OUT AND ABOUT AROUND HOUSTON

Tuesday, February 4 - Saturday, we spent the day with Carrie seeing some of the sites around Houston. Our first stop was a return visit to Texas Pipe and Supply. We visited this place back in 2010 and have frequently mentioned it to others. It left quite an impact!

The company is located at Highway 288 and Belfort on the southbound side.  The Texas Pipe and Supply company call this area  "The Eclectic Menagerie Park."

The Eclectic Menagerie Park is a sculpture garden. It was created by the owners of Texas Pipe several years back as a way to give back to the community. All of the art work has been designed and built by local artists who use steel or retired equipment from Texas Pipe for their work. Boy is it amazing!

Many of the sculptures are very detailed.

This is the strangest one.

There are several new sculptures since we were last here. The newest is the 10-story tall fishing pole. It didn’t catch a fish but a truck! The Mexican Mariachi band is also new.

The artists who constructed these works of art has never sold one of their creations. They build them for fun! This hobby just may be a little more expensive than golfing.....LOL

Yes, that is King Kong himself.

 

There are many more sculptures in this garden. So, if you find yourself driving South of Houston on Texas 288, watch for the Texas Pipe & Supply Company just as you pass the 610 Loop. We're sure you'll enjoy it!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

CULLEN SCULPTURE GARDEN

Sunday, February 2 - The Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden showcases art of 20th- and 21st-century. Isamu Noguchi created the garden in 1979. His plan was a modern approach to the traditional idea of a garden framed by concrete walls ranging in height. We are not modern-art lovers. We can stand there and stare at a modern art piece of hours and have no idea what the heck it is. Here are a few of the examples of the sculptures in the garden.

Entrance

Untitled

Two Circle Sentinel

The Large Horse

Back I, Back II, Back III, Back IV

New Forms

Decanter
 
There are 25 pieces in the Garden. Nice but not the best sculpture garden we've seen. New Orleans still takes the trophy as far as we are concerned.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

HOUSTON MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS

Thursday, January 30, 2014 – Thursday is “get-in-free day” at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. Shell Oil Company picks up the tab for the day. If you follow our blog you know this comes as “mixed blessings” in the Weaver Clan. Marsha simply loves museums, and Paul merely tolerates them.

Not very pretty on the outside.

The feature show at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFAH) is titled Roads of Arabia. It is an archaeology and history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is a display featuring the ancient trade routes of the Arabian Peninsula. Displayed are artifacts recently excavated from more than 10 sites throughout the peninsula. Many of the relics date back to 1 BC. This exhibit arrived in Houston in mid-December following its acclaimed U.S. debut at the Smithsonian Institute. It will be in Houston until March 9, 2014. Darn…no photos permitted in that area.

Permanent displays are also present featuring African Art, Asian Art, Pre-Columbian Art, Native American Art, Indonesian Gold, Korea Art, India Art, Japanese Art, China Art, and Art of the Islamic World. Marsha’s favorite by far was the enormous display on African treasurers.

N’Kambe Village Complex…Royal Palace Posts and Lintel. Africa
 

Democratic Republic of Congo…Male Helmet Mask

Pre-Columbian ballplayer and fan. 60-900 AD 

Indonesia

Head pieces…pure gold.
 

India

This one is for the ladies. How would we ever be able to cope with this?

Marsha said she will just stick to wearing her wedding ring.

The place was packed! Our normal procedure is to split-up and enjoy museums at our own pace. As you might imagine, Paul's pace is significantly faster than Marsha's. Surprisingly, Paul only had to wait about 30 minutes for Marsha after completing his tour. Thankfully, Marsha picked-up her pace a bit so we could beat the infamous “Houston rush-hour(s).”

Marsha highly recommends this Museum. There are numerous museums and tourist attractions in this area of Houston, so ya'll check back because Marsha is fixin' to see many more of these attractions in the coming weeks.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great time.