Special Visit

Linda had a surprise visit this weekend from her daughter, Stephanie and her partner, Jessica. I was on the third floor giving a tour when I heard her shriek from the first floor...guessing that Steph and Jess had arrived. We've had a good time hanging out and seeing some of Winston Salem. Yesterday we went to Mt. Airy; checked on the rig, went to the thrift store and bought some blouses, got our favorite milk shake, checked out the downtown stores and old jail and ate at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Temps have been in the 50's this weekend so has made it really enjoyable to be out and about.

Today we went to the museum downtown to see some artists work that they were featuring. This is an Encaustic painting. The artist uses beeswax and powdered pigment, which is then applied to wood (most times although other surfaces can be used). A heat gun is used to smooth and keep the beeswax fluid enough to work with while the artist uses tools to make the desired shapes and designs. The paintings were all so gorgeous...I just fell in love with this style of painting. The surface is really smooth so it must take a lot of work to get the wax the way the artist wants it. It was a day for artsy things as the next place we went to was the Tattoo Archive.
Open since 1980, the front part of the store is a museum of sorts that covers the last 100 years of tattoo. It was very interesting to see and read about the older artists and see the images that many of the them created throughout their careers. There was also some of the old style equipment that has been used over the years. It doesn't appear that it has changed all that much.
This picture caught my eye as the tattoo work is amazing ! There were circus posters that depicted the fascination of the tattooed people as sideshow attractions and a special exhibit on the scarring traditions in other countries where something like a flint is used to make a cut and then its left open for several months to make a raised welt. All of the welts on the body are arranged in a specific design, which by looking at a young girl, you could tell many things about her. A cultural tradition that I'm glad I'm not a part of. It looked pretty painful to endure years of cutting to make the intricate patterns. I thought that it was pretty amazing that the owner of this Tattoo establishment thinks enough of the art form to dedicate a whole museum to archiving the history of tattoo. 

Boomer also got to take a field trip today...he went to the dog park before we came back home. I've never seen so many dogs as there was today. He ran and ran with the other pooches there. There was everything from puppies to Great Danes today. He had a good time and now as I write this post, everyone but Jessica and I are sacked out on the floor.....snoozing. Zzzzzzzzz....

Here's hoping that all of you have a restful and fun filled weekend !