#tbt to the green gorgeousness of Mounds State Park last summer. 💚 https://www.travelcraftjournal.com/mounds-state-park/
Mounds State Park
Sharing some green with you today from Indiana last summer, specifically from Mounds State Park in Anderson.
The Mounds
Mounds State Park is named for mounds of earth built around 160 BCE by a culture known as the Adena-Hopewell, famous for pottery and mad mound-building skills.
Actually, they could’ve been two separate cultures, the Adena building the Mounds and the Hopewell leaving their more advanced stuff around later. Or the Adena could’ve just gotten Hopewell-levels of advanced over time.
If there’s a new car outside your friend’s house, is someone visiting or did your friend just get a new car? Way harder to clear that up when your friend is 2000 years in the past. So I guess hyphenating the two names is a way to hedge archaeological bets.
Why were they built? Maybe the Adena built them for ceremonies and then they were used for burials by the Hopewell (who may or may not just be the Adena 200 years later). The truth is we’re not sure what all people back then were into.
What we do know is that someone (ok, a lot of someones) purposefully dug out and built up earth a couple millennia ago into mounds you can still see today.
There are 10 of these earthworks in Mounds State Park, and they tend to be crater-like, with the mounded outsides surrounding a depression with a platform in the center.
The largest one has dents in it that align with the equinox, solstices, and rising of certain stars. Known as “the Great Mound,” it is 9 feet tall and has a quarter-mile circumference. So, yeah, whatever the Adena-Hopewell were up to, they were not messing around.
The Park
The visitors’ center has displays about the park’s ecosystem and a floor map of how the Mounds align with various astronomical phenomena.
Its observation room has chairs facing oversized windows, giving you a front row view of a pond, birdhouse, and a thick stand of trees, so you can watch for birds or frogs or maybe even deer.
Outside is a cute little children’s garden.
Also at the park is the historic brick Bronnenberg House, which dates from 1840. Compared to the Mounds, though, that seems like new construction.
The White River cuts through the park, and you can fish, as well as camp, hike or picnic. There are trails of varying difficulty levels winding around the Mounds.
Our Visit
Since we were in town for a family reunion, Phillip and I got to visit the park with my uncle, who’s been going there since he was a kid, and my cousin Allison, who made sure to photobomb the butterfly video I was shooting in the pollinator garden.
We started down trail #1 towards the Great Mound and met a harrowed-looking hiker coming from that direction, who asked if we had insect repellent – not to borrow it for himself but to make sure we were protected.
As we approached the boardwalk, we found out why. The mosquitoes were out in force that day. Despite our deet, they didn’t seem to be deterred. I could barely stop long enough to snap a photo without those tiny vampires swarming towards my neck and head.
I wrapped my scarf over my head and tucked my arms inside. Allison laughed at me, but I’m pretty sure it was just that she was jealous of my scarf/mosquito net and not that I looked ridiculous.
We cut our hike short after seeing the Great Mound.
We drove to a spot near the river, where the guys wanted to explore some more. Allison and I decided to take in the scenery from the safety of the car.
I wonder how the Adena kept the mosquitoes away.
A moment from Saturday’s travel journal workshop at #swmakerfest! More https://www.travelcraftjournal.com/southwest-maker-fest-2016/
Southwest Maker Fest 2016
Southwest Maker Fest on Saturday had interactive booths, workshops, stilt walkers, craft projects, artists at work, and all kinds of fun stuff.
Since lunchtime was pretty hectic at downtown Mesa restaurants last year, a couple of food trucks were standing by: Burgers Amore (which I was introduced to at Fan Fest) and Queso Good (which I tried at Phoenix Comicon).
I wish I had gotten a shot of the inside of the IDEA Museum, where my workshop was (I had my hands full of craft supplies at the time), so you could see all the delightful creative chaos of the projects going on in there.
Upcycled Travel Journal Workshop
For my workshop, I made the project a little less open-ended this time, because too many possibilities can stress some people out.
I showed how to make travel journals out of 2 envelopes folded and bound together.
Some people chose to keep the books blank for their next trip. One attendee covered his pages with red tape; another wove plastic bags together using a plastic-yarn technique they were teaching at another booth and threaded that into her journal.
Both adults and kids got to have fun making stuff, and that was really the point.
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Happenings Starting March 2016
This is our curated list of maker/artist/explorer events across the U.S. coming up in the next few months – starting today!
+Arizona
Now – Mar 27 Michelangelo: Sacred and Profane Masterpiece Drawings from the Casa Buonarroti
Phoenix Art Musuem. Rare drawings from the renowned collection of Michelangelo’s former residence in Florence, Italy, including figurative studies and architectural drawings. Read about a past exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum (and how not to get lost on the second floor).
Mar 10-18Â Annual Art Detour
Phoenix. Self-guided tour of studios in Phoenix Arts District.
- Mar 10 5-9pm: Art d’Core Gala in Hance Park. Celebration and arts showcase.
- Mar 18 6-10pm: Third Friday Art Detour Preview Night.
- Mar 19-20:Â Art Detour
Mar 10-24 Spring Out to Lunch Concert Series
12:30pm Thursdays in the Wells Fargo Garden at Mesa Arts Center. Free concerts.
Mar 11 – Apr 6 Craft Classes at the Arboretum
Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior. Whether or not you take a class, it’s a lovely place to spend the day.
- Gourd Art: Apr 6. Basic gourd art for beginners.
- Terrarium: Mar 11 + Mar 12. Choose your succulents and create an indoor garden. Walk-in class.
Mar 12 Southwest Maker Fest
12-7pm in Downtown Mesa. Read about a previous SWMF or my travel journal workshop.
- I’ll be presenting “Make an Upcycled Art Travel Journal!” at 4:15pm at the i.d.e.a. museum.
- Full event schedule.
Mar 14 CraftHack
6pm at Gangplank Chandler. Meet other artists and crafters and learn something new or bring your own project to work on! This month, we’ll be painting with coffee!
Mar 29 Macayo’s Tequila Dinner
5:30pm at Macayo’s Mexican Grill & Cantina, Scottsdale. Read our review of the redesigned Macayo’s Scottsdale.
April 1 Ignite Phoenix
6:30pm Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.
5-minute presentations on a variety of topics people are passionate about.
April 7-14 Phoenix Film Festival
Harkins Scottsdale/101 Theatre. The biggest film festival in Arizona.
Now – Apr 3 Arizona Fine Art EXPO
26540 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. 100 artists set up shop under big tents in Scottsdale for 10 weeks. Also cafe, sculpture garden, and weekend music.
Now – Apr 30 Arcosanti Resident Art Show
Arcosanti, near Cordes Junction. Art by Arcosanti residents and alumni for sale. The day we had breakfast at Arcosanti was also during an art show. Work for sale included jewelry, photography, and mixed media pieces.
Jun 2 – 5 Phoenix Comicon
Phoenix Convention Center. Convention for fans of pop culture. Check out our guide for newbies!
+California
Mar 17-19 Quilt, Craft & Sewing Festival.
Sacramento. Read about our experience at the Phoenix show.
Apr 2-16 Parallel Print Shop
San Anselmo.
- Spoon Carving: April 2 11-2pm. Carving your own wooden spoon using traditional Japanese tools and techniques.
- Modern Needlework Tapestry: April 16 3-6p. Modern needlework as home decor.
Aug 4 – 6 #BlogHer16: Experts Among Us
JW Marriott LA Live, Los Angeles, CA. BlogHer annual conference.
+Colorado
Mar 20 Continuity and Creativity: Andean Tapestries in the Catholic Church
2:30-4:30pm at Denver Art Museum. Art History professor Maya Stanfield-Mazzi will discuss the tapestries made by 16th- and 17th-century Inca weavers who brought Inca traditions to imported textiles.
Mar 31-Apr 2Â Quilt, Craft & Sewing Festival
Denver. Read about our experience at the Phoenix show.
+New York
Apr 14 – 16 Rochester Film Fest
Rochester. The World’s Oldest, Continuously Held Short Film Festival. Free admission.
Now – May 1 Artistic Furniture of the Gilded Age
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC. Rockefeller-Worsham Dressing Room now open in Gallery 742 of The American Wing. While you’re there, listen to the “Gallery 742” episode of the Memory Palace commissioned for the exhibition.
+Tennessee
May 6 – 8 Spring Tennessee Craft Fair
Centennial Park, Nashville. Craft, food from local vendors, kid-friendly activities, and demonstrations from artisans.
+Virginia
Mar 16 – 20 Virginia Festival of the Book
Various locations in Charlottesville/Albemarle County. A week of readings and discussions, book signings, film screenings, and performances.
Mar 23 – Apr 20 UVA Personal Enrichment Classes
University of Virginia, Charlottesville. Noncredit, evening courses for the community from the School of Continuing and Professional Studies. Learn more about the UVA from our post on Charlottesville.
- Advanced Digital Photography:Â Advanced concepts for experienced DSLR photographers with field trips to Ash Lawn-Highland.
+Washington DC
Now – TBA Life in One Cubic Foot
Natural History Museum. Interactive exhibition about the marine life that can be found in one cubic foot of water during a 24-hour period.
Mar 16 Afternoon Silver Tea
2:30–4:30pm at the Residence of the Ambassador of Japan. The Women’s Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts organizes a presentation on the art of the Japanese Tea and a special viewing of Japanese tea utensils and Hester Bateman silver. To be followed by afternoon tea. Reservations are required.
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Photo credits:
Michelangelo drawing via Phoenix Art MuseumÂ
Ignite Phoenix logo via Ignite Phoenix
Phoenix Film Festival logo via Phoenix Film Festival
Gilded Age chair via Metropolitan Museum of Art
Tennessee paper boat by my friend Michelle.
Other photos by me.