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Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Seattle Trip: The Had To Sees



SPRING AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY'S JAPANESE GARDENS

An overall view of a very tranquil place to visit. WU's Japanese  Garden is located in The Arboretum.

And a little brook ran through it.

Gurgling, bubbling down from who knows where?

Why Rhet, the magnolias are in bloom! Where the hell are they at our place?
Frankly Scarlet, I don't give a damn.

The koi were anything but quoi. Shame we didn't bring our fishing poles. (There's a painting in this one).

This guy might be my new profile photo. We've a lot in common--basking in the sun, moving slowly, enjoying just being still. Everywhere you go in Seattle, it's a hike.


MIRO AT THE SAM


No photos were allowed inside the Miro Exhibit, but I managed to snap a few. Don't you just love the look of museums? There's a reverence there that sooths my soul.

 
Miro's process; it's the one that's fun and full of unexpected surprises.


Miro himself in action painting on glass. This shot was taken off the video screen. The man is dead you know.
 


From same video, the man himself.

 

The shot I did get when the guard took her eye off me. Miro's sculptures from found objects
were amazing. They were all done casted wax process.

I found this drawing on line, but I could just have well found it in the exhibit. It is an example of the artist's works late in life. Wax crayon, ink and paper was all he needed for expression.

When I left the Seattle art Museum, I could hardly wait to get my hands on some paint. Museums do this to me--to all of us.


THE CHIHULY MUSEUM



Dale Chihuly is alive and well and blowing glass and minds in his Tacoma "factory."
His Museum beats any piece I've ever seen of his in any museum. The stop was a must.

This is typical Chihuly. He began his career blowing these lovely glass formations.


Then came these forms. This arrangement spread about twelve feet--maybe more. It greets visitors on their way to the galleries.
 
Turn a corner and wow a pillar of blues says this guy is a master.

I had to take a close up. The conversation I had with my son was which piece came first? I'd love to see his "factory" and the process of building such a structure, but my dance card was full.

AND HE DRAWS. HE PLANS:



 
Drawings and paintings of glass sculptures were featured along the way.
 
 
Over our heads, was a glass ceiling holding up many shapes and forms all lighted from above.
 
 
Emerging from the black galleries, we found ourselves in a glass conservatory with
a giant glass vine suspended above our heads. This was the entrance to the Chihuly garden.
Dale Chihuly's  work is very botanical.

 
This was my favorite outdoor exhibit. Glass ferns and weird flowers "grew" among the real things. 
 
These are just a few of the photos I took, but enough for now. I do have to go splash some paint or smear some charcoal. Tomorrow: Other arty sights that caught my attention enough to stop and shoot. While I have no plans of learning to blow glass--though you can at Dale's factory--he has many assistance much in the way of Reubens, Leonardo and the other Renaissance giants--The SAM was truly my inspiration.

20 comments:

  1. Lovely photographs, very inspirational, too bad I have little time to paint right now.....

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    1. Thanks Roger. When I can't paint, I throw myself into photography. it keeps the eyes sharp Sorry, you're too busy to paint, but life goes like that. Knowing you, you'll make up for lost time.

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  2. GORGEOUS ALL GORGEOUS!!!
    The best word is,for me,the italian GRANDIOSO!!!

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    1. Thanks Rita. Photography is almost as intriguing as painting--especially when you're on the prowl for paintable subject matter. :-))

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  3. Fabulous photos alone would make the trip worthwhile! Adore the turtle/tortoise and your comments brought a squeal! You and me both. The sketch of Hank is gorgeous, as was he, I bet? Your comments re family says it all, mine have dispersed to Canada and Australia as well as all across UK. Sad.

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    1. I barely made it to the family luncheon. The night before, my curiosity got the best of me and I ordered elk tartar as an appetizer. Well, uncooked elk turned my digestive system upside down. I only made it to the party for an hour before I had to go back to bed. BUT I DID MEET MY GREAT NEPHEWS AND NIECE and photos, so it was a success. Ellis, on the other hand, spent the day with them and was very pleased I had made the arrangements. Photography is all I really had to work with. I was jealous of the painters we passed in the park out there in the plein air. The weather was chilly, but sunny, good for plein air. Not good enough here though. The day after we got home, it snowed three inches and our winter went down at the top of the record books. Love your portrait. I am so glad you didn't abandon it.

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  4. Fantastic post!!! Your photos are the greatest, Linda!!! The Japanese garden is so exquisite and serene. But the Chihuly museum ... indescribably gorgeous!!!!! WOW!
    Kathryn XX

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    1. And they said glass blowing was a dead art. Chihuly's forms were nothing short of amazing. In the gift shop, I saw a lovely small piece for sale for the unfortunately unreasonable price of $7000. Ellis is so unreasonable. :-))

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  5. Wow wat mooi genoeg inspiratie om te schilderen fijne Paasdagen lieve groetjes Daniëlle

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    1. Happy Easter to you too Danielle. Thank you. The only photo that grabs me as a possible painting is the Koi, but it will never get painted. Watercolor isn't my medium. The rest of the photos stand well as photos; that's enough for me.

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  6. Wow! Wow! Wow! One of the best posts ever! BEAUTIFUL photos Linda! You are so right! Going to museums certainly are great motivations to paint! These photos are magnificent! We are so very fortunate to be artists! I am so very excited about splashing some paint on a huge canvas! NOW!
    Enjoy buddy!
    Michael

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    1. Painting is always a joy. Though I admire the work of the masters prior to Courbet' s Salon des Refuses, the freedom of the Modern's always arouses my passion for putting paint to canvas. To some Miro's work may look like childhood scribbles, but to me they tell a tale of imagination and unbridled expression, something most of us curtailed or lost on our day jobs. I'd like to get more of inner child back.

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  7. LOVE, LOVE this post, Linda!!! I love the Japanese gardens...gorgeous pictures!!!!!

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    1. Thanks Hilda. When all you have is a camera, make the best of it. Seattle had a lot of bests.

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  8. Love all your photos and reading your thoughts, Linda. Having just returned from DC and the National Gallery and Phillips Collection I am also filled with that reverence your speak of and the desire to create.

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    1. And we only saw the Miro, a few modern sculptures, the work of other talented glass artists besides Chihuly. A museum takes more than a morning. But sometimes, that's all the time you can give before having to run home and paint, draw, construct something. The Japanese Garden was especially special coming away from Michigan's record breaking, brutal winter.

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  9. wonderful photos! I love Miro---you had to absolutely love this trip!

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    1. I did EXCEPT: We didn't stay long enough. Beautiful country out your way. Still on my agenda is visiting you, Chihuly's Tacoma Studio/factory, a gondola ride on Crystal Mountain, whale watching (we didn't have the proper parkas) and Vancouver via the Starlight Coach--I know the train would take longer to get there, but I've heard the views are marvelous from the upper deck--and WHAT'S THE HURRY? Thanks. When you can't paint, squeeze the shutter button.

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  10. Fabulous post -thanks, Linda.
    Have to tell you - I actually made a snorting sound laughing at the turtle comment. Good one.
    I adore Miro - his work speaks to me and Chihuly's work is very similar visually... in the way that as you experience it, the little bits of form and color make up an intriguing whole. That may make no sense to you but I once walked thru a tunnel of C- glass and that what came to mind.
    Love your sketches. Such talent

    Feel I would like to paint a gentle, lingering waterfall inspired by your photo if you would give me permission?

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  11. A real feast for the eyes. gorgeous trip !

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