Soloist

Carolina Ballet

I read a post recently about the pleasures of doing things alone, things most of my friends would never do. Last night I did exactly that.

I was having a day. It was gray, cold and I was feeling pretty blue (which is another post entirely). But I was determined not to sit and mope in my apartment in my pajamas all day. I was invited out to dinner with a good friend, but I wasn't in the mood for being good company. I just wanted to enjoy a solitary moment, but in the company of others.

So I did a search of events in Raleigh and Carmen was being performed by the Carolina Ballet. Perfect.

My last minute decision paid off. I got balcony, first row seats - the most perfect seats, really - for only half price. The show wasn't sold out and the ticket booth woman was very kind.

I can't say that I'm a particular fan of ballet or opera, but I do appreciate the arts and the skill, discipline that goes into it and the beauty that comes out of it. The passion that the dancers (or musicians, actors, painters.... whatever it happens to be) put into their art is so strong and so moving, that it has often brought me to tears.

In the dark, alone, with a few hundred other people, I was memorized by the strength of the people who danced on stage. The principles who made it look so effortless. And I was distracted by the men who has their junk crammed into their tights.

When the show was over and the dancers gave their final bows, I felt satisfied with myself. I was glad that I'm not afraid to explore and be on my own. And I wondered how many things I would have missed if I needed to wait for someone to accompany me on adventures.

Expressing my creative side

Last night my alum group went to a local paint studio for a painting lesson. Well, it was more of an evening of copying what the instructor was doing, while drinking wine, eating cheese and cookies and doing a lot of laughing.

I started by painting the sky. The original had a vertical streaky sky and looking at it now, I don't really like it. If I could do it over I wouldn't make it streaky.

The grass was done in the same fashion as the sky. I cheated and flipped my canvas upside down to paint the grass.

Then I added in white gloppy things to indicate where my poppies were going to be. And to make a base to allow the colors to pop better against the grass.

There are a few colors I missed taking a picture of, but on the poppies are washes of yellow, orange and red.

Finished off the poppies with brown and purple centers and some white and blue swirlies just for visual interest.

I added in some leaves, clouds and voila! The finished, and signed, project.

Everyone with their masterpieces.

Labor Day Weekend

I had a great Labor Day weekend here in Raleigh. It was full of activities that made me appreciate all that I have around me.

Friday was First Friday in Raleigh. It's an art celebration on the first Friday of each month. I love it because not only to art galleries participate, but local businesses turn into galleries as well to showcase local artists as well as their products. I picked up a cute necklace and wore it proudly the rest of the evening.

Among the cobblestone streets of Moore Square you can also find musical artists to entertain you. This band had the crowd dancing in the streets, myself included.



Saturday afternoon I joined a MeetUp group to go horseback riding at Dead Broke Farm in northwest Raleigh. There was a group of 12 people, some who hadn't rode a horse in 15 years (like me) and others who never rode a horse at all.

It was a slow trail ride. Quite boring actually, with all the stopping and starting. I was getting annoyed by two newbies who had no idea what they were doing. One woman kept screaming practically every time her horse moved. She sucked. Then this other guy -- this very large man on an equally large horse -- tried to reason with his horse when it wandered into the woods. "Why must you go into the woods?" I thought that if he actually held the reigns and steered his horse he'd get better results.

My horse, Keeper was a sweetie. Except that he/she (?) kept turning its head to nibble on my foot. I wasn't sure if it liked me or hated me.

There were a few cool people in the group. Afterward we went to a local bar for some beers and burgers. A good way to end off the afternoon.

Sunday was mainly spent running errands, but I hung out with new friends that night. We ate pitas and hummus and drank wine on the deck in Durham while we watched the dogs run around. I did not bring Barry. He's kind of an ass and I wasn't in the mood to babysit my dog.

Monday was the best day of all. The weather was gorgeous. Just right for a baseball game. Since I came to North Carolina, I knew I had to go see a Durham Bulls game. Bull Durham is one of my favorite movies and I needed to go and pay homage.

The ballpark was beautiful and my seats were right behind first base, a few levels up. It was a long game -- about 3 hours. But the Bulls finally won 6-5 in the 12th inning.

A great end to a great day to an even greater weekend.

My MOMA trip

Wednesday was an adventure day. I was meeting @vivzan at the Museum of Modern Art to see the Tim Burton exhibit.

I started my day in Jersey City as I waited for the Path train to take me to midtown Manhattan.


It was a nice day so I walked the 20 blocks from Herald Square up to 53rd Street.

I often forget that New York is a tourist spot. To me, it's just an extension of my neighborhood. So when I walked into the museum lobby at 10:30 on a Wednesday morning, I was a little shocked to see it to packed and humming with a dozen different languages.

I was thankful that I ordered and printed out my entry ticket last night because the lines were just too much to bare. I found a spot on a comfy ottoman and waited for @vivzan as I watched the people take pictures.

There were two things that caught my eye in the lobby. The first was this inflatable Tim Burton creature with many eyes. Even though he has a grotesque style, this thing seemed friendly and cuddly.

The second thing was a large painting hanging above an information desk.

At first glance, it looked like a silly painting of sailors with big noses. But upon closer look, I realized. Those weren't noses.

Viviane arrived and we set out immediately to the exhibit space for Tim Burton.

I really had no idea how talented he was as an illustrator and painter. I was even more floored when I learned that he was an animator for Disney. But the detail and shading in even his notepad doodles were so amazing.

Soon we were hungry and tired and needed a break. We went to the cafeteria on the 3rd floor and MOMA even made the meals another art instillation.

Each plate was presented as beautifully as it tasted. I had a tender chicken pannini and Viv had the yummiest pollenta I ever tasted. Then dessert... I had a rich, chocolate torte that could only be enjoyed with a glass of cold milk.

After lunch, we forced our tired and full bodies to the rest of the museum. I loved the Monets and Van Gogh, the Seurat and Cézanne. I can even appreciate Picasso, Warhol and Pollock. I loved the photography exhibit where everyday, mundane pictures made the cut. Some, no more impressive than a candid shot of my dog chasing a squirrel outside.

But then we got to the strange stuff and I just have to wonder, what makes it art? There was an instillation of a chair, and another of four pushpins stuck in a wall with string all around them.
Then my favorites are the canvases painted one solid color with a line of white running down the side.

Seriously? WTF?!

But then we'd come across something interesting again.

It was a long day and by 4:30 we were all tired out. Damn, we were getting old.

I walked back down from 53rd through Times Square and came upon a little NYC drama.

I have no idea what happened. But 7th Ave was blocked off with tons of fire trucks, cop cars and a couple of stretchers. There were lines of people taking photos and videos but no one had a clue what happened. Typical. Just another day in New York City.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Tim Burton to Showcase Art at MoMA (pastemagazine.com)
• Photo Gallery: Tim Burton Exhibit At The Museum Of Modern Art (splashpage.mtv.com)
• Tim Burton exhibition opens at MoMA on Sunday (timeoutny.com)
• Salute Your Shorts: Tim Burton's Short Films (Part 1, 1971-1982) (pastemagazine.com)

Things I like: Edible Art

This is the coolest thing I've seen. And its making me hungry.

100 Games Cupcake Game
100 cupcakes were decorated like board/video games. They are amazing!




(found this from my geek-lover Wil Wheaton)

The Met

I was looking for inspiration this weekend. I found it at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

I love going to the museum and wandering around. I tend to loiter in the same places: the sculpture gardens, Renaissance paintings and Impressionist paintings.

In the sculpture gardens, I enjoyed watching the artists sketch the works as much as the art itself. I brought along my own sketchbook and pencils but was intimidated by the other artists. Their sketches were so real it was hard to believe that it was only paper.

I found corners where I could hide where I could quickly sketch a piece of architecture. Mostly I took pictures of statues so I could sketch them later on my own.

Make your own comparisons.

What I realized that I was most drawn to works of art that had a distinct range of color values from dark to light.

I loved how the shadows fell across the sculptures. The realism of paintings where you could almost touch the wetness of the eyes. How your eyes could fool the mind into seeing beyond the brush strokes towards the bigger picture.

This post is no where as near as complete or my thoughts as composed as I would like them to be, but that's ok. Its only the stirrings of a creative force that is finding a way to emerge.