Ai Weiwei

Followers of this blog know that if this is coming from Washington DC, it is likely to be about art.  In DC, there are so many free museums, and they are first class!  This is coming to you from the Smithsonian, specifically, the Hirshhorn Museum which specializes in contemporary art.  The physical building is a "doughnut" and the photo above shows the interior courtyard with a piece done by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei. 

The rooster above is part of a zodiac series done by Ai Weiwei and installed in the courtyard.  Twelve pieces are there showing the various animals of the chinese zodiac.  The rest of the Ai Weiwei exhibit is on the second floor--virtually the whole second floor--and one piece on the third floor.  I think there are also some pieces in the Sackler Museum, but I didn't see them.

I like to keep my blog entries short, but Ai Weiwei is a special case.  I went yesterday and then back today to see this show, and nothing stops me from going again. It is remarkable.  There are photographs, woodwork, a light sculpture, a snake made of backpacks of children killed in an earthquake and much, much more.  All of the work is engaging, provocative and beautifully executed.  Weiwei is known for being a dissident and the Chinese government hates and harasses him.  However, he keeps producing and speaking up.  I have so much respect.  He also takes common objects and makes them into sculptures, such as the one of chairs that I show below.  Please ignore the people...they are just viewers, not part of the sculpture.  There's also one of bicycles...specifically, bicycles called "forever."  It is all great, believe me.  

Part of the power of the show is quotes from Ai Weiwei that are posted on the walls about the work::.  The quote relating to the chairs is: 

"I make the useful become not useful; these objects combine the practical with change and illusion.  They open up a perspective so that we can have an understanding of the material or an understanding of space.  It is a basis for dealing with perception, and when you think about how people use an object, you're also using so-called knowledge in the sense that "useful" has a meaning.  The meaning is the use.  And that plays a great role in human understanding and culture."

I planned to include in this post some other art I've seen in the past couple of days (which is also good)...but it will have to wait.  My honors right now are with Ai Weiwei.

A Walk in the Fall

There is nothing quite like a walk on a Fall afternoon.  Here are Sophia and Louisa walking at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens.  This was yesterday and, although it was a Monday, there was no school and no work for federal employees.  It was Columbus Day.  I am not sure I agree with the holiday, but an extra day with family is always nice.

The Gardens are known for amazing lotus and water lily blooms mid-Summer when they buzz with color, frogs, turtles and all kinds of wildlife, though they are essentially in the City.  It is part of the National Parks system.  Times are quieter now...at least at the Gardens.

We saw a beautiful blue heron, who flew away when we tried to take a picture.  We also saw a lot of partly decomposed lotus pods and a banana plant in bloom.

As we left, we saw a doe and her fawn, who still had spots.  They hid behind grasses and we couldn't get pictures, but we have great memories.

Here's something else remarkable:  huge lily pads, just waiting for a froggy convention...and they stood still for their picture!

National Arboretum

I'm in Washington, DC, for a visit with family.   One of our favorite things to do is to go to the National Arboretum.  Yesterday we went there and we were surprised to see a wonderful orchid show.  I had never seen anything like it.  The orchids were beautifully displayed in very creative ways and there was a huge variety.  Here's Griffin and Sophia with the display done by the Smithsonian Museum in the background.  There were amateur and professional categories....this was professional.  Lots of ribbons for special types of orchids.   The judges got a workout.

In short, we saw some amazing orchids, mostly raised by members of various orchid societies in the area.   The cake in the background here is to celebrate the 65th anniversary of this particular show.  Griffin asked a guide why it wasn't dirt because the plants need dirt, not cake!   Sophia couldn't decide which was her favorite, but we all ended up favoring either big, flashy colors or tiny, subtle plants that were barely noticeable.  There was something for everyone, but hard to know what was most attractive. 

Camp 18 for my Brithday

One thing I like to do to celebrate my birthday is to go to Camp 18, which is on the way to Gearhart.  What makes it especially fun is to go with artist friends and paint there.  And what makes that even better is going with special friends like Celeste, Carrie and Eileen.

The subjects to paint include a creek, a little bridge, general greenery and LOTS of old logging equipment.   We've done it several times.  The first part of the day is chattering on the drive over.  Actually, we chattered over coffee before even starting out.  When we get to Camp 18, we have breakfast in the huge dining room.  I got some great presents, including a sparkly "bachelorette" tiara.  That called for a picture, of course.  Carrie photoshopped the picture to say "sparkle" all around it and put it on Facebook..reminding me to sparkle.  The bottom part got cut off when I hijacked it from Facebook.

After the "celebration," we were treated to a watercolor demonstration by Carrie, which was great...though there was rain and she had to deal with some sprinkles on her painting.  I hope she does it again when there are more people present.  A lot of people thought it would be cancelled because of the rain.  We then painted machinery and buildings for awhile and Kathy Pugh joined us.  We hadn't seen her in some time, so that was nice.  It never did warm up, but we were warm and cozy with friends.....we had a surprise birthday cake and then came home.

What a nice day...and it wasn't even my birthday yet....that was the next day.

Smithsonian Craft Show

Thursday was the first day of the "new schedule."  After walking Sophia and Griffin to school, I wen to the annual Smithsonian Craft Show.  It is a quite different than other Smithsonian shows....everything was for sale.  The prices were not as high as they could have been....considering the creativity and quality of work.  I met some great students from the Savannah College of Art and Design with some fantastic wearable art, jewelry and other creative designs.  They were so excited to have been accepted into this very competitive show.

I also enjoyed the work of Lisa and Scott Cylinder, creators of that snail brooch above.  They had a lot of birds and other small animals, made from mostly recycled materials...including pieces of musical instruments. Their website is
http://www.lisaandscottcylinder.com/

I also enjoyed furniture made by Tom Wessells, which were cabinets with an inlaid image on the door and then interiors reflect that...like a luna moth on the door and a moon on the inside.  It was beautifully done inlay work.  His website is http://www.furniturebytom.com/about.php

There were also some ubelievably creative cakes...well, decorated cardboard cakes.  I had never seen anything like some of those.  One was little truffles served inside a giant crinkled paper poppy.  Really special stuff.

There was much more and I could go on and on.  It was something to remember.

Also made a quick trip to the National Museum of Art, but will have to go back.  I had to leave in time to pick up the kids from school.

Peter and Louisa are off to Edinburgh

This was actually on Wednesday, though I am posting this on Friday....just trying to do a little catch-up.  

This is Peter and Louisa on their front porch as they set out for the big adventure in Scotland.  Sophia and Griffin went to school that morning as usual.  They love their school.  I drove to the airport, which was a little adventure for me because it was in their minivan and in pouring rain.  Then, I had to get back to DC and pick up the kids from school.  All  the trips that day went well.  Of course, the one to Scotland wasn't concluded until the next day!  They have a great apartment on the Royal Mile and we've received good reports.

Washington DC Today

Space Shuttle Discovery, mounted on an airplane, being transported from Cape Canaveral to the National Air and Space Museum Annex near Dulles Airport.  The shuttle was piggy-backed on the plane and was "shown off" above the Capitol Mall and around the area today.  Louisa and I were on the 6th floor deck of the Department of Labor for this shot.  We saw three "fly bys".   The most spectacular was the one aboe, where the shuttle was flown over the Capitol Building.  Below is a shot of the actual "rig" when it was a little closer to us.

This was an incredible sight to see.  There are better pictures on the internet, but these were the "real deal" for me.  I felt very lucky to be there with Louisa who, by the way, had clocked out and was not on official duty.