Friday Smiles 387: Another trip to the Eisenhower Museum

It's Friday, so let's join Annie (at A Stitch in Time) along with the wonderful ladies at Friday Smiles.

We just left Mamie's room and have now entered the President's room again.

These are some of the events that occurred and leaders who were in power during Ike's two terms as president. 

You can tell I'm getting tired because my photos aren't as clear as they once were. 

I suspect by this time, I've been at the complex for about four or five hours.  I have never sat once, except to see part of the D-Day video and the overview video way back in the beginning of the day.

I wish I'd paid more attention to this section because it is increasingly relevant in the world we currently inhabit.

During his first term in office, Ike was busy trying to defuse the nuclear crisis with the Soviet Union.

Possible uses of atomic materials.

This is a draft of his speech he would later give to the United Nations later that year.

He was hoping to turn atomic research into one of peace.

Ike really believed what he said and wrote.

Ike accepted the nomination for a second term, which would prove even harder than the first term.

Ike was really upset when the Soviets beat the Americans into space. 

ARPA was the Advanced Research Projects Agency (the same military technology agency that later helped develop the internet and is now called DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency).

Because Congress believed the perceived threat to national security and technology due to what was known as the "Sputnik Crisis," in July, 1958, Ike signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration known as NASA.  He believed the project should be handled by civilians and not by government.

The first seven astronauts chosen by NASA

gave Ike hope we might win the space race.

This shows Ike with Richard Nixon, his VP and Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union.

This shows how NASA was born.

This involves the "Sputnik Crisis" I referred to earlier.

Moving to a new section, things were changing rapidly around the country.  Lots of new opportunities including the number of new jobs created between 1950 and 1960.

There were more college degrees given, including more for women and people of color.

More people owned cars in 1960 than in 1950.

Ike and Mamie had a new car, too, although he never drove it, since he had a driver.

New homes were being built

and by 1960, 62% of Americans owned their own homes,

including Ike and Mamie.

The nation prospered under Ike's guidance and leadership.

One of the biggest increases from 1950 to 1960 was people who purchased a television. 

It appears they were big and bulky.

They were pieces of real furniture, too.  I suspect Sports Illustrated was found in the Ike White House.  From fly fishing to golfing, Ike loved them both. 

So much in fact, he had a putting green installed on the south lawn of the White House grounds.

Ike had been on a crusade to have an interstate system since he crossed the country in the 1919 Motor Transport Corps convoy where he moved trucks and supplies across country in the early years of his military career.

After Ike became president in 1953,

his administration developed a proposal for an interstate highway system,

which in turn led to the passage of a bill creating the Interstate Highway System. 

Construction soon began on interstate highways because of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956.

I think this is a great place to stop.  I sincerely hope the museum is more interesting now, even if it is mostly about Ike and the USA.

Here are more questions asked by Banff Park tourists at the information kiosks manned by Parks Canada staff.

When I go to B.C., do I have to go through Ontario?

Which is the way to the Columbia rice fields?

How far is Banff from Canada?

What’s the best way to see Canada in a day?

Do they search you at the B.C. border?

When we enter B.C. do we have to convert our money to British pounds?

Where can I buy a raccoon hat? ALL Canadians own one, don’t they?

Are there phones in Banff?

So it’s eight kilometers away… is that in miles?

Is that two kilometers by foot or by car?

We’re on the decibel system you know.

Where can I get my husband really, REALLY, lost??

Don’t you Canadians know anything?

Where do you put the animals at night?

I have a friend in Toronto, do you know Dave Smith?

Why, when I insert my American bank card in an ATM machine, does it give me Canadian money?

Do you have the 4th of July up here?
What time do they turn on the Northern Lights?
Do they turn the hot springs off at night?
Where can I buy some totem pole seeds?

Where are the igloos?

You're Canadian? How come you aren't speaking French?

Where can I go to see the Queen? 

Do I need a metric compass when I go hiking?

Texas is bigger than Canada, right?

So where are the faces of the presidents?

Do you have big foot here?

Where's the best foot path to see cougars on?

Do the bears really like honey?

If I hike along the train tracks can I get to Toronto in a day?

What is the white stuff on top of the mountains?         

Tourist: “How do you get your lakes so blue?”
Park staff: “We take the water out in the winter and paint the bottom”.
Tourist: “Oh!”

Now let's head over to Annie's because she knows how to put a smile on everyone's faces.  And whatever you do, please don't forget to start your weekend off right with a few Friday Smiles of your own.  And remember, if you would like to play along, Annie would love to have you join us. 

Rain's Thursday Art Date: the Old Masters

It's Thursday and that means we're meeting at Rain's for her Thursday Art Date.  This week, the theme is The Old Masters.

I know what they are supposed to look like, but our museums don't have any Old Masters.  This was the closest I could find that reminded me of something Albrecht Dürer or Johannes Vermeer might have painted.

My friend Scott gave me this triptych by Hieronymus Bosch for my birthday.

Here's some art I've made:

This is sort of like daVinci's Vitruvian Man.

This one really IS a Vitruvian Man I created from a rubber stamp.

Here's another.

The above two were created on the deconstructed covers of a hardbound Reader's Digest book.

Finally, here is a cheeky look at an ad I've saved for years that was for hair color.   I thought it would be perfect for this Old Masters theme.

All art by me for various challenges.  Both art related photos and the scan by me.  Bleubeard laughed because I can't possibly draw an old master and there are NONE at my art museums.

I wish I had photos from when I visited the Smithsonian (Washington D.C.), the J.Paul Getty Museum now called the Getty Center (Brentwood, CA), the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL), the Nelson-Atkins Museum (Kansas City, MO), the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia, PA), The Norton Simon Museum (Pasadena, CA, although they have more Impressionists painting than any I've seen in any other museum), The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA in Los Angeles, CA), and The National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.).  They were all prints and all had to be thrown away when the basement where I was keeping them flooded.

Thank you ever so much for stopping by today.  I am truly grateful to you, my friends, followers, readers, and lurkers for visiting.  Please also join me at Rain's Thursday Art Date.

Second on the 2nd: Houses

For my second look, I like to share something that is reminiscent of the theme of our current host at Art Journal Journey.  Since Jo's theme this month is texture, I thought this was an offbeat and quirky way to acknowledge it.

This is from October 23, 2008 and is copied in its entirety.  I called it

The houses on 6th Street

Everyone in the art world seems to be on a house kick, especially row houses, so I took some of my brown paper-bag paper, originally intended for backgrounds, and turned it into row houses. I call this one "The houses on 6th Street."

I found this really cool magazine page, turned it upside down, and thought it looked like phone and electric wires.  The focal images are from Antiques magazine, and the chimney is a crackle paint experiment whose colors were too close to the background color to show up well.

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It's obvious I created this in my Houses altered book.

Now it's your turn to share your Second on the 2nd.  The rules are quite simple and everyone is welcome to join the fun look back.  All you have to do is bring back a post that you are especially proud of, or perhaps one you shared before anyone knew your blog existed.  It could even be a post that is as relevant today as it was when you originally posted it.  Any post, any genre, any artistic endeavor is acceptable.  The only requirement is, it must have been published sometime in the past.  Then link below (direct links only, please) and Bleubeard and I, along with other Second on the 2nd friends, will be by to visit. 

Spain

If you are looking for T Stands For Tuesday, it is the previous post.  You can scroll back if you came by way of my main blog, or click on Previous Post if you came from this direct link.

Our host for the month of September at Art Journal Journey is the very talented Jo at Let's Art Journal.  Her theme is Texture.

This is a bit outside the box when it comes to texture.

I assure you, there is plenty of texture here

as you can see in these photos of the fan blades.

It's also the first time I've felt good about a real collage in a long time, too.

The bull is actually a huge sign above a Toro grape vineyard in Spain.  As many in Spain will tell you, they love their bulls.  They are a poignant symbol of national pride.  There are still 94 of them along motorways, many of which are in northern Spain near the Portugal border.  According to the current regulation in the European Union around motorways, billboards are not permitted to display advertising, especially alcoholic.  Although the brand name has been removed, the Osborne bulls have stood the test of time due in part to their aesthetic value and in part due to a "Save our Toro" campaign to keep them.  The shape of the bull is enough to associate it with the brand.

The bull was designed in 1956 and first survived the attempt by EU advertising to get rid of them.  Later Spanish traffic safety authorities tried to have the bulls torn down, claiming they distracted drivers.

The vineyards over which this bull sits don't look like those we are used to.  The vines in the Toro area are near Castile and Leon close to the northeast corner of Portugal.  Vines found in this area are mostly a local strand of Toro red wines, and only a few parcels are devoted to white wine grapes. These vines grow low to the ground, mostly in dry, rocky soil because of the extreme climate, and many of them are thick and twisted because of their age, which could be a century or more. 

This Spanish flamenco dancer has lots of texture in her costume.  She is dancing on a wooden floor that accentuates the rhythm of her high heeled shoes.  The flamenco is itself a dance performed by a mixture of singing, guitar playing, dancing, finger snapping, and hand clapping.

Spain is famous for its bulls and dancers and Rome is famous for its coliseum.  Although it may come as a surprise to some, Spain has their own coliseums, although they probably aren't located in a vineyard!

I didn't want to forget the date, which I never seem to remember.  Yes, I'm STILL a terrible stamper.

Here's one final look at how I filled in the pin holes.

For this page, I first deconstructed a hand fan.  I kept five of the blades.  The holes at the bottom that I filled with gold Scribble paint, allowing more texture, is where the pin would normally have been attached.  The substrate is a sheet of 110 lb cardstock I dry brushed with gold fluid acrylic and allowed to dry.  I found images from various magazines to complete the collage that really makes me happy.  I cut the larger image to size and outlined it with a blue felt tipped marker.

Bleubeard and I are thrilled that you visited today.  We hope you will join Jo, Yvonne, Erika, Bleubeard, and me this month at Art Journal Journey with your own art inspired by Texture.  Please be aware, we want to see your altered book pages, journal pages, loose journal art, canvases, fabric pages, and digital art.  However, we cannot accept cards, ATCs, ATCoins, tags, small index cards, or 3-D art, and, as much as we don't want to, will be forced to delete your entry.