"Life beats down and crushes the soul; art reminds you that you have one" (--Stella Adler)

I've been absent from my blog recently, but very busy.

I just arrived in DC, this afternoon, and I'm remembering with fondness my day yesterday with Joe. We took some time and spent part of our day together, after I'd packed for this latest trip, and checked out the new wing of our local North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA.)

Above is one of the displays in the new wing: it's comprised of thousands of spools of thread, hung on rods, and as you can see, if you look through this curved glass I asked Joe to display for you, it becomes someone we all know quite well.

I love this whimsical sculpture I came upon when I turned a corner:


The new wing is now housing the permanent collections, and I snapped some pictures of some of the items. The older building will house some wonderful exhibits that are heading our way soon. I'll keep you posted...

It's very light and airy and spacious, even on a dreary, rainy day such as what we had yesterday.


There's an indoor "court" housing a fabulous collection of small Rodin sculptures, such as this graceful pair of hands...(there's also an outdoor court with large Rodin figures, situated among fountains, bamboo and waterlilies.)
Above is an exhibit of celebratory costumes and artifacts...

...and this wonderful piece, below, was titled "Tippy Toes," (but personally, I thought it should be titled "Chastity Belt:")


In the modern art section of the new wing, there's lots of color and texture all over:

I asked Joe to stand in the midst of this room to show the scale of some of the artworks, and he was happy to comply:

We planned to have lunch at the museum cafe. When we first arrived,it was quiet, but it filled up very quickly and we decided, we'll go again, and eat another time.

Several of these figures (below) graced the entryway, covered with verbiage from the Book of Solomon, discussing entering Jerusalem, and the "good things to come," which is certainly appropriate for what's in store as you enter this museum...

This costume exhibit is situated before the wall images, which are titled "Congregation:" it consists of many heads that from a distance do look like a crowd, but as you get closer, you see the individual faces of each.

Here are some of the Rodin pieces grouped together inside...(the donors were the same donors who gave Stanford University their fabulous Rodin garden, which I've seen--The Cantors)

I thoroughly enjoyed this piece-- glass draped clothing perched elegantly on this bench:

Here are more views of the open spaces, with another wonderfully displayed costume:

and if it hadn't been raining, we'd have sat and enjoyed these wonderful cafe tables in this serene setting:

My birthday's coming up soon, and of course, I'll be gone on the road, so I told Joe this day together enjoying art was my perfect gift. Did my heart good! We'd been wanting to see the new wing for some time, and it was great fun to finally get over there to soak it all up.

Our art museum here is a beautiful place, and it holds many fond memories for me: we held my parents' 40th wedding anniversary here at the museum, and celebrated along with them. I always think of them when I'm here.

Daddy, hope you enjoy seeing the new wing!! Wish you could see it in person. xo