“Mr.________”—memories of the past

Awhile ago, Katharine Hepburn’s name came up in conversation, which led to a discussion of my telemarketing job for a local portrait department while I was living in Tucson. I was about 21 at the time. My job was to call people to tell them that they could win a free 8 x 10 if they were able to answer a question concerning the Oscar winner for Best Actress in 1969. People probably didn’t know that there was a tie that year and that both Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn won. The people I was calling had a 66% chance of winning the 8 x10. So where is this story going, you ask? Well nowhere really, except that telemarketing wasn’t for me and I proceeded to seek another job…….enter “Mr. ____.” I'll refrain from using his name (if that was even his name). He was an older man. He said he owned a construction company and that he built additions onto homes and such. He had advertised for an “assistant” in the newspaper (when we still looked for jobs in newspapers). His office was within walking distance of our apartment which was definitely a plus……..On the day of my interview, I walked over to his office, which was barren with the exception of a few old pieces of furniture and a very old typewriter that looked as if it were from the 1920s…….During the interview, “Mr. _______” asked me a few basic interview questions, and then told me I needed to take a typing test…….ha ha ha ha ha…….guess what? I passed…..He even immediately hired me to start the next day. I arrived at 8:00 am the next day. The morning’s task was for me to walk around a neighborhood and place flyers in people’s doors to advertise his construction services. In the afternoon the goal was to go and check out the progress of a current addition project. It sure was a long drive to the site. Along the way, “Mr. ______” began telling me about all the trips we would be taking…to Las Vegas… to Mexico… etc….. It became very apparent that his definition of “assistant” and my definition of “assistant” were two completely different things. Needless to say, I did not show up for “work” the next day. I didn’t get paid either.  

MOD Coffeehouse--FUN FUN FUN

Saturday Mar. 1, 2008:
The Artwalk at MOD Coffehouse and Cafe was great on Saturday night. I was able to talk to many fun people. Clinton and Obama campaigners had set up across the street from each other because they knew that there would be many people to talk to before Mar 4 (voting day in TX)........Around 8:30 pm or so, we received a flyer stating that Melanie Griffith , and others, would be at MOD on Sunday from 11-12. We had no idea any Hollywood people would be in Galveston. So of course, we planned to come back to MOD in the morning!

Sunday Mar 2, 2008:
Dad and I headed back to MOD in Galveston around 8:00 am. We arrived at MOD, bought a coffee, surfed the web and hung out until 11:00. Not only did Melanie Griffith show up, but so did Erika Alexander, Christine Lahti, and other special guests. They spoke about why people should vote for Hillary Clinton, answered questions from the audience (of about 24), and then sat down separately with small groups of people to answer questions. Melanie went outside while the others remained inside MOD. Of course people took the opportunity to ask for photographs.

Melanie Griffith:
I hadn't even brought my camera in because I thought it would have been dorky to ask for a picture. But when everyone started asking, Dad retrieved his camera from the van. I asked for a picture with Melanie Griffith. Sometime between my asking and actually taking the photo, someone mentioned that my artwork was inside. Melanie told me that it was ,"Great work." So Dad took the picture, and strangely enough Melanie said to me afterward, "You smell good." Ha ha ha......I thanked her and went back into MOD. Later inside MOD, Melanie complimented me once again on my work, and when I asked if she wanted a card, she "yes" with some enthusiasm. Later, I saw her talking to Angela, the owner of MOD, about a piece called, "Waiting for Her" (a piece with a peacock).


Erika Alexander:
I was standing by the counter inside MOD and Erika Alexander introduced herself to me. Earlier she had stated that she drove from Austin. When I told her I was from Austin, she asked why I was there. I explained that my work was hanging in MOD and that I had been there for the opening reception. Erika then complimented me on work as well, and genuinely seemed interested in it. She took the time to really look around. When I asked if she minded if Dad took a picture, she obliged. Then she asked Dad to take a picture of us with her camera and the artwork in the background. That was pretty cool. She took my card as well.



Christine Lahti:
I didn't get a chance to talk to her, but she spoke really highly of Hillary Clinton.


All-in-all it was just fun fun fun!

Los Angeles Trip!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday 1/17/08

Well we arrived in Los Angeles about noon, waited for the shuttle to take us to the car rental place, got our car and headed to the Radisson by LAX. Even though the hotel was right next to LAX, we were not bothered one bit by the aircraft landing and taking off. After settling in at the hotel—I unpacked and placed all my clothes in the drawers and in the closet, but Kristy (my sis) did not—we turned on the GPS system, which we name Allie, in the Dodge Charger we rented and drove to Santa Monica Pier. As the sun began to set, the lights on the rides on the pier began to shine brightly against the sky, and it made for some pretty cool shots of the rides. After photographs, we ate at the Mexican Restaurant. We had crab nachos. I do not recommend these, as they were just “okay.” But the drinks were darn good. I had an on-the-rocks-dirty-with-salt margarita, and Kristy drank an amaretto margarita…YUM YUM………the salsa and guacamole were good too. Then we headed “home” and went to bed. We were still on EST and CST time, so we went to bed fairly early.

Friday 1/18/08

We woke up around 5:00 (PST) and drove to Marina del Rey for some sunrise photos of the boats, stopping by Starbucks for my usual venti-quad-no-whip mocha, and skinny chai latte for Kristy, on the way. Since we had not actually driven to the marina to see where a good place to take photographs would be, the photos were just not that great. We went back “home” and got ready for the day. We planned to drive to the Joshua Tree National Forest, which is about 2 hours outside of LA. It was a great drive, and we saw many many many wind turbines, though we did not stop to take photos. Perhaps, I’ll get those on the next trip. In addition to the Joshua Trees, there were many cool rock formations in the park. We took lots of pictures. By the time we left the park, it was too late to make it back to LA for sunset photos, so once again we headed “home.” We ate and drank in the restaurant at the top of the Radisson. We had quesadillas, screwdrivers, wine, and pizza. Again we went to bed somewhat early.

Saturday 1/19/08

This was a very full day. Again, we were up by 5:00 am and traveled to Kenneth Hahn Park, again with coffee and tea. It was soooooo beautiful to watch the sunrise over LA from Kenneth Hahn Park. I highly recommend catching day’s beginning from here. After Kenneth Hahn, we went back to the hotel to get ready for the day. We used Allie to guide us to Sunset Blvd via La Cienega (this is a really really long street, as many are in LA). As we passed Norms Diner, we were suddenly hungry, so we drove around the block and parked at Norms. Norms was fun, and our server was great. The food was excellent as well. I ordered 2 scrambled eggs, hash browns (YUM) and an English muffin. Kristy ordered a California omelette, hash browns and an English muffin. After Norms, we headed to Griffith Observatory to check it out for the next morning’s sunrise. Once the researching for the next morning was complete, we headed back to Sunset Blvd to drive it the entire length to the Pacific Coast Highway, passing through West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Bel-Air, Brentwood and ending in Malibu. Point Dume in Malibu was the location for sunset photographs this day. We parked at Point Dume State Park, but had to climb some rocks to get a secluded section of beach where I wanted to take the photos. We arrived somewhat early so it was easy to see where I wanted to set up to watch the day end. While we waited we walked in the water (it was COLD), just sat, and Kristy wrote her name in the sand. Then the sun began its final descent, and the almost-full moon ascended above the rocks behind us. Some people played in the water watching the sunset as well. After capturing the sunset shots, I packed my camera and tripod and we began our rock climbing back to the other side. As we were climbing, my attention was called to a guy that we were getting ready to pass on the rocks. He was traveling in the opposite direction than us. He kept pulling his hood over his face, as if he didn’t want anyone to see him. He didn’t do a very good job of hiding, as I think I recognized him as an actor. Before I realized who he was (if it really was him), I asked him how he was. He didn’t answer, and instead, just stared at me as we passed each other. Once we made it the other side of the rocks, I took my camera back out and took some more shots as the night sky moved closer. After pictures, we headed back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. We had reservations at Ago on Melrose Ave. It was a quite a cute restaurant and the food was very good. We started with wine, white for me, red for Kristy. We ate a fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil as an appetizer. Then I had a Marguerita Pizza (I Love pizza!), and Kristy ate shrimp ravioli. Then to top off dinner, we ate tiramisu and some delicious rich chocolate mousse for dessert. YUM YUM YUM. I recommend this restaurant if you are in LA. Then we went "home." 

Sunday 1/20/08

Oops…we forgot to set the alarm, so we missed sunrise this day. But that was fine because we were able to sleep in just a bit. So we got ready for the day, and headed to the Ivy for brunch. Lunch was good though, and the bloody mary’s were quite spicy. I ate huevos rancheros and Kristy had crabcakes. After lunch, we headed over to NBC Studios to see where Ellen’s Studio is, since we were planning to try and get Ellen tickets the next day. Once we saw where we would be going for Ellen, we headed to Mulholland Drive. It was a very curvy but very fun street to drive. There were many cool houses and great views of the city. We drove it all the entire length one way, turned around and drove it again in the other direction, stopping to catch the views of LA. After driving Mulholland Dr, we instructed Allie to take us to Point Vicente, near Palos Verdes. This was one of my favorite photograph spots of the trip. On the point is a working lighthouse on top of rugged cliffs. The glow of the setting sun reflected on the rocky cliffs and created a dramatic setting. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! After sunset we drove Sepulveda (also Pacific Coast 1) back to the hotel. For dinner we ate at In-N-Out Burger. We each got a cheeseburger, and fries, though I had my fries animal style (with cheese, grilled onions, and their special sauce). You should have seen the line in the drive through at this place. There were cars lined up for at least a block. It seemed to be a very popular place to eat. And it was good good! Then to bed we went.

Monday 1/21/08 (my birthday)

Originally we planned to get up really really early to wait in line to TRY and get Ellen tickets. We decided against this and instead started the day by heading to Rodeo Dr at 5:00 am or so. Upon arriving to Rodeo Dr, we each did cartwheels in the street in front of Georgio Armani—just for the sake of doing them (and possibly the start of a non-profit organization called Cartwheel Club with details to be determined). After Rodeo Dr, was Starbucks, where Kristy ordered her skinny chai latte, and I ordered my usual venti-quad-no-whip mocha. With coffee and tea in hands, we drove to the Griffith Observatory for the morning sunrise, since we had missed it the day before. As we approached the driveway to the observatory, we were told that the road was closed because a movie was being filmed. We parked along the edge of the road and walked up the hill. Once near the observatory, we headed to the side that faced downtown LA. A colorful rainbow and beautiful clouds hovered over the lush greenery of the hills and valleys near Griffith Park and the observatory itself. The light was perfect, and it was a breathtaking and stunningly gorgeous morning. Afterwards Kristy found out that the movie being filmed was “Yes, Man." We hung around for awhile until the rain stopped the filming. When this happened we headed over to NBC Studios to see if we could by chance get tickets. Kristy and I had both tried to get them online to no avail. A production assistant, however, was kind enough to hand us stand-by tickets when we asked for them (because it was my birthday I think). With tickets #228 and #229 in our possession, we headed back to Griffith Observatory to watch more of the filming. We watched the filming for a bit, and then headed to the Denny’s on Alameda Ave. for lunch before the Ellen show. Moons Over My Hammy is what each of us ate. Then to the show we went. There was a lot of waiting, but everyone was nice and tried to pump us up for the show. Though we were not able to be part of the audience, because a lot people with guaranteed tickets showed up. We still had a blast in the riff raff room!! Ellen even came in and danced before the show started. At the end of the show, a production assistant came looking for Kristy Harris. She said that they wanted Kristy to perform her “talent” that she has filled out on the pre-show survey……We were laughing so hard that they wanted to see her throw a basketball really high and then catch it behind her back. Who knew she would be called on it. She was able to do it though, even after years of not having done it!We went back to the hotel for a drink, and then returned the rental car and Kristy flew on a red-eye flight. I took a shuttle back to the hotel and left early the next morning……..Overall, it was an awesome trip!

The Weekend Was Great!!!!!!

Well it is Sunday now....the weekend was awesome! 4 pieces sold! http://heatherharrisart.com/mixed_media/pieces/Peaceful.html
http://heatherharrisart.com/mixed_media/pieces/SunsetUnder.html
http://heatherharrisart.com/mixed_media/pieces/SunsetMetal.html
http://heatherharrisart.com/mixed_media/pieces/BrightLights.html

Thanks Bill and Tom.......

Next weekend is the Bayou Downtown Art Festival in Houston. I cannot wait. After that I head to Galveston for Artoberfest.

Life is good. No, make that awesome!!!

My mind is racing and I cannot get it to calm down. So many things happening. So many thoughts running through my head. So much to do.

But I am loving it!

Well..gotta go now and try to get sleepy

Houston, here I come!

OMG--has it been a year since my last post??

I guess I am not a very good blogger, since it has been almost a year since my last post. What was I thinking????????

Well, ................................life is good!!

I just arrived home after an art exhibition opening at Framer's Gallery in Georgetown, TX. It was a success! Quite a few people from my work came to support me. Thanks guys!

2 pieces sold tonight. Woohoo!!!!! Thanks Bill!

Tomorrow, I head over to Buda for their Fine Arts Festival. I am very excited about that as well. Buda is awesome to its artists!

Another exciting thing happened: I was commissioned for a piece of art by "Sherry." I e-mailed her mock-ups, and it turns out that she wants to buy more than one. Double Woohoo on that!!

It's 11:32 according to the clock on my comp..I suppose I should get going so that I am fresh for the Buda Fine Arts festival tomorrow.

I hope to see you soon!!

HH