News for North Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The Forecast Calls For Rain All Week, But Today You Can See A Rainbow Up Close

Gabriel Dawe
/
Facebook
Plexus 34 was completed this month by Dallas artist, Gabriel Dawe. The sculpture creates the effect of an "indoor rainbow" in the atrium of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: A Dallas-based artist brings the best of summer storms inside a Fort Worth museum; Plano’s 155-year-old Collinwood House will stand until next May at least; make a splash in Texas before it’s too late; and more.

Your chance to see a rainbow is as good as any this week. And that’s not because August weather is taking a vacation of its own. Dallas-based artist Gabriel Dawe created an “indoor rainbow,” using more than 60 miles of stretched thread for Amon Carter Museum of American Art.

 

Dawe discusses the "Zen-like" process for creating one of his Plexus sculptures in 2014:

 

https://youtu.be/4XksVNGUoQY","_id":"00000174-20e3-d47e-a1f7-72e700350000","_type":"035d81d3-5be2-3ed2-bc8a-6da208e0d9e2"}">https://youtu.be/4XksVNGUoQY">https://youtu.be/4XksVNGUoQY","_id":"00000174-20e3-d47e-a1f7-72e700350000","_type":"035d81d3-5be2-3ed2-bc8a-6da208e0d9e2"}">https://youtu.be/4XksVNGUoQY

Like his previous sculpture, “Plexus no. 34” is an intricate network of multicolored threads that interacts with light. With the thread, Dawe creates “geometric shapes that hang from the ceilings of show spaces and they give the viewer a sense of what it’s like to stare into a rainbow,” according to Art&Seek. The artist told Art&Seek in 2014 that he thinks the sculptures almost look like they’re coming alive when you see them and move within their space.

“Plexus no. 34” was created on site in the atrium of the Fort Worth museum earlier this summer. The piece will be open for viewing today through Sept. 2, 2018. [Art&Seek]

  • Nearly 94 percent of districts and around 88 percent of public schools in Texas have met minimum education standards. The state education agency announced the results Monday. Starting next academic year, the state will move to an A-F accountability system. The agency has changed rating systems multiple times in the past to ensure low failure rates. So, these latest results are only comparable to the last three years. In 2015, nearly 95 percent of school districts met minimum state standards and about 87 percent of schools did. The previous year, it was 90 percent of districts and 85 percent of schools. [The Associated Press]

  • Voters will determine the fate of Plano’s 155-year-old Collinwood house come next spring. In April, the City Council gave preservationists until Aug. 5 to raise $1.5 million and present a business plan for the endangered property. At the Aug. 8 meeting, however, the council decided to protect the home for future renovation. The Dallas Morning Newsreported: “No formal vote was taken, but the council said it would place the funding to restore the home — an estimated $3.5 million — on the May 2017 bond election.” If voters approve the bond package, the house will either be restored or relocated. Otherwise, it will be destroyed. [The Dallas Morning News]

  • Texas women don’t have to get a prescription for free mosquito repellent for the next few months. Amid Zika worries, the state offered free repellent to women and expectant mothers between the ages of 10 and 45. That service was offered just a few weeks ago, but not without the requirement to call your doctor for approval. State health officials are lifting that burden to ease prevention efforts. Two free cans of repellent a month will be offered through October. More than 90 people in Texas are reported to have been infected with Zika. [The Associated Press]

  • There’s just one weekend left of summer before school starts. Question: Have you gone swimming? Yes, it will be hot for several more weeks (months), but the freedom of summer is fleeting. Texas Monthly put together a list of 19 swimming spots in the state. From beach camps to Barton Springs, a wide variety of swimming holes await you. Again, there’s essentially one weekend before the seasonal mood shifts, so try maybe somewhere closer to home: the Trinity River in Dallas. It’s best for paddling and learning about the local flora and fauna (seriously) at The Trinity River Audubon Center. [Texas Monthly]