Doors Open Denver

The more time I spend in Denver, the more I like it. Last week I found out there was going to be the opportunity to tour buildings throughout the city behind-the-scenes. I was all in. I printed off a list so I could mark and map all the locations I wanted to visit, and invited a few people to join in. 

The night before, the four of us took a lighting tour near Union Station. Like most of these rail stations, Denver's is just beautiful inside and I was amazed to find out that all the lights in the station have been changed to LEDs. We walked down to the newly constructed rail platform and back around to another railroad and ended up at the DaVita building (the dialysis company). By that time it was cold and the rain had started, so I was happy to be done and warm up with coffee/tea and desserts. 

The next day, we started at the Governor's Mansion, not far from downtown. If I lived there, I would never leave the parlor. It seemed to consist of just pure white marble (from Marble, Colorado, of course!) and sunshine, even on the rainy day that it was. And lots of indoor palm trees. And a fountain brought back from Italy. The whole reason for the room being built was so there would be a place for that fountain. Oh, to be rich during the Gilded Age...

Next up was a condominium, also built at the beginning of the 20th century. 

It looks like any old basement, but we were in the laundry room, complete with a turn-of-the-20th century clothes dryer. The maids would have spend a lot of time in here. The current tenants have coin-operated machines, and much flashier surroundings.

After that, we were curious about the Masonic Lodge building downtown. All that came to my mind was the human sacrifices of the secret society in Sherlock Holmes. But the Masons even joked about that common association during our tour! We were surprised (disappointed?) when we were told the biggest secret they had (that they could tell, I suppose) was how much money they put toward public service in the form of scholarships and children's medical treatment. We even got the courage to ask what the wheat "broom" was hanging from the balcony overhang. Apparently the snack provider sits under it. And it's just a bundle of wheat. Oh well.

Our last stop was the interior of the DaVita building. We took a short guided tour through the lobby and then were sent up the elevators to the top floor. They were sure to mention that while the top floor is usually reserved for the CEO, at DaVita, they want everyone to enjoy it. So we did enjoy the great view of Denver below and even braved a bit of rain to walk out on the rooftop terrace and see where we had stood the night before. 

the gigantic REI store just on the other side of the river

Unfortunately, the city of Denver is no longer supporting Doors Open Denver financially, but I think everyone who was able to attend is hoping it's still around next year. There were so many locations I didn't get the chance to see!

the beginning of spring

While I'm currently attending a museum conference away from my usual routine, I've decided to take some time to write a post. The past month with the start of spring has been most welcome, and even more so since my birthday celebrates the start of this wonderful season. I had two celebrations this year. I was lucky enough to have a short visit home and enjoy some birthday pavlova with my parents, see the animals, and springtime in Kansas-- probably the state's most worthwhile season. The second celebration was back in Colorado with just a few friends.

there were fresh flowers...

...and silver received as a gift while I was home

...and cake of course

and unexpected gifts to top it all off

Next came Easter. It was one of those days where everything seemed to turn out splendidly. I had already been planning a homemade brunch for after church, and another couple we were to invite over had already made reservations for brunch, so what better decision than to have both! We changed the homemade meal to dinner and went out to enjoy brunch at a restaurant in downtown Denver, and then took a stroll outside in the perfect weather. We stopped by a local bookstore to peruse every aisle, picking up a new jigsaw puzzle along the way. On our drive home, I realized I hadn't yet had my annual 'birthday' doughnut, so we made a pit stop to hand-pick a box full of variety. Then came dinner time, with a menu of fish "parcels" as the Aussies call them. (My mom had given me a few Australian magazines while I was home, so I found plenty of new recipes to try on my flight back to Colorado.) It worked out well since each person could decide which ingredients to add. We all agreed that the fish, along with a citrus salad and dill-creamed potatoes, made a perfect meal to end a relaxing spring day.

a sampling of Cartier, for your viewing pleasure

I may be jumping the gun on springtime activities up here, but I did see a fully-bloomed daffodil in someone's yard today! A few weeks ago I noticed the bulbs had sprouted some leaves, and then worried about the huge snow that covered them all. Apparently, they are quite resilient.

So, I began clearing out space in my brand-new garden area, previously inhabited by some hay fever-inducing ornamental grasses (still seen at the front of the plot). After a few days of itchy skin and sneezing, all I had left for today was digging up the root balls to these monsters. The task was tougher than it should have been, as my shovel is left behind in Kansas, but a strong spade did the trick.

My plans for it include some essential vegetables and herbs. It's a small plot, but it sure beats the container gardening I've become accustomed to. I was forced to abandon the only other garden I've ever started (as a result of a move to another house), so I'm thoroughly excited for this one.

After cleaning up from a day of digging in the dirt, boyfriend K and I went downtown. There were two exhibits I had been looking forward to this winter: the Denver Museum of Nature & Science's Silk Road exhibit (last week's venture) and Brilliant: Carter in the 20th Century at the Denver Art Museum, which we were able to see only because it was extended for one more week. Yay!

The lighting makes all the difference in exhibits like these, and the presentation in this exhibit was beautiful. There were pieces from the Gilded Age, toned-down Depression Era jewelry, jewelry from famous classic movie stars and royalty, clocks and accessories from India, China, & Egypt, and one area showing the process in making the jewelry-- all the tools to cut and set the stones.

I think these jewels speak for themselves.

the one with the most jewels, commissioned by an Indian king

classic Cartier

with turquoise, my favorite

an aquamarine tiara, my birthstone (it's birthday month!)

a dolphin

animation

I've been neglecting this blog for quite some time, so it's high time for an update! I'm just taking a break from wood carving to write this, before I sit down to a meal of okonomiyaki, currently in preparation by my wonderful boyfriend. Today has been a very relaxing day off from work with me finishing up another art project this morning, then a trip to Ikea this afternoon, and some Leo Kottke listening thrown in to accompany the evening activities.

This past week I was given a ticket through work to see the animated film Boxtrolls. I was in the mood for something lighthearted, so I went. In addition to the film viewing, there was a presentation by someone from the animation company. I had no idea what I was in for, but I came out of there amazed at the process. Boxtrolls is stop-motion animated, like what we usually associate with claymation, but for this film they used actual puppets!

Inside each puppet is an armature that is moved ever so slightly for each frame. We got to try out moving this puppet frame, made from metal and some sort of moldable material. It takes 24 frames for each second of film. To achieve that, 55,000 different puppet faces were used for filming to create the different expressions and these faces were all printed by 3D printer. In the first film this company created, Coraline, they had only a black & white printer (remember those days?), so they had to hand paint all the faces. Even with the color printer, it is a slow-going process. They actually have an employee in charge of cataloging all the faces. No wonder production time for this current film was 10 years!

(Yes, those are actually physical puppets, where I would have thought them to just be computer animated. )

After the presentation, and all during the showing of the film, I was constantly trying to figure out how they created the scenes and the character movements-- everything. What a fascinating experience.