Local Celebrity, Haha

So, yours truly was recently interviewed by the Oak Cliff People newspaper about an art show I have a piece or two in at Boomstick Comics right now. Here is the story, written by Georgia Fisher.

Staff Photo: Christina Barany
Marcie Dodd created this gouache print of Sylvester Stallone and Talia Shire as seen in the original Rocky

So if Rocky Balboa fought a zombie Elvis, who would win? And for that matter, which tough guy would get the girl?

“I tried to think of something really iconic that people would recognize,” says Beckley Club Estates artist Marcie Dodd, whose entry in a new show at Boomstick Comics catches Rocky’s Adrian Pennino (Talia Shire) with her head nuzzled against the boxer’s neck.

Dodd, 26, used black and white gouache for her ode to the 1976 flick, which will share the red carpet Saturday night with a zombie Elvis and a reel of other icons from cult movies such as Ghostbusters and Night of The Living Dead.

The exhibit, dubbed “They Won’t Stay Dead,” is primarily paintings and screen prints of “a lot of horror, sci-fi, and pop culture characters from movies and television,” said Jonathan Kimbrell, art director of the Soda Gallery, which shares space with Boomstick.

“They’re just campy, and most of the time those movies are so bad that they end up being good,” he said, later adding that “it’s mostly just an excuse for us to be geeks.”

Call it what you will; Boomstick owner Bryan Kluger says he’ll dress as cartoon character Darkwing Duck at Saturday’s opening reception, where attendees are encouraged to come costumed as their favorite film icons and take part in a raffle for vintage comic books. Dodd may make an appearance as Batwoman, she said — “probably the Wal-Mart version of Batwoman, anyway.”

Saturday’s event won’t be the first cult rendezvous for the site. Throngs of people turned out in August for a Star Wars-themed exhibit called “These Aren’t The Droids You’re Looking For.”

“People came from all over,” said Dodd, an art teacher at First Baptist Academy, whose husband, Drew, moonlights at Boomstick on weekends. “There was so much excitement, and that’s what got me interested.”

In addition to the Rocky still, she’ll also hang a monochromatic screen print of the McKenzie Brothers from Strange Brew at the upcoming show.

As for the kickoff, Dodd said, “they really know how to throw a party here.”

Yeah Yeah, I know...

Ok guys, I get the message. Like I have said a hundred times before, I get busy, I forget to update, and then it gets to be too long since I have updated which in turn makes me feel overwhelmed and I never know where to start so I just put off updating until it has officially been almost 2 months since the last post and people start calling me to make sure I am still alive. Yes, I also know that was a run on sentence. All this to say, thank you all for loving me enough to me upset when I do not update. I will try to do better.

Well, school is in full swing. I had the most amazing summer of my life, and going back to school, I think I expected to feel something different... like maybe I would walk into my classroom never having looked at my notes and be able to impart all sorts of profound knowledge on my students and they would all leave my classroom with smiles on their faces thinking "wow, I feel so much more well rounded because of Mrs. Dodd". In reality, it feels exactly like it does every year. I am not saying this as a bad thing, just a fact. Whether a high school student understands or is lost in la la land, you get the same reaction - blank stares. My favorite project is coming up though, and this is one that I always get surprised exclaimations from my students - portrait drawings. I think so many people are so frightened of drawing a person, which I totally understand. But if you know the rules and let go of your inner editor, you can do it!

Probably the best story I have about something that has happened to me in the past two months happened about 3 weeks ago. Drew had parent night at school, so he was there late. While he was at work, he asked me to water the yard (looking back, it has rained nearly non-stop since this day, so I should have just stayed inside, watched tv and ate bon bons or something). Our regular sprinkler for the front yard broke, so I found one in the junk room that is the "industrial strength" variety - one that the ever popular sprinkler dance was fashioned after. I had moved it a few times in the front yard for maximum coverage and finally at around 8:30 went outside to turn the water off. This sucker moves fast, and of course Drew was on his way home and I didn't want to get wet while turning the water off. So, I did what anyone would do, I did a run/jog thing to get to the faucet so that the water wouldn't pelt me in the mean time. You know where this story is going, don't you? Yes, I fell. HARD. It all happened so fast. I did not even have time to brace myself. I landed flat on my chest and stomach - knocked the wind out of myself and bent my big toe nail all the way back. I had scrapes on my arms and thigh, and since I knocked the wind out, I really couldn't move for a while. I just laid there in my dark front yard, covered in mud, getting sprinkled on. It really was horrible. Looking back on it now, it is a very entertaining story, but at the time, I was really in pain and feeling fairly hopeless. I finally mustered up the energy to crawl to the faucet to turn the water off, and made it to the house by the time Drew got home. I wish I had a picture of what I looked like - mud from head to toe - in my hair, on my clothes, arms, legs, face, feet, etc...

Go ahead, finish laughing and then I will move on.

My favorite season of the year is here - State Fair of Texas. I love this almost as much as Christmas. For those of you who aren't teachers and don't get a free fair ticket (don't be too jealous, we get paid crap and work the equivalent of 10 full time jobs to get that fair ticket!), here is a blog which details some ways to get discounted admission: GO HERE.
Drew and I plan on going on Sunday. I'll try to post some awesome photos of our adventures.

Also coming up in Dallas, the Urban Street Bazaar in Bishop Arts District. Although I have already bought a few Christmas presents so far, this is where I plan on doing a lot of damage to the shopping list! So many amazing local artists selling their work - everything from baby to dog to gifty things to pottery to jewelry to everything in between. If you have never been to the Urban Street Bazaar before, GO!

Just about every day, I say "I should blog about that". So, now after 2 months, I have forgotten all the things I have reminded myself to blog about. Hope this will hold you over until next time! Which will hopefully be in less than 2 months!

So Long Sweet Summer....

Well, here we are at the beginning of August. School starts for me this week, and as much as I hate to get back to the grind stone, this has seriously been the best summer EVER! Drew and I did a lot of traveling, a lot of bonding and a lot of laughing! They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but I can't imagine anything making me love my husband more than this trip did this summer!

We started out our trip with a few days in New Orleans, Louisiana. Neither Drew nor I had ever been before, and we were really excited about the opportunity to see the sights and EAT! I have decided to never again plan a vacation around "the sights"... no no, forevermore, I will plan vacations around what there is to eat in that area! It worked out so perfectly for us! I won't post my millions of photos, but you can check them out on my facebook page if you wish. But I will post one photo of the best thing I ate all summer long:

Hello, my name is Beignet. I come from the land of Cafe du Monde and I will make all your wildest dreams come true.

Seriously guys, we saw a big truck delivering the powdered sugar for this place. They had probably half of this giant truck full of 50 pound bags of powdered sugar... and one of them went on each plate of 3 beignets! I highly recommend this place to you. If you are a fan of doughnuts, or sopapillas, or anything fried, eat here! And their Cafe Au Lait is really yummy too, even in the middle of summer!

We did see some really neat things in NOLA besides the food, though. We went to the Aquarium of the Americas, on a Swamp Tour, and on a tour of a rum distillary. The Aquarium was so-so. I have to say, I am a bit spoiled because ours here in Dallas is so amazing! The Swamp tour (by Louisana Swamp Tours) was really awesome! Reggie, our tour guide, even let us hold a baby alligator. The Old New Orleans Rum Company offers tours of their distillary. It was really interesting to learn how they do it, and to see all of their "experiements" brewing.

After 3 nights in NOLA, we boarded a Carnival cruise and headed to Mexico! The day we left, it rained SO hard. It shut the power and the AC down in the terminal, and there were about 2000 grouchy guests trying to get loaded on the boat in the heat. Drew and I kept a smile on our faces because we were so excited to be going somewhere, we didn't care if it was hot. The cruise was awesome, and the food was great. Seriously, everything you have heard about cruise food was true. There is something for everyone, there is food 24/7, and it is wonderful!

Our cruise only made one stop, to Cozumel, Mexico. It was absolutely gorgeous, and I look forward to going there again! We were only in Mexico for 9 or so hours, but we had such a great time! Drew and I took a 4 wheeler tour through the jungle (which ended with 3 blisters for me, but Drew really loved it), went Snorkeling in clear, beautiful water, and shopped til we dropped! We came home with Mexican blankets, sterling earrings for me, an awesome Mexican shirt, Mexican vanilla, a very pretty hand painted glass, and... something else I can't remember... plus lunch and tips for our tour guides for under $100! It was so fun!

We were able to come home for 2 days, and then headed out again with our friends, Jeremy and Rebecca to head to Missouri to visit Drew's family and make our annual Dodd Family Kayaking and Antiquing Adventure. The name is a bit misleading, because the "Dodd Family" only includes the girls when we go antiquing, and doesn't include Diane when we go kayaking, haha. We have so much fun when we are in PB. I am beyond thankful to have such an amazing set of in-laws. My mother-in-law is the coolest!

And now, after being gone for about 3 weeks, we are finally home. This week marks the return of school for FBA, which means my summer is officially over. Still so much I would like to get done, but I am so thankful for the chance to get out of town and have an adventure with my wonderful husband!

Stay tuned for updates on re-doing a bedroom!

Makes Me Melt Like a Popsicle on the 4th of July...

Yes, that is a quote from the Little Rascals. And a fitting one, I think.

This has certainly been another very busy week in the Dodd household. Being the last week of work for me, and the last week of school for Drew, we didn't have much of a free second, but I think we are both pretty used to that. Drew had a TON of homework this week. Thankfully, he was able to get it all done and make A's in both classes. Did we expect less? Of course not.

Art Camp ended with a bang. Monday, I took the kids outside and we drew landscapes. They were quiet, attentive, and did an amazing job. I was really impressed. Wednesday, we had a film crew come out and film us busily doing mosaics for the Office of Cultural Affairs. It was a little crazy, but I think they got what they wanted. And Thursday was our last day. We wrapped up with a culminating event where the students were able to show off their dances they learned over the past 4 weeks, and also we filled the gallery at the Bath House with all our wonderful art work. It was really great. I enjoyed these 4 weeks, but it makes me thankful I do not teach elementary school on a regular basis. They just about drove me crazy with all the questions and not being able to sit still for over 2 minutes! I definitely would like to do this again next summer, though. Definitely was a success.


Tuesday, Rebecca and I went and finally finished our pottery pieces we started in DECEMBER!! We were able to paint them with glaze and Rebecca can pick them up once they have been fired. Once it is in my hand, I'll post some photos.

Last night, one of Drew's old friends came by and hung out. It was nice to sit outside and visit, but we ended up staying up WAY too late. It was our first official day of summer vacation though, so we deserved it, haha.

This morning, we woke up super early and went and had breakfast with Jeremy and Rebecca. We borrowed Jeremy's dad's tiller and created a beautiful start to a wonderful garden. I am excited to see our bountiful harvest! Once this post is finished, my plan is to go out and do some watering. It was super hot while we were working, but I think I got a little more of a tan (well, my freckles just connected a bit more I suppose).

This week, I found a really awesome chair on the side of the road and picked it up. My plan is to paint the wood black, and re-upholster the chair. I have a feeling once it is done it will look dynomite!
This is a funny picture I took of Lois this week:
Shows her true evil. I'm serious, she looks cute most of the time, but this is the REAL Lois!

Well, I'm tired and a bit grouchy due to Reliant Energy right now, so, I am going to end this post and hopefully tomorrow post again with some photos of our Fourth of July Celebration!

So many things to think about...

So many things to think about today:
Like: why does the government want to charge me to cancel my tax id number, even though I have never used it once. And, why doesn't nail polish dry shiney anymore? I have to buy an extra top coat and that is lame. Also, why do I look at a dish, know full well that I need to rinse it and put it in the dishwasher, and then leave it by the sink? So many great questions. Here's another. Why is it nearly impossible for me to complete a load of laundry without forgetting about it in the washer and leaving it overnight and having it smell bad the next day and having to re-wash it?
I can honestly say that I do not WANT to be a bad steward of what God has given me. In fact, quite the opposite. I want to use what he gave me well... but alas, I can not seem to do that. I even make myself notes and stick them on the fridge (because I am for sure to look there, right!). Frustrating.

In other news, next week is the last week for art camp. Today, I had a mere 9 students! I would like to say it was a quiet day, but it wasn't. We made hand made paper and had a great time being wet and messy. It reminded me of the awesome class I took at the Poplar Bluff Art Museum a couple of summers ago. So fun. Today, I got on their website to see about any upcoming classes, but they only have one in January listed. I emailed them off their website asking for info, and I got an email saying something like "thanks for sending your message, if you do not hear from us in 48 hours, cyber aliens have intercepted your email". I thought that was funny coming from a museum... but I guess all people involved in the arts are a little weird, huh?

I tried to replicate some yummy home made spaghetti sauce that my dad used to make last night, and it turned out OK, but not amazing. I don't know how to make it taste like dad does! Tonight is probably going to be hamburger night. Sounded a lot better to me yesterday.

Best Friends Forever!

I am trying to update my blog a little more often... a) so that my familia will know what is going on in my life since I don't have time to update them as I should, and b) because I think it will be neat to have an account of what I have done... even the small things. My Meme has a set of journals that she writes in every single day. Even little things like "we went to Costco and got a loaf of bread" but it is so neat to see how life progresses and how you change and grow. Sometimes Meme's journal has come in very handy because she was able to tell the exact date that they bought an appliance to see if the warranty was still in effect, or tell when a particular event happened so she can send a card next year, etc. So, that is my goal. I have a feeling I will not be able to write every day, but I definitely want to start writing more than once a month!

This was a pretty good week.

In art camp news, we made paper mache masks this week. I do kind of wish we had a little more time so that we could have done more layers of paper mache, but all in all, they turned out fantastic! I can't wait to get pictures of all the kiddos wearing them. Grace and Annabel went with me to Art camp all week, and I think Annabel's mask might be my favorite of all. She was absolutely maticulous about her paper mache, and it turned out smooth and nice. She decided to make a dog mask, and since we only had bright colors, she chose yellow and blue. It looks great. I was excited too, that so many of the boys really got into it and did great jobs!

Friday at Art camp, Gillian and Darcey got to go with us as well. I was so glad to get to spend a little more time with them. We made several interesting discoveries: Vienna sausage is disgusting, Annabel is the craziest out of everyone we know, and loud, disobedient children make Marcie "almost lose it" as Gillian said, haha. Lunches for the kiddos everyday is provided by Central Dallas Ministries. One good thing about them is that they are definitely a complete meal... but that is where it ends. They are the grossest meals I have ever seen, and I am glad I don't have to eat them! Friday, the meal was a boxed lunch with a can of Vienna sausage, a bag of baked dorritos, a juice box and an applesauce cup. I think the kids were mostly curious about the canned meat, so everyone at least tried it. One little girl spilled some of the juice on herself and said "oh man, now I smell like meat!" I had to hold in the laughter! I tried to convince Annabel that she loved it, but she wasn't having it. All the girls thought it was just about the grossest thing they have ever had. But amazingly, none of them were hungry afterward. I was amazed, too, that Grace went to sit at the table with all her friends, rather than hanging around me and the rest of the girls. I am not for sure, cause she would never admit it, but I am thinking she MIGHT have a crush on this boy named Joseph. So funny.

Wednesday night, Drew and I went to movie night at the Belmont. It was definitely not as fun as the first time because I forgot my bug spray, and we sat in front of heavy drinkers that wouldn't shut up the whole time about vodka and red bull. gross.

Thursday night was week 3 out of 4 of Girl's Bible Study. We are currently watching the video series of Lies Woman Believe and the Truth that Sets them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. It is really good, and I wish that so many of my friends and family could hear her great words. One thing that I have really discovered in full is how great of a husband I really have! I never have to worry about him doing something that would hurt me because he loves me and even more so, he loves God. It is so amazing how much I have been blessed!

Friday night, Drew and I went to Gloria's with Macy and her husband, Chris. Macy is my very bestest friend since Kindergarten. No matter how much time is spent in between our visits, we always will be BFF's and we always have so much in common. It is so funny how connected we are, even when we don't know it! We ended up back at our house for some dessert and talking, and had a great time filling each other in on our crazy lives. I hope that we have kids at the same time so maybe they can be as great friends as we are!

Drew and I just got home from getting some Tacos at Jerry's Supermarket. They are yum.
Tonight, we are headed over to Meme's for Father's Day dinner. Which means, I must be off to make a "home made" (kind of) Italian Cream Cake... which, in our family, thanks to Drew, is also known as Man Cake.

Weekend O' Fun

Fresh out of a very cold shower, trying not to touch my slightly burnt skin, and still trying to catch my breath, I will recount the events of my ever busy weekend.

Friday: June 12
Went to work as usual and had a pretty good day with the kiddos. There are a couple of them that I particularly enjoy, and there are a couple that I wish my dad's invention of "spray Ritalin" was available for. One little boy named Michael is the funniest. He seriously has an answer for EVERYTHING! And he sounds so very matter of fact when he says it. Then there is Polly-the-vegetarian. She is cool because she totally sticks to her beliefs and checks the label on any food that is offered to her to see if it is ok to eat. My co-worker, Bonita, brought some lanyard string on the first day for the kiddos to play around with. They LOVE it! It is hard to get them to do anything else because all they want to do is make lanyards!
Friday night, Drew took me out on "date night". We started out at Half Priced Books where I picked up a sweet DK book on New Orleans - complete with awesome photos, and a book on CD - The Historian. I have always wanted to read it, and now I can listen to it on our approximately 36 hours we will be spending in the car during the month of July (this is not a complaint, I am looking forward to it!)

Saturday: June 13th
Spent quite a bit of the day on Saturday cleaning house. Having guests was a good excuse, because it really needed to be done anyway. I am always amazed at the amount of cat hair and dust I can sweep off our floors. It really doesn't matter if it has been a day or a month, I can get a full dust pan in each room... I know... more than you wanted to know! I mopped the Hardwoods with Orange Glo Hardwood Floor cleaner. I think I have talked about this before, but just in case, I absolutely LOVE it! If you have hardwoods, you need to buy this product.
I also tried some tile cleaner that did not work at all. It just left streaks on my marble floors in the kitchen, and really made it look worse than when I started. Anyone have a recommendation for tile floors?
Saturday evening, Nikki and David, our new neighbors, came over for dinner. We had a great time eating and talking and getting to know each other. Drew grilled BBQ chicken, and we had mashed potatoes, zuchini and mushroom skewers, salad (made by Nikki and really good), and the ever famous Apple Dumplings. Once you try these, your life will be complete.

Sunday: June 14th
Happy Birthday Grandma Dodd! I know she doesn't read this, but if you know her, you can tell her Happy Birthday too!
I hate to even admit this, but I slept through my alarm this morning and missed church. You will be amazed when I tell you what time I got out of bed... 11:30!!! I looked at the clock and thought maybe it was wrong and the power had gone out, but no, I really had wasted half my day!
This afternoon was the Summerfest at Eno's Tavern in Bishop Arts District. It was sponsored by Eno's (of course) and Bike Friendly Oak Cliff. In honor of BFOC, we decided to ride our bikes down to Bishop Art's. It was a great idea, in theory, but with it being currently 93 degrees outside, with a heat index of 5,000,000 - perhaps we should have rethought that. My hands hurt from the bike grips, my butt hurts from the seat, my face hurts from the burn, and my thighs hurt from peddling, but all in all, I feel very accomplished. I certainly don't look like it, but I feel as though I might have lost about 45 pounds on the ride, haha.

Some fun things happening this week:

Monday, the little munchkins and I will be starting paper mache. So fun and so messy and I can't wait!

Wednesday is Movie Night at the Belmont Hotel. Starts at sundown and this week, they will be playing Caddy Shack! Drew and I will be there with bells on (never really understood this saying).

Friday night, Drew and I get to see Macy!! Macy is my BFF from elementary school, and I definitely do not get to see her as often as I wish I did! I think we should commemorate this event with photos, what do you say?

More soon!