After a Fashion

THAT'S MOW LIKE IT I usually manage to give hairdresser, artist, writer, and astrologer Deborah Carter of Pink Hair Salon & Gallery about three hours notice to be ready to go out with me on my rounds. But this time she turned the tables on me, giving me three hours to get ready to go with her to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center's 2007 Gala and Silent Art Auction, celebrating its silver anniversary. Like I needed an excuse to go there. The place is so beautiful and peaceful, I was ready in a heartbeat. Deborah had donated a glorious painting of horses that she'd done (Melanie Barnes, wife of former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes, bought it), as did the glamorous artist Ana Fuentes, whose magical paintings of young girls have a captivating and eerie beauty. Deborah's partner, the renowned drummer Pat Mastelotto was with us; his star-spangled musical history is impressive, and he currently tours with King Crimson. I sat at the table of powerhouse attorney Becky Beaver, and my dinner partner was the legendary Johnny Guffey of Jeffrey's. We visited with Lady Bird Johnson and her daughter Luci Baines Johnson, Liz Carpenter, and event chair Lynn Meredith, among so many others, but my favorite moment was when I slipped out to the parking lot to have a quick smoke, where I ran into another couple taking a break. The woman and her husband admitted that they'd never been to the Wildflower Center before and underscored that by looking around at the knee-high fields of wildflowers surrounding us and saying, "Oh honey, someone needs to mow this mess." I was uncharacteristically speechless… I met Boyce Cabaniss at Zach Scott's Red Hot & Soul event a couple of weeks ago. He's the president of the board at the Austin Shakespeare Festival, and he invited me to attend a gala performance last Saturday at ASF's new home at Richard Garriott's Elizabethan theatre, the Curtain, a scaled-down version of the famous Globe Theatre, on the shores of Lake Austin. I mowed through the mess of my calendar to make sure I could attend and brought Karen Landa and a friend of hers with me. The setting is heavenly and made the event seem like an event from Shakespeare's era. We met ASF Artistic Director Guy Roberts. The performance was a fresh and modern interpretation of As You Like It starring Jill Blackwood, Aaron D. Alexander, and the fabulous Andrea Osborn… Thinking it was time to really mow this mess, I went to the new Third Street location of Maristella Ostrewich's Sage Salon for some grooming. I was thrilled to find my old friend, hairdresser and make-up artist extraordinaire Kathy Miller, was working there, and it was evident immediately that Joel Mozersky had done the interiors. Lovely salon, great staff, and an indulgent menu of services… I can't wait for the Arthouse 5x7: Art Splurge & Exhibition on May 19 – so much fun to beat the crowds to win your favorite piece of art. The festive group is a high-spirited bunch, and attendees are very protective of the art that they have scoped out for themselves; hilarity ensues when the signal is given to grab the art they wish to buy. Fortunately I'm big and know how to mow right through that mess. I recommend you mow through the mess of your calendar and order your tickets now at www.arthousetexas.org.