Recent Articles
DIY Friendship Bracelets
Grab your best friend and some yarn and learn this simple Friendship Bracelet pattern with best friends (since diapers), Lily Kate and Diamond! Can’t see your friend today? Make them at home and mail them to each other!
Way Back Wednesday: A Cup of Coffee from the History Collection
It’s #FriendshipWeek and we are sharing with you, our friends, some very cheery #waybackwednesday friends from the History Collection. Imagine all of the friendly conversations that occurred in the Hotel Grace/Drake Coffee Shop over the years. And no two objects go together quite like a cup and a saucer! Who are your friends you share a cup of coffee with downtown today – maybe at Monks Coffee Shop or Front Porch Coffee Co. & Bakery?
Tie-Dye Friendship Shirt DIY
It’s #FriendshipWeek and what better way to begin than with tie-dye friendship shirts! This is a fun project you can make with your friend – even if they are far away.
Technology Tuesday: Before iPhone, Paul Sokal
It’s TECHNOLOGY Tuesday for our #STEAMWeek and we are featuring some analog wonders that changed the world – now all completely contained in smartphones! Watch at the end for your own DIY analog activity!
The Parramore Sketches
Today is the #dayofthecowboy! This week we have been building to this point with glimpses into authentic ranch life in our unique area of the world. We are wrapping up with The Parramore Sketches by Dock Dilworth Parramore.
Film Friday: Robb Kendrick
It’s time for the second photographer in our #FilmFriday double feature as part of our Week of the American Cowboy. It is safe to say that perhaps no one captures the spirit, depth, and authenticity of the Texas contemporary working cowboy than Robb Kendrick. Take a look at these beautiful tintypes from the Revealing Character monograph that were exhibited in 2014 as part of the Home on the Range exhibitions at The Grace Museum. All images are from the collection the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University.
Film Friday: June Van Cleef
It’s #FilmFriday during the Week of the American Cowboy and we are highlighting a double feature of photographers who capture ranch life and all it’s manifestations and in a beautiful and true way. First up is June Redford Van Cleef. Hear about her work in her own words – illustrated with the beautiful works from the photography collection of The Grace Museum. All works shown are gelatin silver prints and a Gift of the Artist – to the collection.
Smith’s Station on the Butterfield Overland Stagecoach Line
The Story of the Butterfield Stage and Smith’s Station on Chimney Creek Ranch in Taylor County, Texas. The Butterfield Overland Mail Trail ran from about 1858 to 1861 on a route that began in either Memphis or St. Louis and terminated in San Francisco carrying passengers and U. S. Mail. Learn more in this video, courtesy of Ted and Hank Paup.
Way Back Wednesday: The Decline of the Great Texas Herd with Tom Perini
Tom Perini, buffalo and Texas historian and owner of the famous Perini Ranch Steakhouse, discusses the Great Texas Buffalo Herd and the ultimate demise and the various contributing factors as well as the important role that Buffalo Gap has played in the history of Central West Texas.
Ranching Heritage: A Family Business
Cattle ranching has been a major Texas industry for nearly three centuries. As early as the 1690s the Spaniards brought in stock with their entradas. Ranching as such dates from the 1730s, when herds were loosed along the San Antonio River to feed missionaries, soldiers, and civilians in the San Antonio and Goliad areas (Handbook of Texas). Meet the Nail, Kleberg, and Montgomery families as they share their family history of ranching in Texas.
Home on the Range: Where the Prairie Meets the Plains in Central West Texas
This Saturday is the National Day of the American Cowboy – so to celebrate – The Grace Museum and our JOLI partners are honoring real cowboys and cowboy culture all week! Hear from four true American (and Texan) cowboys in this video from one of our favorite past exhibits, Home on the Range. Featuring: John Matthews – Lambshead Ranch, Phil Guitar – Guitar Ranches, Arlon Baize – Working Cowboy, and Boots O’Neal – 6666 Ranch.
Still Life in Photography: Laura Pickett Calfee
Since the mid-1990s Calfee has photographed homes occupied by the same families for generations focusing on casually arranged mementos, lovingly used objects and telltale signs of previous owners. The intimate photographs illuminate the significance of the fading tradition of holding on to the home place and caring for objects handed down from generation to generation. The subtly-hued photographs place one or more specific objects into small carefully composed vignettes.
Grant Wood 3D Landscape Art Activity
Learn about American Regionalist artist, Grant Wood, and make your own 3D landscape work of art! Supplies: long sheet of paper, pencil, scissors, glue/tape, crayons/colored pencils/paint/markers
Reid Crowell – Farm and Ranch
It’s #WayBackWednesday and we have a really interesting Agriculture + Art + History connection to share for #FromFlowersToFoodWeek!
Staff Picks: Annemarie picks La Luz Sunrise by Peter Hurd
Children’s Programming Coordinator, Annmarie Holder shares why she picked La Luz Sunrise by Peter Hurd as one of her favorite pieces from The Grace Museum’s permanent Art Collection.
Tot Spot: Mail-A-Hug
Families – it’s Tot Spot Time and today we are learning about Lithography and artist Jerry Bywaters and then making a HUG to send in the mail to someone who needs it! The supplies you will need are: Large Piece of Paper, large envelope, pencil, markers/crayons/paint, scissors (for the adults). Supply kits can also be picked-up from The Grace Museum in our lobby!