Category: art and life

…that’s what I should have said. And thus begins the story of Kat and Tracey’s Big Adventure.

Today, I rode down to Denver with the lovely and talented Kat Peters-Midland so she could look at a vintage door she was interested in purchasing. She thinks it would make a great display for her fused glass pendants and other glass items at one of the stores where she consigns currently. I didn’t know why she didn’t want to drive alone to Denver, but heck, why not go along for the ride and have some good quality time with my pal.

We finally found the spot, an old brick building in an industrial area near the National Western arena (I think that’s what it’s called) — where they have the stock show. The fellow we were to meet, Tom, was waiting outside for us. We followed him into the building where we were greeted with the oddest collection of…. JUNK. Not just junk junk, though. Really cool old junk like a huge glass and oak display cabinet, an old wooden croquet set, a HUGE filthy fish tank (complete with lethargic fish), an old iron stove, and so on. In between the amazing stuff, there were boxes and piles of other stuff that I could have spent weeks looking through. The wood molding, banisters, hardwood floors, windows, and other aspects of the building were amazing and gorgeous. He showed us old confessional doors and other random doors to see if she’d be interested in those, as well.

And then we went down into the basement and I realized why Kat wanted me to go with her.

At the bottom of the basement stairs, there was an iron gate and all I could do was think of the tons of crime dramas, procedurals, and movies I have watched over the years. I was convinced this guy was going to slam that gate behind us and we’d never be seen again…until I saw that the gate was wedged behind a ton of stuff and hadn’t been moved in a while. Phew. Also, it took Tom a while to turn on the lights. yeesh.

Eventually there was light and the basement was full of more treasures. Old refrigerator, black cat (really.), old style enameled kitchen sink/counter (and toilet installed right next to it right out in the open), shelving, more doors, bicycles, wrought iron, and so on. We looked at the door, which was gorgeous, and bought it. Tom also pointed out that the building was so old that the columns were all cement and the exterior walls were so thick that you can’t hear any noise from the outside. (blinkblink)

The guy was nice, but I was glad to be back outside. We hightailed it out of there, while admiring the outside of the building, HOWEVER…

…We got stuck in some deep-ish snow that hadn’t melted in his parking lot. After we spun our wheels for a while, I got out and pushed, which was pretty funny because I am a dork. So dorky, that at some point, I slipped and fell in the snow. Eventually we had to ask Tom to come back out and help us. He said, “I didn’t even know you were still here — I didn’t hear you!” Yes, Tom and his thick cement walls…Yikes!

He helped push and tow until we got out and then we REALLY hightailed it out of there! We laughed and laughed and were just freaked out by the whole experience. We stopped at McDonald’s a couple of blocks away to use the bathroom and get a drink and discussed how neither of us thought to take photos of the insides. It was just so gorgeous, it would have been nice to have photos. We laughed about going back and asking to take photos inside — NOT! But we did think we should go back and take a photo of the exterior for a project we’re working on. We did, and it was worth it, but we really left after that.

Later, at lunch, we both realized we were feeling weird. Super trippy and out of it. She thinks that we hadn’t come down yet from the adrenaline rush we both had had that morning. At one point, I got up to use the rest room and everything ached. I said, “Why am I so sore?” and she said, “Because you were pushing a truck and fell into the snow!”

(And I met a potential axe murderer.)

Would you believe I didn’t even get a photo of the door today? I am sure Kat will share one on her blog at some point, so go check it out!

As I finished this post and went to get the photos off my phone for uploading, I found that they had all mysteriously disappeared…

I thought I should start the new year by reviewing my last one. To wit, a list of my professional successes, failures and the stuff that kept me going (and some that almost did me in) for the past year:

1. Sold one of my favorite pieces to a gallery walk regular. She is an art professor at CSU…dig that!
2. Began integrating regular art time into my life.
3. Survived my first year of managing a gallery.
4. Revamped the way I conduct business. I feel really great about starting my 13th year as a freelance web developer.
5. Participated in my first smudging ceremony.
6. Took workshops with Kelly Kilmer, Carla Sonheim, Katie Kendrick and Leighanna Light. Took something away from every single class and broadened my horizons a bit.
7. Ate fresh berry pie with homemade whipped cream with my fellow PSA artists in October. Went outside of my comfort zone and went to drinks at the Rio with fellow NoCo artists, many of whom I did not know.
8. My MacBook Pro died a scary little death. Thank God for Apple Care and the Mac Shack. Spent a whole weekend without a computer and survived!
9. Purchased a Droid Incredible this summer. I love the freedom it has been giving me, not having to drag the laptop everywhere I go. Quite helpful in emergencies!
10. Survived a lot of professional drama, but stayed mostly intact and learned a lot about myself and about people.

And now I will go up to the sofa and continue to drink some sparkly adult beverage while I retire my 2010 journal and start my 2011 journal.

Next post will be some workshop announcements, so stay tuned!