Howdy, Austin

I’ve known my dear friend, Kathy Mahoney, since our early days freelancing as illustrators in Boston in the 80’s. She’s been inviting me to her new place in Austin for almost four years. Instead, I’ve caught up with her when she’s in Maine every summer. Opportunistic, I know.

This year felt like the right time to go, and coincide with the total eclipse.

sketchbook drawing, ©Jamie Hogan

Last Saturday, we caught the 7:15 am ferry from Peaks and arrived at Kathy’s house on the edge of downtown Austin by around 9 pm. Ample lulls between each leg of the journey were good for sketching while staring out at the clouds from our plane.

Sketchbook drawing                                                                                                                                                                   ©Jamie Hogan

Even a random drawing is a good diversion, try it.

sketchbook drawing                                                                                                                                 ©Jamie Hogan

On Sunday morning, we strolled around her sweet neighborhood and through the nearby Oakwood Cemetery.

Kathy Mahoney and Jamie Hogan, Austin                                                                                                                       photo ©Marty Braun

Bluebonnets, April in Austin                                                                             photo ©Jamie Hogan

Had my eye out for vernacular delights, the more rusty the better.

Visionary fence                                   photo ©Jamie Hogan

We found our island neighbor, now Austinite, at work at the lovely Paper & Craft Pantry. Howdy, Olwyn! Marty is sporting Olwyn’s t-shirt design for a local band with a hot new release, Bear on Bear.

Olwyn Moxhay and Marty Braun, at Paper & Craft Pantry, Austin.                                                                 photo ©Jamie Hogan

This place is an irresistible candy store for a paper person/snail mailer like myself. C’mon, April is National Letter Writing Month!

signage at Paper & Craft Pantry, Austin                                                         photo ©Jamie Hogan

I was in my sweet spot, and a bit matchy matchy too.

Paper person, Austin                                                                                   photo ©Katherine Mahoney

During siesta time, I sat in Kathy’s backyard full of wildlife, watching grackles take splashy baths and squirrels scamper in the pecan tree.

Sketchbook drawing                                                                                                                                                                   ©Jamie Hogan

Later, we headed to the University of Texas to see The Color Inside, a Skyspace by James Turrell. It’s a naked eye observatory with an oculus in the center.

Oculus at UT by James Turrell                                                                          photo ©Jamie Hogan

Within a small oval room, we watched the colors of the sky above and interior below transform, a live optical excursion in color theory. The best viewings are at sunrise and sunset when the sky shifts in hue and the color contrasts are profound.

A woman played a hand pan continuously for the hour of the performance. It was hypnotic and sublime.

oculus by Jame Turrell                                                                                       photo ©Jamie Hogan

Afterwards I was drowsy with delight. We strolled around campus, spying public art like this piece by Nancy Rubins, titled Monochrome for Austin.

Monochrome for Austin, sculpture by Nancy Rubins                                      photo ©Jamie Hogan

On Monday, April 8, the local forecast was not promising for the total eclipse. Still, we got giddy in our safety glasses and souvenir t-shirts by our island neighbor, Alfred Wood.

lunatics are ready                                                                                  photo © Katherine Mahoney

Intermittent views between clouds were spectacular!

eclipse viewing in Austin photo ©Jamie Hogan

The two minutes of totality were not visible, yet we felt them in the cooling darkness that set in, which triggered the streetlights. Not exactly the rapture that was had in northern Maine, but still surreal. I’m happy that fellow Mainers had the best weather after what our state has been through lately!

On Tuesday, we visited the Blanton Museum of Art where the free admission day drew crowds of art seekers like us.

Kathy views The Floating World at the Blanton Museum of Art                         photo © Jamie Hogan

I was quite inspired by the elaborate fashions in The Floating World: Masterpieces of Edo Japan. I sketched this later during siesta time.

Sketchbook drawing                                                                                                    © Jamie Hogan

The collection is vast, each wooden block print more dizzyingly detailed than the last.

My eyeballs melted and I moved on to a refreshing exhibit,  Anni Albers: In Thread and On Paper. She knew how to make the most of simple shapes and repetition, fundamental elements in Bauhaus thinking. This metallic piece caught my reflection.

Anni Albers on gold paper                                                                                                                                  photo © Jamie Hogan

I’m known as a cryer; this tear drop kinda choked me up:) in a good way. By Gyula Kosice, Persistence of  the Mobile Drop of Water burbled and bubbled, a hydrokinetic work that captures “an architecture of water.” Like a lunar galaxy into infinity, I was mesmerized.

Hydrokinetic sculpture by Gyula Kosice                                                         photo © Jamie Hogan

There was more than we could possibly see, this place deserves multiple visits. Even the exterior is dazzling.

view from Blanton Museum of Art                                                                        photo © Jamie Hogan

We ducked briefly into Austin, by Ellsworth Kelly. He gifted the design concept, his last monumental work, to the Blanton in 2015.  It’s a hushed chapel that baths you in color. Amen.

Ellsworth Kelly’s Austin at the Blanton Museum of Art                                        photo ©Jamie Hogan

The afternoon forecast called for a tornado watch. Marty and I went in search of a local paper on foot, but the black sky sent us back empty-handed. The weather held on through happy hour, and then we ventured over to the Congress Avenue  Bridge for the infamous flight of the colony of Mexican Free Tailed bats who live beneath the bridge. What a crowd in waiting!

Awaiting the bats in Austin                                                                                  photo ©Jamie Hogan

Unfortunately the sky finally let go, and severe thunderstorms began, sending us and many others for cover. No bat sightings this trip.

On Wednesday, we bid Kathy farewell and made the long trek home, where my stash of her colorful block prints will keep her close.

Block prints by Kathy Mahoney                                                                                                                                                 photo ©Jamie Hogan

I painted a spread in my recycled sketchbook in her honor. Kathy is a walking hootenanny and terrifically talented to boot. Thanks for hosting our giddy up good times in Austin!

recycled sketchbook mixed media                                                                                                                                           ©Jamie Hogan