momtourage

Improvisation

So maybe they didn't get that popular Lego Empire State Building kit for Hannukah, but I think the boys did a pretty good job improvising their disappointment away.

Details

In a more reflective vein, I took a walk in Old Deerfield this weekend, largely because it was a good (though blustery) day for a walk and this historic village provides a quiet and contemplative venue for such an outing. It had changed since I was there last, in that there are even more opportunities to view historic (Colonial period with, I am told, some Federal updates) houses, businesses (I am thinking of the print shop which I have failed to notice in the past), and the graveyard from which I have provided pictorial details below. I was struck by the direct simplicity of the etchings, and how some have fared worse due to the weather, becoming mere suggestions of what they once portrayed.

Of course, wandering through a graveyard is a surefire way to raise uncomfortable questions surrounding being and one's own mortality. Don't think for a moment that my mind didn't go in that direction. Hence the visual digression.  Make of it what you will.

Late Fall, Central Park

Since the Kandinsky exhibit, I have been seeing everything in terms of geometry.

Day Off

S and I took advantage of a day off - from school, work, chores (my call) and an all-consuming reading project to trek into Manhattan by bus/train to the Guggenheim. (Truly, getting to the Upper East Side is most inconvenient from this part of Brooklyn...) We got there just as it opened (planned) and have reciprocal membership through the Brooklyn Museum, so managed to avoid the long line of people all eager to see the Kandinsky exhibition. I thought that we were there to see it too, but alternate things captured the mind of a child.

Like staring over the balcony at every level, admiring the architecture. "Most people are wearing black...It gets moderner and moderner as we go up." Both observation (correctly) made about midway up. (ummm...and you're not actually supposed to take pictures from here, even flashless)

Or discovering a new nook with a great view of the park that we hadn't (somehow) seen before.

Or spending quite a large amount of time moving through Felix Gonzales-Torres' gold, bead curtain and trying to make S. understand that the small gold field behind was a work by someone else, and that the two had actually been paired by some keen eye. (He still probably doesn't get it.)

But for S, the real star of the show was Anish Kapoor's 'Memory.' I have to admit that I am somewhat shocked by the photo of the entire egg-shaped sculpture on the Guggenheim's page as part of the point (much of it) seems to be that one is forbidden to see the work in its entirety and must construct an image in it in one's mind, piecemeal, from one or more viewings. S insisted on at least two viewings from each vantage point. We listened to the commentary which included a narrative from the artist himself, describing the work in terms of 'mental sculpture.' This is an instance in which I feel that a picture really is inappropriate and does not do justice to the work. I find that the experience of viewing is lingering with me. And that I prefer to be thinking about it in the fragments I was allowed to see.

And that somewhat grumpy note marks the end of another art excursion.

Wrap it up

My kids love painting. Not only that, they are prolific. Early on I began to be overwhelmed by the enormous stacks of paintings cluttering nearly every flat surface in the house. I saved a few special ones in a portfolio as a reminiscence aid for old age, but I felt terrible about throwing the rest into recycling. So I didn't. Or rather, I recycled them in a  different manner.

I feel that these 'masterpieces' are appropriate for any occasion and people seem to like them a lot. In fact, the wrap for the above stack of baby shower presents received nearly as many compliments as the hand knits inside.

And if I am running short, I just drag out the easel and little hands are quick to create more.

Weekend Art Update

Well, we're not even pretending to attempt to devote time to sports on the weekends now. And it is working out okay for all involved. Though it's probably something that will come up in therapy many years from now...

We kicked the weekend off with an album cover modification session at the WFMU record fair. Connie ended up accompanying us around Manhattan for the rest of the afternoon.

Then it was off to PaceWildenstein to experience the current Maya Lin exhibition. I think the block mountain gave the boys a few new structural ideas.

Somehow we managed to stop by the Rubin Museum along the way too. There's nothing quite like a good old-fashioned art overload!

Beautiful Day/ Leaf Tracing

With the exception of a day of torrential rain - rain so intense and unrelenting that yet again a river up to my ankles ran down our street - with the exception of that, we have been having some beautiful days. On one of these days (72 degrees in October!) we skipped the grim basement pool at the Y and spent the afternoon outdoors, drawing, reading and just wandering about.

This is our 'to go' art box - basically a large pencil case from Staples to which I attached a kitchen cabinet handle (from the local hardware store). It's nice to have it around, ready to grab at a moment's notice and the hard container keeps crayons from getting broken. I'd made one a few years ago for my knitting supplies and it has helped immensely with the portability of knit projects.

Lazy Day

No school, no work, a day with no restrictions and few plans. Nevertheless, we have managed to experience quite a lot, in a vaguely meandering, largely low-key way.

I really got going on the kanoko pants for J and N's shower, just 3 weeks away. Am loving this pattern and wishing I had found it in time for my own boys to wear. (Not that I didn't suddenly picture them in a large version of said pants and smile a little bit.) Oh kanoko pants, you will cause me to ignore my big stack of 'to reads' and right after it has been augmented at a very literary stoop sale!

A trip to buy the boys much needed new sneakers turned into an odyssey, fortified by early morning molasses cookies. (It's sort of cold and seemed the right time to bake something autumnal.) We walked down a new block complete with gargoyles, admired the just turning trees, and returned with a new companion - a giant, promotional rhinoceros the nice lady in the store gave to Hank. He proved heavier than we thought, so we all took turns carrying him.

 

And it is even nicer to enjoy today in light of the frantic cleaning events of a couple of days ago. Yes, Hank managed to pick up lice and it has been all hot water, vacuums and stainless steel combs around the house. Now that I am satisfied that theses unwelcome visitors are gone, I can finally relax.

This is what I like

about living in the city. Exposure to activities and ideas that I never would have encountered during my rural upbringing. And on Sunday it was the Great Children's Read. A little too crowded and hectic after a while, so we found a quiet bench on the Columbia campus and continued to read a book we have all been enjoying. Then a stop at my favorite children's bookshop, a meander through Riverside Park (2 playground stops, boat identification and more reading) before tackling the long subway ride home. Oh yeah, and some pizza in the middle to sustain us.

Well, it was going to rain anyway

so we chose the art book fair at PS1. There was a cookout. And the kids were almost tiresomely amused by the pool.