View of Millenium Park from
the Modern Wing - Art Institute of Chicago
I read somewhere that artists should make an artist's date at least every two weeks. The purpose of the artist's date is to get out of the studio and fuel the soul with new inspiration. Now I can see why. From now on, I'm going to mark my artist date on the calendar and make sure I keep it. Yesterday I met my brother in downtown Chicago where he works . He took a half day so that we could just have fun viewing the new Modern Wing at the Art Institute.
I didn't take any shots inside the Art Institute because I was so drawn in by the amazing art, that I was quite overwhelmed. It's been way too long. Next time.
Before we knew it the whole day flew by. Here are pictures of Millenium Park (where I have never been). I only live 25 miles from Chicago, but rarely go to the tourist attractions. It was so much FUN.
We quickly walked into the Chicago Cultural Center and climbed up the stairs. Here's the amazing stained glass that was just overhead.
And of course, I stopped by the Hildt Gallery on State Street to see Deborah Paris's work for the first time, where it was not over a computer monitor. It's so much more beautiful when you see the actual paintings. They were overwhelmingly beautiful. The gallery owner graciously took this amazing painting closer to the natural light for me to take a picture.
An artist's date fuels the fun, inspiration and imagination. Now back to the studio.
Every once in a while I'm pulled out of my everyday routine to go on a day of inspiration. Usually I'm not the one who plans these outings. My daughter does. Last Friday was one of those days. Jessica has an internship at the School of the Art Institute. She's almost done with her Master of Library Science degree and has a curatorial project on display. So, of course I needed to see it! While walking around the streets of Chicago, we came across the newly restored iron grillwork of Louis Sullivan. Seeing this masterpiece up close made my jaw drop.
Even though I don't like the traffic in Chicago, it's worth the trip because there are cultural surprises at every turn. And I come away from these artist's dates with a feeling that my inspiration well has been filled. Of course we needed to have a very sophisticated lunch at Atwoods. My daughter picked the place. After all, moms always pay the bill!
