsts' with regards to boyfriends occurred. Also, I was a talented little horn player and in Kerrville it wasn't hard to be the best. So I enjoyed my big fish in a small pond status while it lasted, knowing that when I went off to college at UT I would lose it. Suffice it to say, Kerrville is a happy place for me.
But I was there for the fair. Driving to it, I passed the new high school. They built it a couple of years ago, and it was shiny and enormous. I thought it was a hospital as I was approaching it. It was a little sad to think that all the new Tivy kids will go through school never knowing the halls I walked. I drove by the old school, and it will be converted to the middle school- so in a sense, I guess they still will. The old Municipal Auditorium we had all our concerts at was also replaced with a bigger one. The old one just looked like a big brick loaf, now it's the Kathleen C. Cailloux Theater and is all glass and limestone facade.
But I was there for the fair! I got there shortly after it opened, and probably because of all the rain and mud they weren't charging admission. They'd put down a lot of wood shavings so the entire place smelled like soggy hamsters. But it was pleasantly breezy and I enjoyed walking around looking at stuff. Yes, there were a lot of Texas-shaped things, and things themed with bluebonnets, cowboys, longhorns, ducks, and whatever else you associate with Texas rednecks. Lots of crosses and crucifixes all over the place, but I'm always amused at how much of that redneck stuff has pentacles on it, under the guise of the 'lone star' motif.
There were cool things though, too. One fellow named Shawn Knuckles had some amazing paintings; big, bright, colorful depictions of nature with a reverent feel. One was a pale blue sky with a Full Moon, and the faint outline of a stag over it- called 'Winter Solstice'. There was another one called 'Green Man' that I would've bought if I'd had 2 grand to burn. There was no discernible man as far as I could see, but it was leaves of all sorts (oak, passion flower, water plants) spiraling around each other. There was another one called 'Vincent's Irises' that was sort of a Van Gogh rip-off but I would have loved to hang it in the living room.
Another fellow had jewelry that looked like little leaves and acorns and twigs that I was very attracted to, but it was pretty pricey (Scattered Light Jewelry). I ended up finding another artist with a similar style, not as well executed but cheaper, and got a pair of earrings. They're copper with a green tinge, leaves and vines. I'll post a picture later if I get around to taking one.
Then another fellow had a whole 4 1/2 foot oak tree (am I sensing a theme?) sculpture in copper, all in swirly pinkish-orange and tan and red, each individual leaf attached to the trunk with a bendable wire. I thought that would've looked *great* on our green wall, but I couldn't justify the $350 (and it would've been a bitch to dust). I got his card also, and he was more of a down-home type whose other work ran to wood carvings of bears and cowboys and cute signs ("it's not skinny dipping here, it's chunky dunking!"). His card is actually a little wood shingle. Awww.
After indulging in some fair food and getting my earrings, I decided it was getting uncomfortably hot and headed home. We spent a lazy afternoon poking around the house a bit, visiting Dragon's Lair comics for no reason and getting an early dinner at Players. Then home to play some cards and watch some tv and wrap up a relaxing holiday weekend.
The drive was beautiful as early summer in the Hill Country would be. I was feeling extra moody for some reason, though, and had bouts of feeling lonely. This is my dark emo secret; even when I am surrounded by people I can feel lonely for no good reason. I remember that far back into my childhood. Not sure where it comes from. All the better reason for me not to have inflicted myself on friends, so I muddled through.
Seeing old sights cheered me up. I had a pretty pleasant adolescence compared to many, and look back at my old home town with fondness. I only lived in Kerrville for 3 1/2 years, but it was a very formative 3 1/2 years, building up my pagan roots which I didn't discover for a long time, and where a lot of my 'firsts' with regards to boyfriends occurred. Also, I was a talented little horn player and in Kerrville it wasn't hard to be the best. So I enjoyed my big fish in a small pond status while it lasted, knowing that when I went off to college at UT I would lose it. Suffice it to say, Kerrville is a happy place for me.
But I was there for the fair. Driving to it, I passed the new high school. They built it a couple of years ago, and it was shiny and enormous. I thought it was a hospital as I was approaching it. It was a little sad to think that all the new Tivy kids will go through school never knowing the halls I walked. I drove by the old school, and it will be converted to the middle school- so in a sense, I guess they still will. The old Municipal Auditorium we had all our concerts at was also replaced with a bigger one. The old one just looked like a big brick loaf, now it's the Kathleen C. Cailloux Theater and is all glass and limestone facade.
But I was there for the fair! I got there shortly after it opened, and probably because of all the rain and mud they weren't charging admission. They'd put down a lot of wood shavings so the entire place smelled like soggy hamsters. But it was pleasantly breezy and I enjoyed walking around looking at stuff. Yes, there were a lot of Texas-shaped things, and things themed with bluebonnets, cowboys, longhorns, ducks, and whatever else you associate with Texas rednecks. Lots of crosses and crucifixes all over the place, but I'm always amused at how much of that redneck stuff has pentacles on it, under the guise of the 'lone star' motif.
There were cool things though, too. One fellow named Shawn Knuckles had some amazing paintings; big, bright, colorful depictions of nature with a reverent feel. One was a pale blue sky with a Full Moon, and the faint outline of a stag over it- called 'Winter Solstice'. There was another one called 'Green Man' that I would've bought if I'd had 2 grand to burn. There was no discernible man as far as I could see, but it was leaves of all sorts (oak, passion flower, water plants) spiraling around each other. There was another one called 'Vincent's Irises' that was sort of a Van Gogh rip-off but I would have loved to hang it in the living room.
Another fellow had jewelry that looked like little leaves and acorns and twigs that I was very attracted to, but it was pretty pricey (Scattered Light Jewelry). I ended up finding another artist with a similar style, not as well executed but cheaper, and got a pair of earrings. They're copper with a green tinge, leaves and vines. I'll post a picture later if I get around to taking one.
Then another fellow had a whole 4 1/2 foot oak tree (am I sensing a theme?) sculpture in copper, all in swirly pinkish-orange and tan and red, each individual leaf attached to the trunk with a bendable wire. I thought that would've looked *great* on our green wall, but I couldn't justify the $350 (and it would've been a bitch to dust). I got his card also, and he was more of a down-home type whose other work ran to wood carvings of bears and cowboys and cute signs ("it's not skinny dipping here, it's chunky dunking!"). His card is actually a little wood shingle. Awww.
After indulging in some fair food and getting my earrings, I decided it was getting uncomfortably hot and headed home. We spent a lazy afternoon poking around the house a bit, visiting Dragon's Lair comics for no reason and getting an early dinner at Players. Then home to play some cards and watch some tv and wrap up a relaxing holiday weekend.
