Saturday, November 26, 2011

Day in DC

We visited another Smithsonian today! But first, a stop in Chinatown.

Lunch at Tony Chen's where both kids tried the tea and only one liked it. (Surprisingly, it was Benjamin.)

Claire especially enjoyed the PuuPuu platter. Lots of yummies!

Water?!

These pictures are taken with my new iPhone. I think they're ok for snapshots.

My fortune was the one about patience. (A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains.)  So true. Benjamin's was true too -- The star of riches is shining on you. The neighbor paid him $20 for helping to bag leaves this morning.

Actually... it says "The star of riches *in* shining on you." Which is not as bad a typo as Claire's fortune, "Handsome is that handsome dose." What?

Then we went on to the Smithsonian American Art Museum where we saw several wonderful exhibits including bronze sculptures by Paul Manship.

The painting behind Jeff and Benjamin is titled, Father and Son. So of course...

I took a few pictures of textiles. I like this one with the quote above.

We had a cool moment when we looked at works by Kara Walker in one exhibit. Benjamin studied her in his art class over the last month and made a silhouette-inspired project that is hanging on the bulletin board in our kitchen. (A person balancing on one arm on top of a flag pole; a flag with smiley faces and peace signs and a tank shooting people.)

Edited to add: I asked Benjamin about the tank. I know boys like to draw battle scenes, but it makes me a bit uncomfortable. He said that his art teacher said he wasn't allowed to draw guns and bullets. He said, "Those are not bullets coming out of the tank, they are loaves of bread." Well, ok then.

Then we saw her again since she was included in The Black List portrait collection. We even watched a short video of her talking about her experience as a artist. That's what it's all about, right?! Going out in the world and making connection with other experiences!

DC is a great town. I am so thankful to live close by and to enjoy with my family.

3 comments:

Kristin L said...

Your Father and Son is wonderful! It's so great when families get into the art experience. I too love that quote about art and birth. I know that there are many ways to make and experience art and that for many people, a light or surface experience is enough. But I can't help always going for the deeper work. And speaking of hard work, I love Kara Walker's work. It makes me happy that Benjamin studied her in school. As for the loaves of bread, I have pretty much come to the conclusion that boys will be boys and the clever ones will find ways to do what they want, even if we try to keep them from it.

aimee said...

DC is awesome! So glad you had a great trip.

Natalya Khorover Aikens said...

wonderful quote! I just had to copy that. I miss DC, time for a trip....