Discovering Your Happy Place in Houston
It’s interesting the responses that people give me when I tell them I come from Houston. One woman looked at me and said, “Oh, wow. You’re so stylish and creative. I thought you were from somewhere cool like California or New York.” Well, I’m here to set the record straight. Houston really is awesome. I grew in the area, and spent the majority of my adult life here. With some digging around over the years, I’ve found some places I really enjoy wandering around and exploring.
With the encouragement of a few good friends of mine, I decided to share a few of my favorite places + activities. With the winter weather upon us, I look forward to doing some of these things the next time I’m home.
Turrell tunnel @ MFAH
MFAH Law Building
A piece in last summer’s Latin American art exhibit
The Museum District – MFAH, CAMH, RICE ART GALLERY
If I need to clear my head and spend time in my sketchbook, I like hopping on my bike and spending time at the MFAH. I flash my membership card and I have two buildings of art I can explore. There’s a sculpture garden with a taco truck. (Many lunch breaks and drawing classes have been spent in that garden.) The art at the MFAH covers a wide variety of time periods- Pre-Columbian to Modern. My friends and I like walking through the Turrell tunnel which connects the two buildings. (Let’s film a Drake video there. It would be amazing.) Sidenote: Get a membership. I like getting the dual membership so I can bring a guest, and there are a lot of fun membership parties there.
Afterwards, I often head over to the CAMH which is close to the MFAH. Most of the art there at the CAMH is pretty thought-provoking and definitely good fodder for discussion. If you are feeling adventurous walk or bike over to the Rice Art Gallery. Turrell’s “Twilight Epiphany” is also over on the Rice campus. I like walking over there at sunset. My friends affectionately refer to it as the Mayan spaceship. Lie down in the center and just stare up at the night sky. It’s a nice trippy feeling. For refreshments, I can often be found at: Black Hole for the coffee + cookies and Valhalla for the cheap cold beer.
