Opportunity Knocks: The Museum Needs Your Help!

Below is an open call from Museum Director Olivia Luther to all motivated volunteers.  We are opening up great opportunities to shape the future of the Museum!  


The Museum staff has been working on a new vision to help us become a more relevant and community-driven institution.  Despite all our hard work, we realized that if we want to really get some fun participatory projects going, we need some help.  My staff is fabulous, but they are stretched thin with a slate of summer programs, developing fall exhibitions, and fundraising efforts, so we are looking for a few extra hands.

 

So… if you have been wondering where you could funnel all of your creative energy and ideas…look no further – we have an opportunity for you!  

 

Now for the small print disclaimer… We have no money. We cannot pay you in dollars. And we have no money with which to present programs and exhibitions.  Yes, I feel that museum workers should be paid and paid well for their efforts. But the museum is currently in a position where we need to rely heavily on volunteers to do all kinds of things from planning events to running the store.

 

And! Unlike people with paid positions, you will have the opportunity to focus entirely on creating a killer project. We will give you some direction and check in on you as often as you would like, but mostly, you'll have the run of your project.  We also still need help on our front desk assisting with admissions and to be the first smiling face patrons see.  While this may not be the most exciting job, this is the most important.  Bring a friend and make it a social occasion to welcome patrons and be ambassadors of great art!  

 

Here is a list of things we are looking for (but we are open to other ideas too):

 

Creativity Lounge. After the current exhibition comes down on September 3rd, we are hoping to turn one of our gallery spaces into a fully hands-on experience for visitors. This studio space will be provided for all to come and get their art on! If you are a master in the art of concocting creative experiences, we need your help to assist our patrons by wetting their a(rt)ppetite and getting those creative juices flowing! In addition, we will also need a person with crafty resourcefulness to collect and organize art materials that will be used for a variety of projects. Mainly, this area will require artistically inclined supervisors to be present in the space and available to help out with our visitor’s creative, hands-on, experience.

Museum Reinvigoration Project. We have a great space! When we have school tours and events, the energy is fabulous, but other times it can feel a bit cavernous and dead. We would like to invite local artists, crafters to come and demo/make/perform in the museum on a regular basis. We're looking for someone who loves to coordinate with artists and feels just as comfortable sweet-talking a tuba player into giving a demonstration as he does cleaning up from a surfboard shaping afternoon. Please keep in mind, these programs should appeal to both children and adults, creating an all (age) inclusive atmosphere.

Late night programming. Starting July 1^st, the museum is changing its hours to the following:

Wednesday – Sunday, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

The first Friday of each month, 11:00 am – 9:00 pm

On the Friday nights, we want to offer events geared towards adults – and we are really open to ideas on this one.  We could offer game shows, a tag-team art/history lecture series, an exhibition jam, and an urban history scavenger hunt. The main idea here is for it to be something fun, exciting, and unique that, most importantly, could be paired with a great cocktail! It could be whatever you are thinking/doing/exploring right now. The more fun the planning of this night can be. The more fun it will be for patrons to partake of it.

Museum Store.  Have you ever wondered how we stock our great Museum store? Have you ever had ideas of what we should sell? Here’s your chance to give the store a complete makeover.  We are looking for an individual, or a group of individuals who would like to do the following:  find new merchandise from consignment artists; negotiate contracts, prices and closeouts with artists; design all displays and keep them looking fresh; handle all aspects of inventory; organize special sale events; and update our point-of-sale system.  This position will require steady work and we are looking for a long term partner committed to making the store shine! If you have a retail background or simply are interested in our store, we want you!

Art Swap Meet.  This is a big one.  We would like to start hosting an art fair for local artists/artisans/crafters/etc. to sell their works to the public.  No specifics here – we want to hear your thoughts... 

 

If you are interested in one or more of these opportunities, or you know someone who is, please send me an email and I will get back to you soon. We’re not expecting to make all of these things happen this summer, but we'd love it if we could get a few exciting things off the ground soon.

 

  

 

Olivia Luther, Museum Director

Oluther@ci.escondido.ca.us

 

Helpful Homemaker Hints: One of My Best Spent Dollars

So, I went to the Dove Library in Carlsbad yesterday wanting to visit their Cannon Art Gallery, and was thwarted by news of them being closed for the installation of a new exhibition. Note to self: find out if a museum/gallery is open before you drive there. I was a bit bummed about that (though the new show, On Your Own Time, featuring artwork by City employees will open June 10th), but I was delighted by the prospect of a book sale at the library store.

Three carts of books stood outside the store beconing to me with the promise of being only $1. I can't resist a book sale. A little red paperback caught my attention: HHH Helpful Homemaker Hints. I had to roll my eyes, and then I read the teaser on the back:

Auto drivers have the AAA

Business people the BBB.

In the early '30s and '40s

American Youth had the CCC.

Homemakers too have a "triple threat"

For today or for future time

It's HHH Helpful Homemaker Hints

All done in melodious time!

WHAT!?!?! Any book with such a creative reference to the Civilian Conservation Corps was worth a buck; and it's so clearly wrong in this time of post-post-feminism that I just couldn't resist. As it turns out, it's quite an entertaining read (as long as you don't dwell on how there was a time when it was socially acceptable to think that all a woman needed was a few clever rhymes to make her a 'happy little homemaker').

Some hints are surprisingly clever:
When children roast marshmallows or hot dogs,
You can protect their little hands.
Poke a stick through the middle
Of aluminum throw away pans.

Some hints are really helpful:
To tell if fresh corn is ripe,
You don't have to peel the husk down.

Just look at the tassel on top of the corn,

And it's ripe if the tassel's dark brown.

And some hints are ridiculously antiquated:
For pantyhose
To last somewhat longer,
Try the following method,
To make them stronger;
Wet, gently wring,

Freeze in plastic bags,

To protect your pantyhose

From runs and snags.

Yeah, I'm sure today's woman is super concerned about the longevity of her pantyhose! Perhaps these poems won't join the ranks of Whitman or Frost within the cannon of American literature, but I'm passing the book around the Museum and so far it's a hit. 'Best dollar I've spent in a long time.

Later,

Beth

It's a Girl......Dog!

The Lump of my life

It's official! I finally adopted a dog!!!! All those who know me from work and otherwise are aware that I have been all talk and no action for years now. My husband always throws out the, "GET A DOG ALREADY," when I start crying over those heart-breaking ASPCA commercials. Well, on Thursday I decided - as I do every month - to browse the Escondido Humane Society's web page. I came across an image of a small black dog, very roly-poly and lumpy in appearance. I was immediately taken by the little creature. I decided I had to meet her.

"Celeste" as she was then known, was being fostered and I arranged for her foster mom to bring her to the Humane Society on Friday. As it turned out, she wasn't roly-poly - it was just a weirdly angled photo - but I still liked her. Once she sniffed her surroundings she just wanted to lay on her back and enjoy a belly rub. Cut to the next day with the hubs and I scrambling around to find dog accouterments and putting down a security deposit with our landlords. By noon on Saturday she was our dog, our Lumpy - I still like to imagine her a bit chubby. Lumpy is proving to be a great dog. She's super mellow when in the house, wanting to sit on the couch; yet she is duly excited and appreciative of a good walk. She is totally house-broken and starting to grasp the sit command (especially when Pupperoni is involved).

I want give mad publicity to the Escondido Humane Society. It was so apparent that the dedicated employees and volunteers are devoted to their work, and just so happy to be matching orphaned animals with the right forever families. They really accommodated my schedule in terms of meeting with Lumpy and getting the adoption process complete. My Lumper was fully micro-chipped, spayed, de-flead, bathed and medically sound when I took her home. I even got a complimentary collar. I caught a great adult dog special and my fee was only $45. 'Small price to pay for the unconditional love only a dog can give you.



So, if you're looking for an addition to your family, please, please, please consider an animal shelter like the Escondido Humane Society. They have everything from dogs to hamsters, supporting their cause is just such a great help and investment in the community. There's really no substitute for the love, patience and selflessness you learn from adopting a pet.....Okay, I'll get off my soap box now and hang out with Lumpy.

Later,

Beth

Super Spandex Singalong: Leslie Hall Part Deux

Here's a little glimpse at the soundtrack in my head right now: Enjoy the above video by Leslie and the Lys wherein artist Leslie Hall waxes lyrical about how the perfect pair of stretchy pants unleashes her inner tigress.

So, you all know how I feel about Leslie Hall and her gem sweater efforts (see my blog from April 6, 2011 ). Well, she's equally passionate about stretchy spandex pants. Discouraged by the lack of fabulous spandex for women her size, Leslie began crafting her own leggings and offering them for sale. She also immortalizes her love for the garment in a ridiculously infectious song I just can't get out of my mind! Carissa and I are dying to catch a Leslie and the Lys show if they ever come to San Diego.

Later,
Beth

NOW READING: Just Kids, by Patti Smith

Just like my travels lately, my book reading patterns have been as such: finish one, immediately pick up another. After finishing a humorous travel novel called “Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?” by Thomas Khonstamm, I’ve immediately picked up Patti Smith’s 2010 memoir, “Just Kids”. While it has been a quick transition from silly to serious between the two, I’ve welcomed the change. I have an affinity towards reading about the suffering artist (e.g.: Bukowski, Plath, Kerouac, Di Prima, etc.) so this book slides right in as a great leisure read. Months ago I did some research on a piece in our private collection by Robert Mapplethorpe. The Center Museum has one of his flower photographs in its possession and it needed a didactic label.  I poured over all the information I could find available about the artist and, much to the disapproval of my smug security guards, found myself completely enamored with Mapplethorpe and his work.  This book is yet another avenue of information that is equally telling about both artists, but is written first-hand in pure, poetic, Patti Smith-style.  So far, I’ve only just begun to get into Patti’s move to NYC, where she unknowingly meets Mapplethorpe in passing, and I can’t seem to put this one down. Maybe it’s just that time of the month, or maybe it’s my recent entrance into the online dating world (don’t judge!), but I’m feeling especially drawn to rom-antics this month and “Just Kids” is a sure supplement for that kind of disease. Pick it up, order it online, borrow it from a friend, do whatever you got to do. . . . Just get your mitts on it somehow and go get your bohemia on! Tell the Kids I sent you.

A more formal review. . .

Let them Eat (Mondrian) Cake!



Image :http://www.designspongeonline.com. Cake by Caitlin Williams for SFMOMA





When I was researching designs for my wedding cake, I envisioned a Mondrian painting of draped fondant covering three consecutive rectangular tiers.

"Surely," I thought, "somebody has done this before and documented it."

 I should find it with a simple Google search, right? Wrong. Apparently, not many brides have shared my idea, and the ones who did just weren't capturing what I sought. I was getting discouraged about the possibilities of such a wedding cake. However, I did come across a decidedly different cakey interpretation of Mondrian.  

SFMOMA's roof-top cafe offers one fantastically edible slant on the De Stiijl master's paintings. I was in love when I saw it, and have put a slice on my bucket list - which shouldn't be too hard, right? Isn't a flight from San Diego to San Francisco about and hour?

 So, cut to me watching The Food Network last weekend and catching an episode of Best Thing I Ever Ate. On this show chefs recount the best pizza or steak or ice cream, etc. they ever enjoyed. This episode focused on best cakes, and one chef's fave happened to be the SFMOMA Mondrian cake. Apparently, this thing isn't simply a feast for the eyes, but the palette as well!

The desert masterpiece is constructed out of classic yellow cakes, some with food coloring, cut into long rectangular strips of varying sizes. The strips are coated with a thin layer of chocolate ganache on the outside, imitating the black lines separating the color fields of Mondrian's paintings. The strips are  then pressed together to make a long, rectangular loaf and a very thick layer of ganache is applied to the outside to hold everything in place. After a chill, the cake loaf is then sliced revealing perfect, individual, edible artworks. So, do yourself a favor and have one of the best looking, and, apparently, best tasting cakes of all time when you visit San Francisco. Oh yeah, get there early - the chef only makes one cake per day and it's reputation is getting around!


Later,
Beth

We are Your Pit Crew for Bike to Work Day 2011


Mark your calendar - Bike to Work Day 2011 is Friday, May 20! What better way to give Mother Earth a break than to swear off the automobile for a day? And what better place to live than sunny SoCal when it comes to biking to work?  This is a great way to get some exercise into your otherwise busy schedule; and who knows - maybe you'll discover a new scenic route to work. Maybe this will inspire a complete paradigm shift in your transportation habits, or maybe you'll just enjoy something different.

The Center will be there to cheer your on as an official pit stop. Pull into the Arrival Court from 6-9 am and we will greet you with water, OJ, snacks and encouragement.

What? Your bike has been gathering dust in the garage for a few years? That's no excuse. Bike to Work 2011 is hosting Tune-Up Time on May 15 in Balboa Park. This event offers free bike maintenance checks, bike education and safety demonstrations, a kid's bike rodeo, and registration for great prizes.

In the words of the late, great Freddy Mercury, "Get on your bikes and ride!"

Date: Friday, May 20, 2011
Time: 6 am - 9 am
Place: Arrival Court (on N. Escondido Blvd. facing Regal Cinema)

 Check out the most bizarre bicycle safety film imaginable below. I can't believe children had to watch this: