Column: Awarded Best Inflatable Scene: Dorothy Waters, 1534 E. 11th Street
Walk of the Town: Holiday Edition!
Photos and Column by Sarah Cook
I present to you below the third installment of the Annual Best in Snow Awards.
Awarded Best Inflatable Scene: Dorothy Waters, 1534 E. 11th Street
Dorothy Waters aside her Joy!
My conversation with Dorothy, perhaps more than any of these conversations so far, was punctuated with big moments of laughter: at the delight of coincidental timing; at the bewilderment of occasional neighborly bah-humbugs, something I’m sure every serious yard decorator runs into now and then.
But the biggest laugh came when Dorothy told a story about being out of town some years ago with her late husband, and getting a phone call from a family member: Um, you guys are on the front page of The Chronicle! It seems this isn’t the first time Dorothy’s holiday lights are being celebrated in the news, though it is the first time she’s being given advance notice. “We’d had no idea,” she told me, “so this is really cool that you called me about this!”
Speaking of coincidences, our joyful conversation also made something click in my head, something that I'm realizing is true for every single household I’ve spoken with: holiday decorating—and really, any kind of engagement with one’s yard that involves beauty and arrangement—is a deeply creative act. There are certain mediums our minds immediately think of when we think about making art, but I’d like to argue that house and yard decorating be added to that list, especially after speaking with Dorothy.
When I asked her if this link between one’s inherent creativity and the pursuit of decorating felt true to her, she responded with a nearly wordless and emphatic, “Oh, yeah,” making it clear that I had landed on something vital.
There’s the intense focus on color, balance, and imagination, for one thing. There’s also the melding of strategy with intuition, and of store-bought pieces that afford no personalization alongside handmade ones that couldn’t be replicated. And there’s the effort that goes into working with a prescribed color palette—red, green, white—and highly specific and commercialized imagery year after year, yet turning it always into something warm and remarkable.
It takes a festive amount of commitment and inspiration, I think, to be able to do this kind of creative work, and I sensed both qualities in equal measure from Dorothy. She shared that she’s in the middle of making a new lighted wreath, and assured me that during the other 11 months of the year, she nourishes her creativity by making year-round decorations, often utilizing free how-to videos on YouTube.
One last note about this particular award: don’t underestimate the work it takes to win “Best Inflatable Scene.” Houses abound with yard inflatables—a giant Santa here, an air-filled Rudolph there. But to make a scene, to really tell a story, requires more than the purchase of a few pieces of larger-than-life plastic. Dorothy’s creative eye allows her to recognize where each piece needs to go in order to create a new scene each year while still capturing a fluidity of motion—looking from left to right, especially in person, I feel as if I’m watching a river move. And her skillful pairing of inflatables with solid pieces fills out the scene in an interesting and dynamic way.
I’m telling you, readers: 11th Street is killin’ it this year!
Interview with Dorothy Waters
Sarah Cook (SC): I’d love to start by hearing a little bit about the history of your decorating.
Dorothy Waters (DW): “My late husband and I started doing it the year we moved into this house, which was 1995. It was really small at first. We were tight with money, of course, and we had kids. Every year we were buying one or two inflatables, and my husband was in charge of the lights. I’m always adding stuff to it. You kind of have to keep updating because the LED lights will go out, and the inflatables only last a couple of years.”
SC: When do your decorations go up, and when do you take them down?
DW: “Well, I’ve occasionally had neighbors give me a hard time when I start decorating the day after Thanksgiving. One of my neighbors doesn’t start putting out their decorations until the 15th of the month! I start getting everything ready the week before Thanksgiving—pulling out lights, making sure they’re all working right, checking for holes in the inflatables, making sure everything’s clean. Every year, I try to change up the placement of things. I did buy a couple of new inflatables—in fact I was just getting ready to put another one out when you called! It's about 11-feet long and it says “Merry Christmas.” I do try to stay in a budget, and I was looking online—this thing was $112 originally but I got it 60% off!”
SC: Do you have a favorite component of your decorations or something that you’re most proud of?
DW: “There’s a hanging basket that’s lighted—if you’re looking at the house it’s just to the left of the driveway. I made it, so I’m pretty proud of that one.
It’s kinda hard for me to do this—it’s a lot of work—but I do enjoy doing it, and I do it because the kids come by and they like seeing everything. I have people who will pull up in front of the house at night and stay for 5 minutes just taking it all in.
Some years I think, Well, maybe I shouldn’t…But I always do. Recently a neighbor said, Boy, I’m glad you do this every year, it’s so nice to look at.”
SC: If money and spacial limitations were not a factor, is there anything you’d add to your current set-up?
DW: “If I had a bigger front yard…I’d just keep going! [huge laughter from both of us]. If there was one thing I could get, without money or space being an issue, I suppose it would be a big gingerbread house. They’re pretty spendy, and they do take up a lot of space. I really like the variety I have now.”
SC: Besides decorating, what’s your favorite thing about this time of year?
DW: “Christmas shopping for the kids, for sure. We have parties at work, and I have friends who like to go out and have lunch around this time of year. But it’s the decorating part that I really enjoy.”
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SC: Lastly, why is it so important to you to decorate your house? What would you be missing out on if you stopped?
DW: “Well, the important part is that it’s for the kids. But I enjoy it, too. It brings everything to light, and there’s an emotional quality, too. It brings in the festivities a little bit more.”
