Playing at the Art Museum (again!)

Isn't this a great picture? The lighting in the art museum's Open Studio is just perfect. We went there about three years ago but I didn't have my camera with me (it was out getting fixed),  so I was excited to go back and get some pictures.



The Norman Rockwell exhibit was ending on Monday (Memorial Day), which we figured would be pretty crowded, so we decided to go on Saturday. The library has free art museum passes that you can check out, but only a limited number. I called our local branch to see if they had any available, and the guy said they had one that was just getting ready to go back on the shelf, so Doug went and picked it up. Yay! Free admission! And we didn't have to wait in line to get tickets (a nice plus).



We went downtown and parked by Freighthouse Square, and then rode the Link over to the museum. Andy loved the Link and complained loudly when the ride was over.

We got to spend just a little time in the exhibit (as much as the kids' patience could stand) and then we took them up to the studio to play.



This was a new addition--a big cylindrical block covered with chalkboard paint. (That "Oliver" was already there--no relation to the new cousin.)



I got Andy set up at an easel and he went to work right away.



Adding some chalk for a mixed-media experience.



We couldn't find the bigger sheets of paper. When Andy ran out of room, he just moved on to painting the easel.



Doesn't he look cute in his apron? He didn't like it when I first put it on, but didn't complain while he was busy painting.



I don't know if Kate remembered her bead-stringing adventures last time, but she quickly gravitated to the jewelry making case and spent the time happily making a necklace.




She kept Doug busy rolling Mod Podge cut paper beads.



Pretty cool!

I wish we could have spent a little longer with the Rockwell paintings, but it was neat to get to see them, however briefly. They were interesting enough to keep Kate's attention for a little while. She was amused by the boy's expression in "The Discovery." I think my favorite part was discovering that "The Art Critic" has real blobs of paint on the palette.

I told Kate that these are famous paintings, and she'll probably see pictures of them in a lot of places as she's growing up. Maybe she'll remember that we took her to see the originals when she was little.