AMANDA'S BASKETS: MY FIRST ART ADVENTURE

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

MY FIRST ART ADVENTURE - MOMA

After I took pictures of my new apartment last Friday, I took the subway back to Grand Central Station in Manhattan and walked the fourteen blocks to MOMA...The Museum of Modern Art. Check out the inside and outside photos...

I picked up my annual membership...

And went right in to see the Exhibit of Matisse Cut Outs. The lines at MOMA are long, very long. The price of admission is $25. The price of a basic membership is $85. If you are going to MOMA more than a couple times, it really is cheaper to get the membership. There are a ton of benefits such as skipping the line and going right into an exhibit, free lectures and videos, discounts at the cafe and store.

Of course, you can get in free on Friday afternoon/evenings but the line wrapped around the block when I left last Friday...long, very long.

I couldn't take pictures of the exhibit...not even covert ones. There were multiple guards in every room. The exhibit begins small, seemingly insignificant, but with each succeeding room the pieces become larger and more complicated. I was totally amazed. This is one exhibit that I will be going back to see several times.

I did purchase some postcards and took pictures of them to give you a bit of the flavor...

Some of the pieces were almost larger than life...12 by 5 feet and 10 by 8 feet and even larger. All were colorful. I really liked the feeling the exhibit provided: Playful, colorful, childlike, brings a smile to your face type.

I know that many analysts try to find deeper meanings to pieces of art. And that's okay. But me? I like to enjoy my immediate response.

For instance, whenever I see a Grandma Moses primitive piece, I smile. Don't ask me why...I just love to look at her work. It brings to mind a simpler, happier time. And yes, I know that is all in my mind. But that's okay because it's what I experience that counts to me.

Each of us has to find what pieces of art bring them joy. Can you imagine the great adventures you'd have on that quest?

I won't be going to Maine until next week. A good friend has a birthday celebration this Friday and I didn't want to miss it. So, things will be a bit later than anticipated, but I'm still excited about moving into my new place.

That's all for today...
Thanks for visiting...
'Je suis Charlie'...
Talk to you later...

CRAFTING IDEAS

I am always looking for a small piece of paper to write down something which will later be disposed of. I decided to use some of the scrap paper of which I have a ton. I mostly use the paper for glueing projects. I decided to cut the paper into a small size. (Six pieces from a piece of copy paper.). But just having them sitting on my desk would get messy without a container. So, using a cardboard box, I cut it down to size and using a hot glue gun I glued the ends together. Using a picture from a magazine cut into pieces and stick craft glue, I glued the pieces to the box inside and out. I also used some decorative tape for the outside edges. And to finish the top corners which were not covered, I used straight pins with colorful tops. Looks nice and works well.

MAGAZINE IDEAS

(New) One article in the Farmer's Almanac 2024 is a list of trends. One I knew about is the trend to downsize in just about every area. Another trend that I was surprised about was called ''The Human Library' which offers people on loan to talk about specific subjects. Finally, more folks are adding pets to their family and as a result, stores are adding more pet food, toys and medication to their offerings. There's also a nice garden article which suggests mixing vegetables and flowers together for success.

RECIPE IDEAS

Have you every made Cherry Dump Cake. It calls for 2 cans of Cherry Pie Filling (21 ounces), a white cake mix, 1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted & 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans. In a 9 by 13 pan, spread both cans of cherry pie filling. Add the melted butter to the cake mix and break apart the resulting mixture and crumble it evenly over the pie filling. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 - 45 minutes until the topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Fast, easy and very delicious.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What if you want to establish better habits, then decide what habit you want to work on. Again, try an easier one first for that good feeling of success. Let's consider more exercise. Start small. Don't try to run a marathon right away. Set the amount of time, the type of exercise and when to do it to begin making sure that it is within your reach. If it works for you each week add a bit more. Walking is one of the best ways to get good overall movement but there are many exercise videos on YouTube of varying lengths and difficulty to check out. Change your exercise routines to eliminate getting bored. For hardcore exercise with weights, give yourself a day in-between to recover. Even on days you would rather not exercise, do it and see if you feel better. It takes an average of 66 days to establish a habit. Just think 66 days to establish a good habit for a lifetime. Sounds like a good thing to me...how about you?