All The Bells & Whistles: Talk & Book Signing with Amy J Schultz, Author of MUMENTOUS

MUMENTOUS author Amy J. Schultz will present, “All the Bells & Whistles: A hilarious journey through the history of homecoming mums in Texas.” Copies of MUMENTOUS will be available for purchase ($35) as well as collectible stickers that salute all the glue gun-wielding crafters in your life.

Get your book personalized by the author, and tour the exhibition MUMENTOUS: Football, Glue Guns, Moms, and a Super-Sized High School Tradition Born Deep in the Heart of Texas on view in the Courtyard Gallery at Irving Arts Center October 19 through January 25.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Step into the heart of Texas tradition with MUMENTOUS: Football, Glue Guns, Moms, and a Super-Sized High School Tradition Born Deep in the Heart of Texas. This captivating exhibit explores the evolution of Texas high school homecoming mums from their humble beginnings in the 1920s through today’s highly varied practices. The exhibit’s photography and narratives touch on a number of topics including the emergence of high school football, fan and pop culture, the DIY movement, entrepreneurship and women as tradition-keepers. Don’t miss this opportunity to reminisce and reconnect with cherished memories alongside friends and family!

MUMENTOUS is a special collaboration among Texas Lakes Trail Region, author Amy J. Schultz and the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries Special Collections, with sponsorship from the Arlington Museum of Art.

BOOK SYNOPSIS
The closest you’ll ever get to seeing someone actually wear their hearts on their sleeves is in Texas, every fall, at the local high school homecoming game.

They’re called homecoming mums. They are as bodacious as football, as irresistible as a juicy rumor, and as deep as a momma’s love. Over a hundred years ago when the custom began, mum was short for chrysanthemum, a typical corsage that boys gave to girls before taking them to the big football game. But through the decades, mum went from a simple abbreviation to a complicated shorthand for an eye-popping tradition that’s as ingrained in the culture as it is confounding to outsiders.

Through her original photography and collection of stories from across and beyond the Lone Star State, Amy J. Schultz takes us deep in the heart of mum country. You’ll meet kids who wear them, parents who buy them, and critics who decry them as just another example of consumerism gone wild. But mostly, you’ll discover that just like every ritual which stands the test of time, someone is keeping the tradition alive. Someone like Mom.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amy J. Schultz is an author and award-winning photographer who explores unique aspects of modern culture that hide in plain sight.

Amy and her husband Brian live in Texas with their gigantic golden retriever, Bentley. When she isn’t talking about homecoming mums, Amy is writing, taking photos, working with clients on creative projects, traveling, snort-laughing, or vacuuming up dog fur.

MUMENTOUS is Amy’s first published book, which was nurtured during her tenure as Artist-in-Residence at the Arlington Museum of Art in Arlington, TX. Her first “books,” however, were collections of three-year-old Amy’s stick figure masterpieces stapled together by her mother.