Gish Picks: Week of March 31, 2010

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WHAT'S NEW THIS WEEK?

Easter hip hops into town this week and there are lots of fun ways to celebrate -- the Orange Show Center for Visionary Arts is hosting their annual "Easter Orange" easter egg hunt and trophy-making party; "Egg-Stravaganza WonderWeek" is at the Children's Museum of Houston (note: the Museum is closed Sunday and Monday for Easter); "Target First Free Sunday" is at the MFAH on Easter Sunday, April 4 and the Downtown Aquarium is hosting "Breakfast with the Easter Bunny" on Saturday, April 3 .

Happy (Egg) Hunting!

“HANDS-ON HOUSTON” FEATURES

Houston Center for Contemporary Craft is hosting “Hands-On Houston” this Saturday, April 3. HOH is a free craft-activity open house on the first Saturday of every month. In honor of the upcoming Empty Bowls Houston fundraiser, local potters from ClayHouston will help participants create ceramic bowls with clay slabs and plaster moulds, and then embellish them with stamps, clay sprigs, and colored slips. Previously fired bowls will also be available for painting with colored under glazes. This is a great opportunity to learn about clay and also how you can help the thousands of Houston-area residents whose food bowls are often empty. All ages are welcome, and materials will be provided.

Empty Bowls Houston is a grass-roots fundraiser which will be held at HCCC and Lawndale Art Center on May 22. For a minimum $25 donation, attendees receive a simple lunch of soup, bread and water, and then select a bowl from hundreds of one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted bowls donated by Houston-area artists. The event also features live music and live demonstrations by a variety of artists throughout the day. The empty bowls serve as a reminder of all the empty bowls in our community and in the world. All proceeds will benefit the Houston Food Bank.

Before or after the activity, get inspired by the current exhibitions: “Stretch: ClayHouston” (ceramics), “Michael Peterson: Evolution/Revolution” (wood sculpture), and “Iron: Forged, Tempered, Quenched” (blacksmithed objects).

Houston Center for Contemporary Craft is located at 4848 Main Street in the Museum District.

“ART ON THE PLAZA” THIS WEEKEND

ARTreach in partnership with Texas PTA and The Children’s Museum of Houston is hosting “Art on the Plaza” in Cinco Ranch on April 2 and May 2 at Villagio Town Center from 11am–3pm. This is an interactive art fest designed to encourage participation in the arts in Katy. Katy ISD Art teachers, PTA members, students, and community art volunteers from ARTreach will be on hand to introduce families to a variety of cultural art making processes. Families can participate in community art projects, and learn about printmaking, wheel thrown pottery, weaving, and Nigerian bead painting, to name a few media. Families can buy art, make art, and enjoy visual and performing artists and music jams and artists, musicians and dancers are invited to share their talents with others. It’s an introductory event that the organizers would like to see grow since it is a unique cultural event that promotes economic development and the arts in Katy. ARTreach brings art-related programs and services to underserved communities including children at risk, children and adults with special needs, and the elderly.

The event is free and open to the public.

THIS AIN'T YOUR MAMA'S SALAD.

There are no greens but it's definitely an interesting toss-up of styles at this year's Dance Salad Festival, which returns to Houston this weekend. Three evening performances are scheduled on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 1, 2 and 3 at 7:30pm in the Wortham Center’s Cullen Theater. Each curated performance presents a roster of outstanding dancers and choreography from around the world. Among those coming to Houston exclusively for Dance Salad Festival are The Royal Ballet of Flanders, Antwerp, Belgium; Norwegian National Ballet, Oslo, Norway; Ballet de Lorraine, France; Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genéve, Switzerland; Hungarian National Ballet, Hungary; Compañia Nacional de Danza, Mexico; Netherlands Dance Theater; English National Ballet, London; Gelabert Azzopardi Companya de Dansa, Barcelona, Spain; Texas Ballet Theater, Fort Worth, Texas; Jacoby & Pronk, New York/Amsterdam; Gauthier Dance, Stuttgart, Germany; Central Europe Dance Theatre, Budapest, Hungary; and others.

The Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center, is located at 500 Texas Avenue. Tickets to the festival are $19-$47.

THIS WEEK'S ATTRACTION...THE ORANGE SHOW CENTER FOR VISIONARY ART. For more attractions, go to www.gishcreative.com/attractions.htm.

Everyone knows about the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art because of the annual “Art Car Parade” (this year’s is being led by Dan Ackroyd and will take place May 8) but not everyone knows the history of the monument, located at 2401 Munger Street, across from the Orange Show headquarters. Retired Houston postman Jeff McKissack created The Orange Show because he thought oranges were the perfect fruit and those that ate them would live longer; the monument is his homage to longevity and good nutrition and is full of didactic displays. Working in isolation from 1956 until his death in 1980, McKissack used common building materials and found objects — bricks, tiles, fencing, and farm implements — to transform an East End lot into an architectural maze of walkways, balconies, arenas and exhibits decorated with mosaics and brightly painted iron figures. McKissack had hoped that his labor of love would rival the Astrodome as one of the wonders of the world! When McKissack died, Houston arts patron Marilyn Oshman formed a non-profit foundation to preserve The Orange Show and people like Dominique de Menil and the legendary Texas rock band ZZ Top gave dollars to the cause. The programs at the Orange Show always make basic elements of art tangible and accessible to everyone. For up close and personal fun at The Orange Show, purchase your $20 tickets online and in person to their Art Car Ball, which will be held on Thursday, May 6, 7-11pm.

Go Orange!

MONTESSORI FOCUS MAKES ITS DEBUT.

The Institute of Montessori Education (TIME) celebrates the launch and first edition of its new magazine, Montessori Focus, a Houston-based quarterly magazine whose mission is to create increased awareness about the Montessori methodology to families and to illustrate why this evidence-based education is the premier type of education necessary for all students. Montessori Focus Magazine is a new, cutting edge, innovative resource that will allow parents to understand why Montessori students are more competent, independent, responsible, self motivated, morally aware, socially responsible leaders of tomorrow, and lifelong learners. The goal of TIME is to bring the community together, share knowledge and experiences, and discover best Montessori practices. As Montessori theories and research continues to expand and evolve, the vision and movement continues to grow, encouraging further discussion amongst Montessori scholars and professionals about the most current developments and most effective student learning methods must take place. To get a copy of Montessori Focus, please contact TIME directly.

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