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More than 40 years ago, Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Eagles Head Coach Dick Vermeil labeled local artist Joe Venditti as the "Official Painting Coach" of the team.

In 1979, Venditti was working at the Sign Shack, his art store at Oregon Avenue and Percy Street in South Philadelphia, when a man came into the shop with an offer that the artist could not refuse.

Stanley "Bow Wow" Wojtkiewicz, a publicist for the Eagles, asked Venditti if he would be interested in painting for the team.

Venditti started by painting signs around the training facility and doing any small job that the organization needed.

That stemmed into a bigger opportunity for Venditti, who was then asked to design game balls and ultimately paint the field.

"It was so cool," said Danielle Venditti Hurd, Joe's daughter. "It made us feel like we were somebody. I was in grade school at the time, so I felt like a big shot."

Venditti was known for delicately painting commemorative game balls with Kelly Green paint and the vintage Eagles logo.

The Sign Shack owner would paint all the footballs at his shop. Game balls would be given out to players, coaches, and staff members after big games. In 1980, after the Eagles beat the Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game, Vermeil ordered 138 game balls, one for every member of the organization including Joe.

Eagles Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie received a game ball from Venditti after purchasing the team in 1994. United States President George H. W. Bush is the owner of one as well.

Excerpt from:

Joe Venditti's legacy as the Eagles' 'Official Painting Coach' lives on - PhiladelphiaEagles.com

The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens announced that it has acquired a historic portrait by Spanish master Francisco Jos de Goya y Lucientes (Goya) (17461828). Portrait of Jos Antonio Caballero, Second Marqus de Caballero, Secretary of Grace and Justice was painted in 1807, a time when Goya was renowned for his portraits of the Spanish nobility and just before the Napoleonic invasion of Spain profoundly altered the nature of his later work. While The Huntington holds a number of Goyas etchings and aquatints, Portrait of Jos Antonio Caballero is the first Spanish oil painting to join The Huntingtons art collection and will complement its extensive holdings of Library materials on Spanish imperial history. The paintingwhich will go on view in the Huntington Art Gallery on Nov. 29, 2023is The Huntingtons third masterpiece acquired through a gift from The Ahmanson Foundation.

Once again, The Ahmanson Foundation has proven to be an invaluable strategic partner, helping us reach our goals of broadening our collections with significant works and inviting new, interdisciplinary connections, Huntington President Karen R. Lawrence said. We couldnt be more grateful to them for making possible the acquisition of such a superb and historically significant masterpiece.

Considered one of the last Old Masters and one of the first and most influential great modern painters, Goya was celebrated during his lifetime for his ability to capture his subjects innermost personalities as well as their grandeur and political poweralbeit with what has been perceived as an occasional layer of satire. He is also acclaimed for his virtuosic painterly style; flickering, impressionistic brushwork; and, in his later years, revolutionary subject matter.

Trained in Madrid and inspired by travels in Rome, Goya became a Spanish court painter in 1786, and he soon became known for such royal and aristocratic portraits as Portrait of Jos Antonio Caballero. But after the 1808 French invasion of Spain that began the Napoleonic Wars, Goya turned his artistic attention to portraying the horrors of war in paintings and prints.

Portrait of Jos Antonio Caballero is historically fascinating and a prime example of Goyas genius as a portraitist, said Christina Nielsen, the Hannah and Russel Kully Director of the Art Museum at The Huntington. Along with the exquisite French portrait by lisabeth Louise Vige Le Brun acquired with The Ahmanson Foundation last year, it will add an important international perspective to our outstanding collection of 17th- and early 18th-century British portraits.

The Ahmanson Foundation funded The Huntingtons acquisition of Portrait of Joseph Hyacinthe Franois-de-Paule de Rigaud, comte de Vaudreuil (ca. 1784) by Vige Le Brun (17551842), the most important female artist of 18th-century France, in 2022, and the monumental Portage Falls on the Genesee (ca. 1839) by Anglo American painter Thomas Cole (18011848) in 2021.

The sitter in the Goya painting, Jos Antonio Caballero (17541821), was from the minor nobility in Spain. He studied law and went on to a successful career in the royal court, holding four secretary positions. His accomplishments included convincing King Charles IV of Spain to conduct a vaccination campaign against smallpox that extended to the Spanish territories in North and South America and Asia. Goya painted the portrait when Caballero was the secretary of state and had just inherited the title of Marquis de Caballero from his uncle.

In the portrait, Caballero is depicted in a highly decorated ministerial uniform and seated in a red armchair. His black coat and bright red waistcoat are extensively embroidered with gold decoration. He looks directly at the viewer, conveying a sense of stature and power, with his right hand at his waist and his left hand holding papers. A powder-blue-and-white sash is draped across his chest, pinned with the Order of the Grand Cross of Charles III. The bright white insignia of a knight of the Order of Santiago is pinned to his coat.

Portrait of Jos Antonio Caballero will be installed in the Huntington Art Gallery, the former residence of founders Henry E. and Arabella Huntington, in a paneled room that was once Henry Huntingtons private office.

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The Huntington Acquires Historic Portrait by Renowned Spanish ... - The South Pasadenan

This is a love story.

Multiple love stories, actually.

They begin with Susan Fuller Palmer, a newly minted docent at Philbrook Museum of Art.She never does anything lackadaisically.She catapulted from being a personal trainer to owning Firm by Susan Fuller, one of Tulsas earliest fitness centers. In preparation for a trip to France, she took college French classes and also became a certified sommelier in French wines.

So naturally she began her volunteer work at Philbrook with the ardor of a new love affair.

Susan Fuller Palmer with "The Little Sheperdess."

Palmer fell in love with The Little Shepherdess, an 1889 painting by William-

Adolphe Bouguereau. For decades the painting has been a pillar of the Philbrook collection and a longtime favorite of visitors, says Susan Green, who holds the solemn Philbrook title of Marcia Manhart endowed associate curator for contemporary art and design, who fizzes and bubbles with enthusiasm for art. Children copy the shepherdess costume for Halloween, Green says, and visitors mimic her pose.

And then Palmer noticed in tiny, tiny lettering on the identifying plaque that the painting was part of the Laura Clubb Collection. Who was Laura Clubb? What was her collection?

For information, she went to the Philbrook library and archives to research with the help of Saige Blanchard, library and collection information specialist. There she discovered another love story.

Laura Abigail Rutherford was born in 1873 in Missouri. Her father came to Oklahoma Territory for the Run of 1889 and the family lived near Kingfisher. She was a 16-year-old teacher in a one-room, sod schoolhouse when she met a cowboy from the neighboring claim, Ike Clubb, 10 years older and wearing a 10-gallon Stetson. Two years later they married. He was no more than a boy when he left home in Arkansas to drive cattle herds. He wanted his own spread and was building his own herd. They moved to a corner of Osage and Kay Counties, acquired 1,280 acres of grassland and buckled down to the hard pioneer life.

Laura continued to teach school and as a ranchers wife, cooked for the ranch hands and ran the ranch alone when Ike was away on cattle business. She took the weak, sickly calves Ike culled from the herd, fattened them to health and sold them back to him at $3 each. With that money and what she made selling chickens, eggs and butter, the 33-year-old woman who had been married 14 years went back to college in 1906 at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. In 1908, she joined her much younger graduating class on a European tour of museums and galleries and saw, for the first time, great works of art.

Back home she taught oratory at Oklahoma State Baptist College in Blackwell. They kept the ranch, but moved into the town of Kaw City when their three adopted children were school age, and there she took in boarders.

Laura Clubb in 1906

Ike chose a prime tract of grassland in Kay County, but someone with political connections rookie-dooed him out of it, so he settled for an adjacent tract nobody wanted. (Authors note: His leases were not illegally obtained Osage land. I checked.) In 1920 oil! Frank Phillips said Ikes 80-acre tract was the richest in the (Burbank) Field. The tract he first chose had no oil.

In what seems a remarkable marriage of equality for the time, Ike and Laura agreed to split the oil profits 50-50. Ike used his share to buy more land and cattle, Arabian horses, an orchard in Texas and to develop Kaw City where in 1924 he built a four-story hotel at a cost of $136,600 $2.3 million in todays cash equivalent.

Laura spent her oil money on art.

She had pinched pennies; now she bought rare books, antiques and fine linen. Paintings were her first love and she bought hundreds of them, accumulating one of the finest private collections of American and European paintings in the world. Much of her collection was European (Joshua Reynolds,

Bartolom Esteban Murillo, John Constable, William Hart) but she also bought Oklahoma paintings (Nan Sheets, Frederick W. Becker, Oscar Jacobson, Emil W. Lenders) and other Americans (George Inness, Thomas Moran). She owned more Moran paintings than any collector and filled two hotel rooms with them, including her favorite, Grand Canyon.

The Clubbs decorated their new home in Kaw City floor to ceiling with paintings until the art overflowed into the Clubb Hotel and filled it. The one-street town with a peak population of 1,001 became famous for Lauras art collection.

Hotel residents could rent a room for $2 a night, spend 75 cents for a meal in the dining room and look at a $50,000 Thomas Gainsborough (Milking Time) for nothing. People from all over the world streamed through the hotel, open 24 hours a day, free of charge to see the art. Sundays drew 500-1,000 people. If they wanted more information, Laura took off her apron and walked over to the hotel to give a private tour. Newspaper reporters described her as charming, gracious and motherly. She certainly looked it with her puff of white hair and a figure as soft and round as a pudding.

Laura had always been vivacious and outgoing with a beautiful voice and a gift for storytelling. Ike was a quiet, dyed-in-the-wool cowboy who loved his horses and never learned to drive a car because the contraption didnt understand Whoa there. He was a member of the Cherokee Strip Cowpunchers Association, friends with Gordon W. Pawnee Bill Lillie and Zack Miller of the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch. Sometimes he and other old cowpokes retreated to a private space at the hotel filled with a buffalo hide and cowboy memorabilia and sipped snake medicine. When Laura bought a pastoral painting by mile van Marcke for $12,000, he laughed, For that amount I could have bought a train car of cattle. But he was proud of her and her accomplishment. Laura never learned to drive either; she had a chauffeur.

As she aged, Laura made plans to secure her collection after her death. She was a pioneer who loved Oklahoma and wanted it to stay in Oklahoma, said her granddaughter Annette Pittman, now 92 and living in Texas. Laura offered the collection to Ponca City, but town fathers said they would accept it only if she built a building for it. She was so disgusted, she got up and left, Pittman says.

Laura tried to loan it to Oklahoma Citys new Historical Society, but the official in charge, former Gov. Robert L. Williams made a fuss, Laura said, about insuring it. He thought a fireproof building with guards on duty was sufficient safety.

Philbrook hosted a dinner for Laura Clubb (pictured upper left) when she donated her collection.

And so, in 1947, she donated 86 paintings, and many rare books, to the young Philbrook Museum of Art, a gift to the city of Tulsa by Waite and Genevieve Phillips that had opened eight years earlier. It was transformative, one of the museums largest gifts and, according to Thomas Young, Philbrooks librarian/assistant registrar, the backbone of the museums collection. Some reports said its appraised value was about $1.5 million (almost $14 million in todays purchasing power). Philbrook kept some paintings and sold others to fund upgrading its collection. Philbrook still has 59 paintings from the Clubb Collection.

One painting not included in her donation was Christ and the Childrenby Franck Kirchbach, a public favorite. At 9.5 feet by 12.5 feet, it covered an entire wall of the hotel. In 1950, she agreed to sell it to a group of Tulsans Mrs. Eugene Lorton, Mrs. F. B. Parriott and Mr. and Mrs. John Zinke who bought it for Philbrook. Young speaks reverentially of that long-dead generation. This is the third love story: community-minded citizens with a love for a cultural institution.

Philbrook was managed at the time by Victor C. Hurt, a former football coach (Oklahoma Baptist University and University of Tulsa) known as the gentleman coach. With more public decorum than art knowledge, he had clothing painted on the naked children in the painting. Laura hit the ceiling, her granddaughter said, and made them repaint it.

Years later during a renovation, the massive painting was taken down, stored and eventually sold. By 1952, another painting from the Clubb Collection rose to take its place in popularity: The Little Shepherdess.

Philbrook Museum vistors view William-Adolphe Bouguereaus "The Little Shepherdess."

Each February, Philbrook visitors are given a paper heart to lay on the floor below their favorite work of art, curator Green says. Some tear their heart into pieces to spread the love around. In recent years, Kehinde Wileys Equestrian Portrait of Philip IV, a 2017 acquisition, has received the most hearts. The Little Shepherdess is a close second. Last year, a top contender was Worthington Whittredges Morning in the Woods, another painting from the Clubb Collection. Laura had an eye for art, Green says, and a heart for art.

Laura died Jan. 13, 1952, at age 78. Ike had died four months earlier. In the late 1960s, with the Arkansas Rivers Kaw Dam near completion, Ikes beloved hotel was demolished and Kaw City was flooded.

The hotel is gone, the original town is gone, only Lauras paintings live on in fact and in the hearts of the public.

So does docent Palmers love affair with Laura Clubb, Bouguereaus shepherdess and Philbrook. Being among the museums collection, she says, takes me out of my daily routine and into an alternate universe.

The museum loves its docents right back. They are crucial, says Melissa Ski, manager of tours and school programs, vital to our mission and some of the most dedicated people I have worked with. I say that out of my heart. That is the fifth love story.

Link:

An Oklahoma love story: How an early Oklahoman's collection of ... - tulsapeople.com

FORT WORTH Escaping the winter chill with an hours pleasurable immersion in the warm light and color of France is reason enough although by no means the only reason to visit the Kimbell Art Museums exhibition of 70 paintings by Pierre Bonnard.

Bonnard whose long career lasted from the late 19th century until his death in 1947 was known for his intense, saturated color, which is on vibrant display in the Kimbells Piano Pavilion. Like the 19th-century post-impressionists Gauguin and Van Gogh, Bonnard exploited colors subjective, emotional aspect. His vibrant gardens and voluptuous bathtub scenes teem with vital energy; looking at them is like peering into a rainforest or sauna that radiates the heat and light of life.

The paintings colors are so punchy, in fact, that it is easy to overlook another fine aspect of Bonnards work: his genius for composition. Each picture is filled with carefully arranged details that reward close attention.

The paintings corners and edges, for example, are often enriched with small bonus figures that provide a counterpoint to the main subject, such as the cat at the bottom of The Open Window (1921) and Fruit and Fruit Dishes (1930). The unity and graceful balance of each composition also make it easy to overlook just how many disparate elements the artist has integrated into the overall scheme. Try to count, for example, how many different plants are visible in The Garden (1937), or how many different buildings are rendered in the townscape of The Palm (1926).

The seed of the present exhibition was planted when the Kimbell acquired Landscape at Le Cannet (1928) in 2018. This grandly panoramic, 9-foot-wide painting inspired curator George Shackelford, the Kimbells deputy director, to put together a show celebrating Bonnard, whose talents have often been overshadowed by more ostentatious artists like Picasso or Matisse.

Shackelford has organized the exhibition not by chronology or geography but by the different spaces, or worlds, that Bonnard evoked on canvas. Each gallery in the exhibition is devoted to a particular kind of space, beginning with the most public (the landscapes of Paris, Normandy and the French Riviera) and ending with the most private (bedrooms, bathrooms and self-portraits).

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Although the organization makes it a challenge to keep track of where, geographically, each painting originated, it shows how strikingly consistent Bonnards vision was. All the different landscapes have been assimilated to the artists aesthetic, yet without losing their detail.

Like so many modern painters, he turned away from grand subjects of history or mythology in favor of direct personal experience. The results are powerful, but it can be unsettling to realize that neither World War I nor World War II, whose battles raged not far from Bonnards homes, made any evident impact on his work. For such reasons, Bonnard and painters like him have occasionally been accused of escapism.

The journey from public to private also highlights the psychological aspect of Bonnards work. His scenes tend to have a certain amount of ambiguity, even hints of mystery. For all the wealth of color and detail in his settings, Bonnard can be reticent about the personal details of the people we find in them details of identity, context and personality.

For example, Marthe de Mligny was Bonnards model and life partner for almost 50 years. (They married in 1925, halfway through that period.) De Mligny is present throughout the show, and her iconic nude figure dominates the stage in its penultimate, highly intimate section. Yet her personality remains hidden.

This hiddenness gives an ironic twist to the term intimism, coined to describe the aptitude for interior scenes shown by Bonnard and douard Vuillard. Although viewers are shown the most private places in the artists home, the souls of those who live there remain closed off. The last section of the show, devoted to a few careful self-portraits, modifies, but does not entirely dispel, this impression.

Bonnards Worlds will be seen only in two cities: Fort Worth and Washington, D.C., at the Phillips Collection, whose founder Duncan Phillips was among Bonnards first American champions. The exhibitions quality is a reminder that the Kimbells prowess extends well beyond the Old Masters into the field of modern art, and that it is well worth a trip to visit.

Bonnards Worlds continues through Jan. 28 at the Kimbell Art Museum, 3333 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth. kimbellart.org.

Artist Felipe Velez linked his passions for welding and abstract art and founded his company AperZaper.

The free screening is from a partnership between The Modern, the Lone Star Film Festival and the Fort Worth Film Commission.

Everything is more expensive these days, but experiencing arts and culture in North Texas doesnt have to be. Thats why we put together this list so you dont break the bank.

Houston-based artist Ryan Hawk's work is on display at Sweet Pass Sculpture Park, a surprise clearing among woods and gritty West Dallas commercial buildings.

Read the rest here:

Pierre Bonnards paintings brim with vitality in Kimbell exhibition - The Dallas Morning News

The Adel Public Library has a couple of events happening later this week.

Patron Services Manager Amy Puck says the Teen Painting Contest will take place on Thursday from 4-5pm. Any 6th-12th grader is invited to free-hand paint one of three holiday-themed creations. Puck points out that artwork will then be on display in the young adult section of the library.

Well, well have the paintings available so that patrons can vote on their favorite painting. And then well notify the winner once the voting will be done, which will be early the following week.

Puck adds the prizes of food and entertainment, along with some holiday items as well will be included.

Another event is happening on Friday to kick-off the Adel Partners Chamber Hometown Holiday Celebration. Puck says on Friday from 1-3pm will be when their activities take place.

We will have cookies and treats. We will have different types of seasonal games and some crafts for the kids to do. Well also have Mrs. Claus here twisting balloon creations for people. And then just all kinds of other fun stuff, (including) they can wander through the library (and) they can still check out books because we will be open for the day.

Puck says both the Teen Painting Contest and Fridays activities are free and no registration is required.

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Adel Library to Host Teen Painting Contest and Hometown Holiday ... - Raccoon Valley Radio

"For more than a decade, Rubber Larry's iconic painting has encouraged viewers to see a bullfight from the victim's perspective and consider how it would feel to be lanced, stabbed, and killed in front of a screaming crowd," says PETA Foundation Senior Vice President Steve Kehrli.

To view "The Bullfighter Dies" Video:https://www.youtube.com/shorts/R4OqqNnqv04

To view the auction item and bid:Rubber Larry (b. 1962) The Bullfighter Dies Original Painting

Rubber Larry's love for animals motivated him to create animal revenge art, as a protest of worldwide animal abuse. He originally intended the painting to be a kind of a protest flag to hang in public. One plan was to gatecrash a Bullfighting arena and hang it in plain view, but in hindsight that would not have ended well. He ended up keeping it, photographed it, and shared it with the world. In 2015 Larry amended the title of the painting to 'The Bullfighter Dies' to honor Morrissey. In a written statement, Larry wrote "This would not be the iconic piece that it is, if it weren't for PETA's tenacity and unstoppable passion and compassion. They are relentless and fight like hell for the well being of animals. It was PETA who brought Morrissey and the painting together and it was Morrissey who made it indelible by marrying it with beautiful music".

About Artist and Sculptor Rubber Larry

Art is in his blood. Born into a long line of European artists, California native Rubber Larry aka Larry Torro was a prodigy since he could crawl. With no formal schooling he was sculpting, sketching, and selling stunning portraits at age 9 thanks to his father's coaxing. In his late teens he was producing prototypes for licensed merchandising companies, creating t-shirts, Halloween masks, and corporate logos. He created the successful Miami Mice parody t-shirt.

He landed at Warner Bros. Studios for the next few years lending his talents to such projects as Batman Returns, Full House, The Office, Hawaii 5-0, and Lethal Weapon2. He eventually left and went freelance but is still a hired gun for the studio system and Hollywood talent including Disney, Clint Eastwood, The Lakers, Lucasfilm, and Apple TV. He made headlines when he created a mask of then Senator Barack Obama, who ended up wearing it himself as he made his entrance on the infamous Saturday Night Live Halloween episode. Not one to shy from adventure, the performance artist Larry will occasionally punk crowds at public events with his realistic masks posing as celebrities.

About PETA

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the world, and PETA entities have more than 9 million members and supporters globally. PETA works through public education, investigative newsgathering and reporting, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement, and protest campaigns to advocate in behalf of animals who are used and abused in laboratories, the food industry, the clothing trade, and the entertainment business. The organization also works on a variety of other issues, including the cruel killing of rodents, birds, and other animals who are often considered "pests" as well as cruelty to domesticated animals.

"For more than a decade, Rubber Larry's iconic painting has encouraged viewers to see a bullfight from the victim's perspective and consider how it would feel to be lanced, stabbed, and killed in front of a screaming crowd," says PETA Foundation Senior Vice President Steve Kehrli. "PETA and animals are lucky to have Larry's tremendous talent and generous support on our side."

About Bonhams

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's largest and most renowned auctioneers, offering fine art and collectables, collectors' cars, and a luxury division, which includes jewellery, designer fashion, watches, wine, and whisky. In 2021 and 2022, Bonhams made a number of important acquisitions which form the wider Bonhams network. These include: Bukowskis, Bruun Rasmussen, Bonhams Skinner, Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr and The Market by Bonhams.

There are 14 salerooms around the globe: UK: New Bond Street, London; Knightsbridge, London; Edinburgh. US: New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Marlborough. Hong Kong: Admiralty. France: Avenue Hoche, Paris; Rue de la Paix, Paris. Belgium: Brussels; Denmark: Copenhagen. Sweden: Stockholm and Australia: Sydney.

With a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 22 countries, Bonhams offers advice and valuation services in 60+ specialist areas.

To view the auction and bid:Bonhams : Pop Culture Then & Now

Media Contact

Mark Politi, Bonahams and PETA, 1 4242487250, [emailprotected], https://www.bonhams.com

SOURCE Bonahams and PETA

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PETA to Auction off the Iconic Anti Bullfighting Painting "The ... - PR Web

Published 3:52 pm Thursday, November 30, 2023

Four Isle of Wight County schools are the first in Hampton Roads to participate in the Virginia Department of Transportations Paint the Plow initiative.

The program, which entails having students paint snow plows during the fall offseason, is intended as a means of promoting safe driving in winter.

Painting the snowplows brings more notice to them when theyre on the road; it provides a unique, hands-on experience for students, county Transportation Coordinator Julie Boswell told Isle of Wights supervisors on Nov. 16.

The plows arrived at Smithfield Middle School, Smithfield High, Georgie D. Tyler Middle and Windsor High, on Oct. 15, giving students enrolled in art courses at each school just over a month to cover VDOTs standard bright orange paint with a design of their choosing. VDOT collected the plows on Nov. 17 and is displaying the completed designs outside the countys government complex on Monument Circle this week.

One of the plows, painted by Georgie D. Tyler students, now sports a Christmas snow scene and the town of Windsors heart of Isle of Wight slogan. Another painted by Smithfield High School students, in a nod to the schools Packer Pig mascot and the towns centuries-long association with meatpacking, features an image of Santas sleigh being pulled by a team of hogs.

The public will have additional opportunities to view the plows during Smithfields and Windsors Christmas parades.

All four will be in each parade, according to Boswell and IWCS spokeswoman Lynn Briggs.

The Windsor parade is set for 4 p..m. on Dec. 2, beginning on Holland Drive and continuing down Roberts Avenue, Church Street and Duke Street.

The Smithfield parade is set for 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 9, starting at the west end of Main Street and continuing downtown through Mason, Grace and James streets.

Parade organizers for each town have created a special judging category this year for best plow.

Isle of Wight County will also set up online voting for the public to select a peoples choice winner.

Photos of the other plows are below:

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Isle of Wight students 'paint the plow' - Smithfield Times - Smithfield Times

Welcome home to this peaceful Sioux Canyon hillside retreat. This 6 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom, 4,032 sq ft home is built backing up to the hills with 360 degree views to die for. This fully electric home features all main areas on the main floor with 2,000 sq ft of additional living space in the basement. The basement has 2 bedrooms with new egress windows, a full bath, living space, utility and storage areas, and is partially unfinished and ready for your creative design to make it exactly what you are looking for. The basement sliding doors lead to a patio off the front of the home with amazing views looking out between the hills. The kitchen features a cooktop island, new refrigerator, dishwasher and countertops all installed in the last 2 years. The backyard features a pond with a water feature, firepit area, pergola with electricity, garden, chicken coop and beautiful hillside views with frequent deer and turkey visitors. This property also has an additional electric meter out by the pond at the front of the driveway if you would like to add a property gate. This home is only 15 miles from North Platte, in the Maxwell school district and only 1.5 miles of unpaved road to the home off State Farm Rd. Come see this beauty before it is gone! Taxes: $4,973.30 Address: 10044 S. Sioux Canyon Lane, Maxwell, NE 69151 County: Lincoln

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6 Bedroom Home in Maxwell - $515,000 - North Platte Telegraph

By DAN GEDDINGS Sumter outdoors columnist

It started as an idea. I wanted to build something that would be unique. My plan included a core area that could be added to over time with minimal disturbance. I made a rough sketch on a scrap of paper at lunch one day. It would be my design for a waterfowl aviary.

An aviary is defined as an enclosure where birds have a large enough living space where they can fly around. Aviaries usually contain plants and shrubbery to simulate a natural environment. Waterfowl aviaries will also contain a pond.

My plan would include the largest pond that I've ever built. It would be concrete and include an underground drainage system. Aviary ponds can be built with liners and rocks or with concrete. Dirt ponds are not practical, as they are hard to keep clean and maintain. I've collected some large limbs and driftwood pieces that will be placed in the pond for the ducks to perch on.

Once I had my plan, the first task was to lay out the site. Ginger helped me measure and stake out the corners. I made a few revisions and restaked the site. The outside dimensions for the core area were set at 44 feet by 36 feet. The pond would be 32 feet by 28 feet.

Next, I rented an excavator and installed a 4-inch drain pipe from our small natural pond to the corner of the aviary pond. I spraypainted the shape of the pond on the ground within the staked area and excavated the pond shape about 2 feet deep. I piled the excavated dirt outside of the staked area to use as future backfill.

The soils at the site are very poor and subject to shrinkage and expansion, so I lined the pond excavation with 3 to 4 inches of clean commercial sand. I placed the sand with my tractor and shaped it by hand with a shovel. I sprayed the sand down with water and compacted it with a homemade tamp. I installed a cleanout at the lowest point with the top of the cleanout 3 inches above the compacted sand.

A concrete contractor formed the top edge then poured and finished the concrete with a broom finish. Over the years, I've built many duck ponds myself, but this one was just too big for me to do by myself. The pond job turned out excellent. I sprayed the pond down several times a day for at least 10 days to give the concrete time to set without cracking. I've filled and drained the pond a few times to make sure there is no problem with the drainage.

Next, to install the frame for the fencing, I bought 4-by-4 posts and rented a gas-powered auger. The soils here are hard, and the auger was a necessity. Ginger helped me install the posts that were bedded with ready-mix concrete. The posts were set at different spacings to allow for my future additions and enable the use of dimensional lumber to minimize waste. I used 12-foot posts through the center and 8-foot posts around the perimeter. I bought 2-by-6s to go around the top of the post and give the fencing some stability. I rented a scaffold to install the lumber in the center. My son Clayton helped me install the lumber. The taller posts and lumber through the center give the aviary a very distinctive look.

I ordered 1/2-inch by 1/2-inch vinyl-coated wire from a manufacturer in New Jersey for the sides and 1-inch heavy-duty knotted netting from a company in Pennsylvania for the top of the aviary. I wanted to do everything I could to exclude predators like foxes, raccoons and snakes. I've used 2-inch wire before, and it doesn't keep anything out.

Clayton helped me install the netting. We had to use a rope to pull the netting over the top of the aviary, and I was very pleased with the result. There is some netting left over that I will use for future expansions. Next, we will start with the fencing and gates.

When the fencing is finished, I will place the limbs and driftwood and plant some ornamental grasses and plants. Hopefully I can get some ducks before next spring. I'll probably start with some mallards then add some of the more exotic types like mandarins and teal. They will be full winged and I hope happy in the new aviary. I've kept ducks for nearly 60 years, so I think I'll be happy, too.

Reach Dan Geddings at cdgeddings@gmail.com.

Excerpt from:
Sumter outdoors columnist Dan Geddings: Building the aviary - The Sumter Item

Lecture room and library at sketch London designed by Tony Marklew. Photo: Courtesy of sketch London

The Glade at sketch London designed by JamJar Flowers. Photo: Courtesy of sketch London

Famed Mayfair restaurant Sketch London has added yet another reason why its one of the most memorable spaces across the pond. Through early January, the legendary hot spot hosts its annual White Winter exhibition, where four floral designers and longtime collaborators have created striking installations across each space of the restaurant. In the welcoming reception area, Rebel Rebel Flowers drew inspiration from author Robert Frosts renowned poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, where a combination of larch branches, woodland flora, and bed of Limonium blooms provide guests a romantic welcome. Within the three Michelin-starred restaurants lecture room and library, a Surrealist tree adorned with crystals crafted by Tony Marklew dazzles guests, while in the heart of The Glade, JamJar Flowers designed a cloudlike structure made of flowers and leaves that float above. Finally, on top of the East Bar and Pods, Ricky Paul installed a larger-than-life snow globe surrounded by frosted pine and asparagus fern to finish the evening in a true picture-ready wonderland experience. Shelby Black

Louis Vuitton's debut collection of porcelain tableware. Photo: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

Twist glassware from Louis Vuitton's debut collection of tableware. Photo: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuittons iconic motifs appears on myriad luxury goodsfrom handbags and luggage to fashion and jewelry. Now, the maison has introduced its first collection of tableware, rendering its longstanding Monogram flower onto an array of porcelain plates, platters, bowls, cups, and saucers. The cerulean designs celebrate lart de vivre, adding a casual elegance to afternoon tea or elevating an evening meal with a sophisticated medly of patterns. Of course, no ensemble is complete without artfully arresting accessories. This debut dining collection also includes the sculptural Twist glassesavailable in emerald, ruby, amber, and sapphire jewel tones as well as an icy clear option, its form emanating from a solitary flower in an exuberant cyclone shapeand the matching flower carafes, a more gentle interpretation of the symbol, ideal for those made-by-nature blooms. Jill Sieracki

Originally launched in Miamis Design District in 2021, Major Food Groups ZZs Club has just opened a New York City outpost. Co-founded by Jeff Zalaznick, Mario Carbone, and Rich Torrisi, the exclusive dining destination is now bringing its tailored brand of hospitality and exceptional culinary programming to Hudson Yards. Complete with culinary concierges that procure the rarest ingredients, from vintage wine to rare mushrooms, the luxurious two-floor space was designed by Galerie Creative Mind, Ken Fulk, and houses two new restaurantsthe namesake Japanese restaurant ZZs and the Italian staple, Carbone Privato. The opulent interiors of the club boast a collection of artworks curated by gallerist Vito Schnabel, featuring major blue-chip artists such as Andy Warhol, Francesco Clemente, and Rita Ackermann. Says Fulk: At the edge of Manhattan, members are whisked into another worlda European adventure where gilded luxury meets the tropical glamor of the Amalfi Coast. Stefanie Li

Invite-Only table by Annie Mandelkern for ABC Stone. Photo: Courtesy of ABC Stone

Character-Building side table by Annie Mandelkern for ABC Stone. Photo: Courtesy of ABC Stone

The painterly beauty of stone is hard to resist. The earthy colors and organic veining patterns can transform even a basic slab into a visually stunning work of art. Thats why ABC Stone is currently mounting a selling exhibition of unique furnishings carved from various examples of onyx, Calacatta Monet, Arabascato Corchia, and other scene-stealing marbles, designed by artist Annie Mandelkern. Entitled Sketch Artist, the installation of 16 sculptural tables, consoles, benches, and mirrors made in collaboration with Marble Line is on display at ABC Stones Brooklyn event space through the end of the year, presented against and equally glamorous backdrop of Fromental wallpapers. J.S.

The Impossible Collection of Art. Photo: Courtesy of Assouline

The Impossible Collection of Art. Photo: Courtesy of Assouline

Its been 15 years since internationally renowned art dealers Philippe Sgalot and Franck Giraud first curated the ideal modern art collection, in which money was no object and there were no boundaries or restrictions. The 100 masterpieces featured, which are either tied up in museum collections or deep in private collectors vaults, form an incredible overview of the most important artistic achievements of the 20th century. Now, the pair have updated their handsome book for a second edition, with 11 new works from artists including Henri Rousseau, Man Ray, Marlene Dumas, Kerry James Marshall, and Elizabeth Peyton. Lucy Rees

The MPavilion 10, designed by Tadao Ando. Photo: John Gollings courtesy of MPavilion

Pritzker Prizewinning architect Tadao Ando has planted his flag in Australia with the debut of this years MPavilion in Melbournes Queen Victoria Gardens, marking his first structure Down Under. Known for lyrical buildings made of concrete, the Japan-based luminary has conceived a meditative space for the Naomi Milgrom Foundations annual architecture initiative, now in its tenth year. The temporary structure, which features concrete cut-out walls and an aluminum-clad circular canopy, will host a slate of art and designfocused events until it closes on March 28. I hope that as people visit, they allow this space to enter their hearts, and allow their senses to tune into the light and breeze interacting with them and this space, reflected Ando. I hope for them an experience of harmony with nature, with themselves, and with others. Geoffrey Montes

Cover: The entry of Sketch London has been transformed into a winter wonderland.

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