Spectacular Saturday on the Square:) Art, Food, Music and More

“Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better.  ”

~Andre Gide

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Well, today was ANNE ROYER’s art show reception at The Martin Place. It was a full house of friends, artists, and visitors, all there to pay homage to a fantastic artist. My good friend, Miss Annie, has been a quiet, behind the scenes McKinney fine arts catalyst for many years. Her work is amazing and will be on exhibit through Sept. 30th.

The Seasons Sacred, and other works on paper by Anne Royer

September 9- September 30, 2017

Opening Reception, Sept. 9, 6-9pm, with artist talk at 7pm

The Martin Place : 1799 N. Graves St. McKinney, Texas

In this collection of works on paper, Royer creates visual metaphors of sacred narratives using liturgical colors and abstract forms. No color, no edge is without intention, yet her dialogue with the paint creates layers unexpected. 

“We walk among the seen and unseen in the Eternal Now.”

It’s Second Saturday on the Square, so I scooted over to check out the 3rd Anniversay Celbration at the LAST ART GALLERY on Louisiana. Also, several friends exhibiting artwork and celebrating the anniversary.

Steve, Alex, and Minda Macias. A fabulous family of potters.

Brad Donaldson creates amazing abstract resin art pieces ranging in sizes from 10 by 10 to gynormously huge. And Lynda Kingsley has many talented art hats, using alcohol inks, resi, watercolor, and teaches classes in her beautiful studio in the historic district. 

The Square was hopping tonight, live music filtering out from the many restaurants and wine bars. The weather was too perfect to stay home.

Lone Star Wine Cellars always has live entertainment on the weekends, and a nice quiet place to visit with friends and sip fine wine.

On my way back to my car, I stopped to chat with Jessie, who was driving around the square offering rides in the McKinney business sponsored free taxi. I think it was too nice of a night, and everyone wanted to walk around, enjoying the cool evening.

This is how I spend a spectacular Saturday on the Square in McKinney.

Saturday and Some Special Artists at The Cove

“Artists to my mind are the real architects of change, and not the political legislators who implement change after the fact. ” ― William S. Burroughs

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If you’re not familiar with the little art gallery in McKinney called The Cove, you need to become familiar. It’s a charming space just north of the square at 402 N. Tennessee St. From the outside, with its plain white unassuming walls, you’d never guess it was a wonderful art gallery. But when you stroll inside, the walls are filled with creative and unique works of art. Pretty much every weekend,  local artists are featured and a wine reception allows visitors to meet and talk with the artists.

This weekend, my friend and fabulous photographer, Don Simmons, is featured along with Sam Rogers, another fine local artist. A treasure trove of other artists have work on display.

So, if you are around McKinney tonight, Sept. 2, 6-9:30 or tomorrow 2-4, stop by. If you can’t make it this weekend, look them up on Facebook or Google    thecovemckinney.com

I popped in for the opening Friday evening, and bumped into a dozen or more good friends, all local artists. McKinney has an outstanding and supportive arts community.

Don has a fabulous eye. Well, I guess both eyes are pretty keen when it comes to capturing the perfect image on his camera.

Sam and Annie Royer chatting about their work, both amazing in their own right.

These are the REAL ARCHITECHTS of change…

“Artists to my mind are the real architects of change, and not the political legislators who implement change after the fact. ” 

― William S. Burroughs

Friday Friends:) The Greatest Therapy

“The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love. ”

~Hubert H. Humphrey

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Everybody loves Friday. The weekend is just a heartbeat away. Something to look forward to. 

I started out my day as I always do, a phone call to Mom, got dressed, got moving. I actually ate a little breakfast before my walk. The last time I went for a morning walk on an empty stomach, I felt a little queasy. I was working up a sweat and pumping my arms, but then I passed Mr. Larry’s garage. Of course, I had to sit and chat with Miss Sandy and pet big ol’ wolf, their German shepherd. I was offered a beer, as usual, but it wasn’t even noon, so I had to  pass.

I continued my walk and ran into Miss Desra, our mail lady. She always waves or honks, and when I catch her close to the house, I put a cold drink and a treat in my mailbox. Today, I caught her delivering a package down the street, and stopped to give her a hug. We all need hugs and a little appreciation. Oh, and a selfie.

I scooted home to get ready for my senior art group at Towne Creek. I wanted to dip some strawberries and make my Mexican mac and cheese for our little dinner feast.

I packed up and got there by 2:30. 

I decided our project for today would be painting a small canvas with an abstract background, then pick a word or a name or a shape, and outline with glue and sprinkle with glitter. While the paint dried, we worked on some coloring pages.

The projects turned out really cool. We had our feast, cleaned up our mess, then sat at chatted a while. Before I knew it, it was 6:30.

Since I was so close to the square, I stopped over at The Cove to visit with the artists featured this week at the gallery. But, I’m going to save that for tomorrow. Great friends, great artists.

I have the greatest friends!

Saturday:) Some Talented Outlaws

“When the world becomes a massive mess with nobody at the helm, it’s time for artists to make their mark.”

~Joni Mitchell

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This evening, I had the pleasure of attending the opening reception for “The Outlaws In Art” a ten year reunion of four fabulous artists and friends. The reception at The Martin Place opened today and will run through August 30th. 

Lisa Temple, Vicky Saylor, Tina Wantland, and Sandy Bauder have been friends for a long time and artists even longer.

The reception was packed, and the neat part about the McKinney art scene is, you’re guaranteed to bump into dozens of friends. Local artists always support one another. 

The Martin Place is located at 1799 N. Graves St., McKinney, TX. If you’d like to see some lovely pieces of art, stop by before the end of the month when The OUTLAWS will be riding out of town. Well, at least their show will.

http://www.themartinplace.com/

A Steamy Saturday On The Square

“If you seek creative ideas go walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes fora walk.” 

― Raymond I. Myers

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It was REALLY HOT today, but I was tired of being cooped up in the house, so I headed over to the Square. That’s my happy feel-good place. 

My first stop was a visit to Sweet Spot Bakery. Miss Elizabeth was working on a beautiful wedding cake. Why didn’t I take a picture? Here’s a sample.

I walked over to the Little Free Pantry outside of Hugs Cafe and added some canned goods. It’s looking pretty empty. If you have some things to share, stop by and drop them off. Of course, you kinda have to live near McKinney. 

Right next door is Bay Willow Design. The owner, and my friend Jenny, was busy creating a wonderful hat, and there was a workshop going on. Ladies making and spdesigning their own hats.


Jill was working on a clothing project using vintage fabric and original patterns.

Now, for my favorite visit to The Cove, a wonderful art gallery a few blocks away. This week, they were featuring several local potters and ceramic artists. 

My friends Steve, and his daughter Alex were there. Both fabulous potters, but Minda, Steve’s talented wife was out of town, so they created a paper plate face called, FLAT MINDA. This way friends could take selfies with her at the reception.

Steve, Minda, and me. We had a nice visit, and I found several beautiful pieces that will soon be decorating my house. 

When I went back to my car, hmmm….I think someone hid one of those cute painted rocks in a pretty obvious spot.

A nice day on the Square in McKinney.

Theme Song Thursday:) That Old Time Rock N’ Roll

“And yet we couldn’t leave–it was if the rocks were holding us there. I mean, they were only rocks. But for some reason, those rocks made lonely feel good.” 

― Cynthia Kadohata, The Thing About Luck

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A super fun day “Rockin'” with a lovely group of artistic ladies. Well, the “Rockin'” was actually painting rocks on the porch of the Heard Craig House in the McKinney historic district. The concept is people or groups paint rocks and hide them around McKinney. When someone finds a hidden rock, they can either keep it or rehide it. On the back, it will say…please post on the Facebook McKinney Rocks page where you found it or a selfie of you and your found treasure. Such a charming idea.

Here are some of the “Rockin’ Painters.”

Very nice, right? Mine are in the upper right hand corner. I need to find some more rocks to paint. If you find a beautiful painted rock somewhere in McKinney, pick it up and enjoy the random act of rockin’ kindness.

They could be hidden anywhere. 

Thursday:) The Coolest Art Club and Some Cool Clouds

Any time women come together with a collective intention, it’s a powerful thing. Whether it’s sitting down making a quilt, in a kitchen preparing a meal, in a club reading the same book, or around the table playing cards, or planning a birthday party, when women come together with a collective intention, magic happens.

~. Phylicia Rashad

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The Art Club of McKinney is the oldest Art Club in Texas, founded in 1914. It remains a thriving, ever evolving organization. Today was our annual Christmas luncheon, ornament exchange, and silent auction at the historic Heard Craig House. 

The group isn’t comprised of only women. There are a few daring and patient men who attend the meetings.  I’ll admit, the cackling and chatting can get a bit overwhelming, but in a good creative kinda way.

Lynne, Sherry, me and Lynda. We’re the Tiny TOTS (Table Of Talent Sisters.)

When a lot of ladies get together, there is a lot of really good food.

The ornament exchange was cool this year. It was suggested that all ornamnets to be exchanged should be handmade, embellished, or decorated, instead of store bought. Then, they were wrapped or in a bag, so no one knew what was inside.

Here is the one I was lucky enough to receive. A lot of beads and sparkle.

Here is an example of the ornament that I brought. Bluebonnets this year, in a handpainted box.

Oh, then we had a silent auction. Everyone was asked to bring two handmade ornaments. One for the exchange and one for the auction. And, there were over a dozen paintings donated for the auction. Here are the two paintings that I won bids on. Both of these are fabulous watercolors.

It was a fun afternoon, with fun and talented artist friends.

Now for my cool clouds. After all that yummy food, I needed a long walk. It was pretty darn cold out. In the 30’s, crisp and cloudy. I wore my heavy coat, gloves and sock monkey hat. But, the lovely evening sky was worth the cold nose and frozen fingers.