parade float

I've had a lot of requests from family and friends to post pictures of the float we've been working on for the past six months.

Almost every Wednesday since January I have spent the afternoon in a warehouse building replicas of homes from the avenues, painting, glittering, laying sod, cutting fringe... many seemingly insignificant details that we would laugh about as we worked on it because the life span of a float during a parade is about 40 seconds from 40 feet away. 

The amount of detail that went into this thing was mind blowing.

 

Aside from the hours of planning and gathering the required materials needed, a retired architect built the 4 churches spending more than 400 hours on them.  25  homes were constructed and given out to our neighbors to decorate and personalize. 800 + paper flowers were made to go around the edges.  A professional artist donated his time for the murals painted on the base. And that's just naming a few projects I could think of quickly.  Our roughest guess is that well over 1,000 hours were put into this thing.

There was a steady stream of people stopping by to help or just say hello and check the progress.  And the master mind behind the whole project, Susan, made sure that every detail was considered and carried out flawlessly.  She was a joy to work and laugh with each week.  She came in under budget and right on schedule and even had time to plan a preview party and a lunch after the parade to make sure everyone knew how much she appreciated them.  Talk about the perfect leader.

The banner running around the base of the float is made up of images from the Utah Historical Society showing generations of the people from the five faiths represented on our float.  Why just these five?  Because there is a choir in our area made up of people from each congregation that my stake is a part of so it seemed fitting to focus on them.

A little detail shot of one of the houses I worked on.  Yes, that's my Vesper in the window.

I had fun with this project, but this is happily the end to my career in float building.  Two is more than enough for me!

SLC Summer 2011 - The summer of {mostly} free fun

A peony this large fresh my garden this morning can mean only one thing: 

Summer is officially here!!

And while this is my kind of summer afternoon weather {Wednesday's storm}, I'm looking forward to all kinds of sunny summer good times right here in my neighborhood.

Outdoor fun {most within walking/biking distance} going on the next few months:

MOVIES

Friday Nights Movies Under the Stars - State Capital

Gallivan Center Monday Night Movies {All four Indiana Jones Movies this summer}

Friday Night Flicks - {rotates from park to park in the SLC area}

ART

Utah Art Fest - June 23rd - 26th {Ride your bike & buy your ticket in advance for discounts}

Free & year round - Third Friday Gallery Stroll

CONCERTS

Twilight Series Free at Pioneer Park - Thursdays at 5 {Excited especially She and Him in August!!}

Brigham Young Historical Park Concert Series

The Farmers Market

Avenues Street Fair

Visit Downtown Alliance or SLC Arts Counsel for more fun.

This is just the beginning!  I won't even start listing the rodeos, parades, and out of town Strawberry/Peach/ etc Days.  I'll add to the list as things come up and if you know of anything local going on be sure to let me know!

art market this weekend

I love this market going on at the Sugarhouse Garden Center.  Definitely put it on your schedule if you are local.

UDLA Guest Speaker

 {image from Robert McArthur's blog}

I had the opportunity to have lunch with with the Utah Designer's League Association this month and talk with them about blogging.  I don't consider myself an expert on the topic, but I do love it.  And it is always fun to talk about ways to improve and get feedback from other like minded creative people about something we are all passionate about: design and business.

While my blog has been a creative outlet, I'm moving towards using it as a way to build business.  I see the value in blogging to grow business, as well as my understanding of design.

A few things I shared:

• Be Unique - Show your talent by staying true to yourself and your style.  Not sure what that is exactly?  Keep working, it will come to you as you with time and practice.
• Be an expert - know what you are talking about and spend the time to create well thought out entries.  If you aren't willing to put in the time to make it great, you can't expect your readers to stick around to hear what you have to say.
• No one deserves attention, you have to earn it!  Stay current, and talk about subjects that are of value to you.  If you are passionate, it shows in your work.  Remember, like minded people associate together and want to learn from each other.
• Network - I read somewhere you can't blog in a vacuum.  So, so true.  Spend time looking for those like minded people and build relationships with them.  I have so enjoyed my friendships built through blogging.
• Limit the time spent on other blogs.  Yes, network, but don't spend so much time on other sites that you start losing your voice because you are comparing yourself until you feel like you have nothing new to share.  {learned this from experience.}
• Sponsor - I haven't done this myself just yet, but my theory is just ask.  Aline yourself with products/vendors that you believe in and I can't imagine it being much more difficult than having a conversation with them.  Why haven't I done this yet?  I still consider DesignSparrow a creative outlet and will explore options in the future.
• Don't feel like you have to post every day and don't let it turn into a task to be ticked off your to do list.  And don't apologize if you are too busy to post.  Do it when you can.  Schedule posts in advance if you know you'll be busy or away.
• Have fun!

Thanks for asking me to come speak to you, I had a great time!

MOA at the Y

 I went to the MOA last night to see the Carl Bloch exhibit and while I was touched by the way he captured the life of Christ in his beautiful paintings and enjoyed seeing the familiar paintings in person, I wish I would have gone at a less crowded time. 

I prefer being able to take it all in without feeling squished in with so many others, but I'm glad it is drawing crowds because his work is really exceptional.

I spent the majority of my time wandering the other exhibits and took forbidden photos of this giant block of books. 
{such a rebel, I'm waiting for someone to contact me and tell me to take it down.}

 A war poster exhibit was also going on downstairs that I would have loved spending more time enjoying.  As you know, I'm a big fan of WWII history and the vintage posters are so pretty.

My favorite poster in the exhibit.

{link for war posters}

#11 - Terra Numa {St. George Parade of Homes 2011}

Big surprise that Kayenta's home was my favorite this year. {if you aren't catching the sarcasm, this statement is drizzled in it}  I love Kayenta for a lot of reasons.  The landscaping is kept at bare minimum, {I believe grass is outlawed} so that the homes blend into the landscape. Plus, the Coyote Art Village is a great place to spend the afternoon with art galleries, photography, and other shops.

While we were there an art festival was going on and I came home with some lavender spice that I can't wait to use.

The floor plan was what sold me on this house. 

{built by J2 Construction/design by Gulch Design Group. above image borrowed from here.}

While I might add a bit more pattern here and there, change a painting or two, the design and color scheme is right along what I consider very livable and could imagine living in this home and being very comfortable.  I would love the proximity to all the great hiking, biking, and general outdoor fun.  Being out there surrounded by so much natural beauty, my obsessive compulsive photography would probably reach new heights of neurotic.

The doors in the master suite are on tracks to slide back out of the way and become just another beautiful architectural detail.

Not pictured is the great fireplace, built in book shelves and fire pit outside the huge windows.

LOVE the gray and white stripe!

When can I move in?

#9 - Streams of Flowing Water {St. George Parade of Homes 2011}

Setting out to do the parade in one day we knew we couldn't see all 26 homes featured so we picked a few from the catalog in addition to the homes we already knew we wanted to see.  #9 was on the short list but we were starting to think about dinner {sushi!!} and almost skipped it until I ran into a friend who strongly suggested we make time to see it. And I'm so glad we did.  As we walked in the gorgeous front door the sun was hitting the chandelier {above} sending prisms of light sparkling through the living room.  The jewel toned color scheme was subtly mixed in throughout the home and the unexpected details like plexi glass stair rails made this home really stand out to me. 

"This villa exudes peace and relaxation, allowing one to take in one of nature’s most majestic and cataclysmic scenes. Ancient fields of molten lava are juxtaposed amongst the angular masses of pillars, planes and spires." Split Rock Home Information

 One of the things I love about the popular architecture style in St. George is bringing nature inside.  This home had so many applications of this, I noticed water was part of each room design with windows opening up to natural pools and creative bathrooms.  The bathrooms were amazing. 

I'll feature my favorite home next!

St. George Parade of Homes 2011

I am so {SO!} excited about this weekend.  I'm going home to enjoy some incredible desert winter weather and join the crowds of people at the St. George Parade of Homes.

This has been one of my favorite events in St. George and I'm looking forward to seeing my friends who have homes in the show this year, like the home above by AJ Construction.  Also looking forward to seeing designs by Robert McArthur and Alice Lane down there.

3form

 

I went to 3form for an IIDA lunch this week and had a great time learning more about their products, especially lighting options and their reclaim program.  

I'm also the proud new owner of the bowl pictured above.  The first six people to rsvp for the event got to make one.  {Early bird gets the goods!}  I made it by placing the square of 3form material in an oven for a few minutes then placing it in a mold as it cools.  Easy as that.  And the coolest part is it's recycled product an oh so pretty.  Thnx 3form!

 

Local Event: Ansel Adams

I hope that my work will encourage self expression in others and stimulate the search for beauty and creative excitement in the great world around us.

- Ansel Adams

Looking forward to seeing his exhibit in Park City tonight here.

The aspen image above was the first of his images I noticed.  I was taking photography in high school and having a great time trying to develop my images with the right amount of white and black in them to make them not so blah and mediocre in varying shades of gray.  Loving the smell, the cool swiveling dark room doors, the image slowly developing on the sheet, I never did quite achieve the perfect balance, but he sure did. 

Blogging Social at Alice Lane

 Kirsten {6th Street Design}had a fantastic idea to have a party for the design bloggers in Utah.  Along with Alice Lane she hosted a fabulous event last Friday night.  To me it felt like rubbing shoulders with some of my favorite celebrities.  Some people may go crazy for movie stars, I go crazy for great designers, and these talented ladies are making waves for sure.

Wonderful people, yummy treats, and a beautiful store made for a really great time.

Sometimes this creative outlet of mine {the blog} feels like a silly thing for me to do with my time, but chatting with these talented women I realized again that it is so much more than that.  It's my way of staying current and connecting with other people who share my passion.

Amanda {recycled consign and design}, Autumn {design*dump} and me {yes, I'm a giant}

{images from Meikel}

Thank you Kirsten and Alice Lane!

12 Days to the 12th Annual Stocking Event

Counting down until December 2nd for the 12th Annual Stocking Event and Auction benefiting kids with cancer.  To get involved or read more about it check out the 'serve' tab at the top of my blog.