Playing catch up ...

I spend better than an hour behind the wheel of my car traveling back and forth to work each day, and one of my favorite pastimes seems to be what I will write on my blog when I get a chance.  "When I get a chance." It seems I've been so busy being creative that I haven't had time to write about it. Until now.

I had the joy and pleasure of designing and curating an exhibit of fashion dolls for a little history museum in south Florida. Old Davie School, with its four classrooms of tall windows and Dade County pine floors, turned out to be a wonderful venue for exhibiting dolls. I'm prejudiced, I know, but, I really think we did a good job. My Barbie pal, Denise, contributed many of her wonderful dolls and we covered the gamut, from vintage to modern, including pop culture (think Munsters and Elvis!) and holiday dolls! And, of course, lots of fashions and accessories!

I created all the signage and collateral which can be viewed here. It's not often a person gets this kind of opportunity, so I enjoyed every aspect ... from the planning and execution to the graphic design and marketing! I was incredibly fortunate to get to work with Leslie, the executive director of the school, too! She had lots of wonderful ideas and I hope she's as happy with how things turned out as I am!

We couldn't resist! This is a huge alligator from the Everglades, on loan from Mr. Bergeron.
"Beach Rodeo" Momoko is riding on his snout! The kids loved it!

We hosted "Tea with Barbie" last Saturday afternoon and more than a hundred people showed up! It was utterly delightful (I've always wanted to use that phrase and really mean it) to see women of all ages dressed up for an afternoon tea. Some wore hats, some wore tiaras! Many of the younger guests brought along their Barbie dolls and it really WAS like a dream for me.

Each guest received a button as a little memento of the afternoon.
It says, "I had Tea with Barbie at Old Davie School." Cute, huh?

I caught two of the "live" Barbies and a Ken arriving at the school before the guests arrived!
Here is "Birthday Barbie," "Ballerina Barbie" and a Barbie Basics "Ken."
This was the executive director's idea, and what a wonderful idea it was!

The "live" Barbies were a big hit with guests! They're so beautiful, aren't they?

The littlest guests, in their tea attire, playing with ... who else? Barbie!

Playing Catch Up!

I haven't been here in a while, but I've been being creative all over the place! In February and March, I organized, promoted and hosted two, count 'em! 2! art socials at a little park in my neighborhood. The artists are so wonderful and they delivered a lovely evening of art and food and friends! Maybe, with a little luck and a lot of help from neighbors, we'll do it again next year!

In April, it was the children's art exhibit, "Everglades Eyes." I started this as an annual event in celebration of Earth Day back in 2006 and it's definitely taken on a life of its own! My boss was amazed that this year was the "fifth annual" and he was impressed with the amount and quality of the art submissions! 105 students from five area schools produced some amazing images! Like, this one ...

In May, working with my Soroptimist club, we presented the "Live Your Dream" Luncheon. I posted all the collateral I worked on at my Veer page, here, if you want to see. And, now, I'm working on a Barbie doll exhibition at the Old Davie School! (http://www.olddavieschool.org/)

I'm a huge fan of Kelly Kilmer, a mixed media artist and instructor, and, while my pages look nothing like hers, she inspired me take pictures of what I've created and share it here, on my blog. So, here you are!

The left page above is my first draft of my "doll list" for the upcoming exhibit at Old Davie School. I know the school's four rooms really well, so my goal has been to link the dolls to the exhibits (however thin that link might be!) and create an experience that is entertaining AND educational.

The page on the right is my notes from a meeting on a capital project that I attended for my day job. The flower doodles didn't get colored until after the meeting, during a phone conversation that involved a good deal of time "on hold."

These pages are what's happening right now. My "to do" lists, a new vocabulary word (and, what a word it is!) and paperdolls I cut out during a brainstorming session. I think it's clear what's on my mind! Dolls and their fashions!

So, there's my creativity contribution for today! I've got to design a "tee shirt" for the special Barbie event in July, so I'm off to do that now. I'm so glad it's Friday, aren't you?