Dallas Museum of Art Uncrated

This past weekend brought freezing temperatures and several inches of ice to North Texas. As the outside world turned into a scene similar to Church’s The Icebergs, the DMA shut down, leaving us with an unexpected four day weekend. When we returned to work on Tuesday, I had fun polling members of the DMA Education team on how they spent their ‘Icemageddon.’

Frederic Edwin Church, The Icebergs, 1861, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Norma and Lamar Hunt

Home Time:

After getting over a bad case of the canceled Dallas Marathon blues, I hunkered down for a lazy weekend with my roommates complete with pajamas, a roaring fire, several baking experiments, cat snuggling, and season 1 of Doctor Who.

Leah Hanson also enjoyed nesting at home and spent her time off “warming up next to the fireplace, eating cookies and watching the movie Elf with friends.”

The crafty Danielle Shulz also spent her Icemageddon watching movies (making it through all five Harry Potter flicks!), and sewing some fabulous curtains. She was quite content to come back to work and find that her loving work pal, Stacy Lizotte, had made her delicious cookies during her time off.

Quality Kid Time:

The long weekend gave parents a chance to spend some quality time with their little ones. Melissa Gonzales spent her Icemageddon watching movies, making soup, and playing with her son, Eli.  She also completed a few craft projects during Eli’s naptime. Kudos to you, Melissa!

Jessica Fuentes also kept busy with her daughter, Julia. “Being stuck inside with a 7 year old ball of energy for 4 days was fun and problematic.  We had to get outside, so my daughter opted to go sledding… she thought I should try it out, but I preferred to watch her. Julia also built a shelter to camp out in while we watched old Disney movies and I Love Lucy.”

Amanda Batson was able to get out of the Big D to spend an epic weekend in Austin caring for three little girls. “We had an incredible time staying safe and warm away from all the ice! We watched the new Disney movie Frozen, drank pink hot cocoa, played board games and had tasty s ’mores. On my way back to Dallas I stopped by the University of Texas at Austin campus where I completed my MA in Museum Studies to soak in some memories and then decided to get a new tattoo! But this trip would not have been complete without a visit to the nationally acclaimed Round Rock Donuts! At least I had delicious glazed bites to keep me calm through the scary, icy drive home.”

Outdoor Adventures:

Amy Elms, an Austin native, enjoyed exploring and taking photos of the the snow outside of her apartment. “I’ve mostly lived in cities that very rarely get snow or ice, so it’s always exciting when the area I live in is transformed into a winter wonderland! As soon as I woke up on Friday, I went and explored the park near my apartment complex. It was fun to crunch around in the ice and see all the icicles hanging from the trees. It was a little tricky to walk around without slipping and falling though!”

Amy’s neighbor, Hayley Prihoda, also took photos of Dallas’ unexpected winter wonderland. She also spent time at Half Price Books where she kept warm and entertained.

A bit further up north, Madeleine Fitzgerald and a fellow Dentonian ventured out for chips and salsa to survive to Icemageddon. They soon discovered that they weren’t the only ones who had that idea…

Although it was a bit foggy coming back to work after Icemageddon finally defrosted, it was fun to hear about how the DMA Education staff braved the storm. How did you spend your time off?

Amelia Wood
McDermott Intern for Family and Access Teaching