Douglas Newby Insights - Page 23
Arboretum Point
This White Rock Lake site is a wonderful example of the point I made in my TEDx talk Homes That Make Us Happy, it is not how much land your home is on, but what you are next to or across from, a park, a lake, a meadow, a trail… This East Lawther lot is across from and next to all of the above. It is on 0.5 acres but it has a view very similar to the four-acre lot that I sold on the other side of the lake. This home site is on a point at White Rock Lake that was once owned by the Dallas Arborteum. The home with first and second floor porches wrapping around it is also embraced by Winfrey Point, a meadow, a trail, and a boat ramp at the edge of the lake. The friendly sounds of a baseball field further down the lake accentuate the atmosphere of a park setting. I love sites that are right in front of us but no one seems to notice. Locations come and go, but good sites are forever. *Arboretum Point
#WhiteRockLake #WinfreyPoint #EmeraldIsleNeighborhood #Dallas #Park #Architecture #Porches #Balconies #BikeTrails #GoodSite #Neighborhood #dallasneighborhoods
Woven Entanglement
Tangles create Clarity! Fierce conversation begets resolution. Savage binds in lyrical shapes and vivid color convey an animated conversation. Is there a French expression for—it is so messy it is beautiful? Artist Sheila Hicks puts one totally at ease with the sculptural mound of soft shapes and joyful colors that one first sees upon entering the exhibition at the Nasher Museum in Dallas. A primordial respect and attraction is then generated by this piece. Subliminally, the majestic colors and tactile beckoning of this tangled composition connotes beauty and optimism. As you walk in, or zoom in closer, and look deeper, the material becomes surprisingly fluffy and comforting. You will depart this work as when you first entered the gallery, with ascending joy! *Woven Entanglement
@NasherSculptureCenter @AtelierSheilaHicks @HastingsHicks #NasherSculptureCenter @TempleShipley #Artist #Art #Dallas #DallasNeighborhood #Design #ArtsDistrict #DowntownDallas #Museum #MuseumExhibition #SheilaHicks #ArtMuseum #Gallery #Sculpture #Weaving #Weave #Textile #Tactile #SoloExhibition # TanglesCreateClarity #HastingsNebraska #JoySpotting @GalerieFrankElbaz #NasherMuseum
Interpretative Weave
I am incredibly drawn to this Sheila Hicks piece at the Nasher. The more I look at it, the more captivated I become and visually pleased. Weaving created the medium—long, loose, narrow, textured banners of luscious color reminiscent of hand-fired glaze. These interlaced banners now serve as the palette and the design of this loosely woven piece that fills the room with energy. These two dozen interchangeable banners create a powerful design of rich color. It reminds us of the thousands of threads that create the subtle variations in color and texture that makes the medium and the effect of this piece so powerful. Whether you look at this work from a distance or in visual vignettes or up close, there is a majestic quality Sheila Hicks brings to her art. It is nice that those of us in Dallas don’t have to wait until October 21 to see a Sheila Hicks installation exhibited at the MoMA. *Interpretative Weave
@NasherSculptureCenter @GalerieFrankElbaz @TempleShipley @AtelierSheilaHicks @HastingsHicks #NasherSculptureCenter #Artist #Art #Dallas #Neighborhood #Design #ArtsDistrict #DowntownDallas #Museum #MuseumExhibition #SheilaHicks #ArtMuseum #Gallery #Sculpture #Weaving #Weave #textile #democraticdesign #Hastings
Hastings Origin
Dallas will forever know Sheila Hicks from her exhibition, opening at the Nasher this evening. Many now will always associate the Nasher Sculpture Center with Sheila Hicks’ vibrant work that makes one step back and admire, walk around and absorb, dive in closer, increasingly mesmerized by the visual tension of the details. I will always associate the avant garde brilliance of Paris-based, Yale-educated Sheila Hicks with Hastings, Nebraska, her birthplace. Many associate Nebraska with the swaying wheat and cornfields her grandfather pointed out extended as far as the eye could see, the reason America would never go hungry. I associate Hastings with the 2:42 a.m. Denver Zephyr trainstop in the middle of the country that both Sheila Hicks and I took in our youth to visit our respective grandparents. My grandfather owned the bank, her grandfather owned the general store, where I recall my grandfather buying important provisions when I discovered a squirt gun for sale. Hastings also was my introduction to culture, the Pioneer Museum/House of Yesterday and fascinating people. I recall Betty Kostle McBride, my mother’s closest childhood friend and Carleton College roommate, visiting Hastings where her father was the doctor. She glided across the living room of my grandparents’ architect-designed 1952 modern home with long hair, bare feet, and brightly painted red toenails. What I thought elegant as a child, my mother mentioned was a bit unusual. It made sense when years later I discovered the McBrides were managers of Allen Gingsberg’s City Lights bookstore in San Francisco, the epicenter of the Beat and counterculture generation. Tractor tire tubing with the McBrides gave me farm cred with Allen Ginbsberg when he visited SMU. Another Hastings contemporary of our grandfathers was Patricia Shinn’s grandfather, the owner of the Hastings title company. Patricia and James Shinn came to Dallas as Director of International Affairs after their prestigious and elegant postings in the diplomatic corps. The Nasher conveys the rich texture of Hastings and the magic of Sheila Hicks. *Hastings Origin
@AtelierSheilaHicks #Artist #Art #JoySpotting #Dallas #NasherSculptureCenter
Fitzhugh!
As John Reoch said when he moved from Philadelphia to Munger Place decades ago, “Driving down Fitzhugh was like visiting the United Nations.” Many countries from around the world were represented in small shops, micro-restaurants, and recently arrived immigrants inhabiting crowded, dilapidated housing. I recall 20 years ago, James Shinn, the Dallas Director of International Affairs, asking me where I specialized when he was discussing having me represent Patricia and him on the sale of their Turtle Creek Park home. For the first time, I said with a smile, I specialized in the Fitzhugh corridor. My answer might have been considered a counterintuitive pitch at the time since Fitzhugh probably conveyed the most negative connotations of a street in Old East Dallas. However, it spoke directly to Turtle Creek Park, which is bordered by Fitzhugh (along with Turtle Creek and Rock Creek). And despite Fitzhugh being so sketchy, it bordered many of my favorite neighborhoods including Northern Hills, Cochran Heights, and the Swiss Avenue, Jefferson Peak, and Munger Place historic districts. Now, the Beverley restaurant is an exclamation mark on the transformation of Fitzhugh and Old East Dallas. Recently, with Jim and Carole Young, two of the most respected people in Dallas, we celebrated a special occasion, on the patio at the Beverley reflecting the changing perception of Fitzhugh. A charming manager and staff, good food, and surrounded by what some might even classify as beautiful people, Fitzhugh has become a destination rather than an international trek through cultures. Slide through to see the Beverley and vestiges of the early Fitzhugh. *Fitzhugh!
#Beverley #Fitzhugh #FitzhughCorridor #Dallas #DallasNeighborhoods #CochranHeights #JeffersonPeak #TurtleCreekPark #NorthernHills #MungerPlace #SwissAvenue #OldEastDallas #HistoricDistrict @BeverleysDallas #Transformation #Revitalization
Tremont Trees
Which expresses the decline of a neighborhood more—peeling paint on houses, broken curbs and sidewalks, or barren parkways? One of the early Munger Place neighborhood initiatives was to plant parkway trees. One of the homeowners went through the 12-block neighborhood with a backhoe, scooping out a place for the cedar elms that cost the homeowners $25, or a red oak that cost the homeowners $35, with other Munger Place neighbors helping place a tree and covering the root ball with the excavated dirt. Neighbors also bought these inexpensive trees for the houses on the street owned by absentee owners. Immediately, these saplings gave life, definition, and a sense of the future for the neighborhood. Now these trees provide a majestic feel to Munger Place. Having grown up riding my bike on the tree tunneled streets of Hinsdale, these arching trees are both nostalgic and help define the success of the neighborhood. The early Dallas City 312 low-interest renovation loan program made no impact on Munger Place. Code Enforcement made a miniscule impact on the neighborhood. However, bond money and block grant money for new curbs, sidewalks, street paving, and antique street lights replacing the telephone poles and electrical wires propelled the revitalization and renovation momentum. Neighborhoods improve when there is physical evidence of a better working future. *Tremont Trees
#treetunnel #Trees #CedarElm #RedOak #MungerPlace #Dallas #AntigueStreetLights #pathtosmu #pathtotrinitygroves #Revitalization #Renovation #NewCurbs #NewSidewalks #Neighborhood #HistoricDistrict #ParkwayTrees #DowntownNeighborhood #SingleFamilyHomes
Counterintuitive Real Estate Ideas
Dubious Real Estate Clichés and Real Estate Myths were discussed in a Conversation at the Barry Whistler Gallery. Surrounded by the fabulous art (slide through to see) of artists including Tom Orr, Linnea Glatt, Jay Shinn, and Allison V. Smith, the room was filled with friends who I think have the greatest real estate instincts, who are either visionaries or have a keen curiosity that quickly grasps concepts contrary to the real estate mantras passed down for decades. This conversation and reception also reminded me of how powerful art is for engaging people, generating interaction of people, and reminding people of the importance of aesthetics to a home or site. Many thanks to Barry Whistler, Allison V. Smith, and Fernando Alvarez for opening the Barry Whistler Gallery for this conversation. As I said at the Barry Whistler Gallery in the Design District that evening, “We are in the safest space in Dallas. Any real estate agent has been required to check their license at the door. We are in a real estate license-free zone.” This was a fun evening of ideas and art! *Counterintuitive Real Estate Ideas
@BarryWhistlerGallery @TomOrr @Jay_Shinn_Art @allisonvsmith @Linnea_Glatt #ArtGallery #DesignDistrict #Dallas #DallasNeighborhood #CounterintuitiveRealEstateIdeas #DubiousRealEstateCliches #RealEstateMyths #art #artist #sculpture
Celebration
April 21st has always been one of my favorite days. It is the day the Dallas Commissioner’s Court designated for Margaret McDermott Day and the Dallas Morning News editorial page lauded the day and the many contributions of Margaret McDermott and the spirit she infused in Dallas. Also, it is the birthday of Queen Elizabeth, who I admire with increasing intensity. The Queen has an incredible sense of the public and her service is understated considering what she does and how much she does. Also, the Queen and the royal family have created incredible branding. The House of Windsor is a totally made-up name in the last 100 years or so. This April 21st is also Easter, which makes the day this year even more fun and significant. Happy April 21! *Celebration
#Easter #MargaretMcDermottDay #QueenElizabethBirthday #dallas #joyspotting
Architecture Propels Faith
Architect Mark Lemmon designed this Methodist Chapel on the SMU campus in University Park. Sacred spaces invoke a tranquility and appeal that goes beyond their specific discipline. Here the chapel is used for a Catholic Easter vigil starting with lighting of the candles for a procession into the chapel. We see the cathedral of Notre Dame attract more visitors than the Eiffel Tower. Recently, we have seen nonpracticing Catholics and nonbelievers on their knees or weeping at the site of the fire. The sorrow expressed went beyond the loss of architecture and went directly to the faith and feelings that this architecture propelled for so many. I have always loved sacred architecture, whether it is imaginative, modern, or steeped in historical tradition, shiny or rustic. My favorite sacred space is where a birch bark cross, bound together, was placed on the point of a peninsula protruding into a small glacial lake surrounded by virgin forest. Birch bark-covered logs provided the seating and white faded stones lined the path to this transformative spot. Simple or elaborate, architecture and design does more than house or protect, it nourishes.
#Chapel #EasterVigil #SMU #UniversityPark #SMUChapel #CatholicService #Easter #Worship #LightingOfCandles #Dallas #Neighborhood #UniversityParkNeighborhood #SacredSpace #MarkLemmon #Design #Architecture #Architect #SMUCampus #Faith
Reclaim Palm Springs
Palm Springs would do well to reclaim the vibe conveyed in this 1990s shoot of 1950s Palm Springs. Dallas may no longer have cattle drives through the region, but it still has boots, buckles, and swagger. There is still iconography and a vibe in Texas that continues. Most of the mid-century Palm Springs hotels are gone, but the vibe of Palm Springs should continue. My recommendation is to place these Thom Jackson photographs of Chandra North in every major Palm Springs hotel, the vistors bureau, and Palm Springs promotional material. The 1950s and 1990s are decades of growth and change. It was a time of underlying elegance, sophistication, and fun. These Thom Jackson shot photographs of Chandra North show these aspirational qualities are timeless. *Reclaim Palm Springs
#PalmSprings #Dallas #CraigheadGreenGallery #DallasArtFair @ChandraNorthOfficial #ChandraNorth #ThomJackson @tjphotodtx #DesignDistrict #DallasNeighborhood #Photography #Fashion #FashionPhotography #Retro #Design #Model #FashionModel #PhotoShoot