We recently went to the new exhibit at Brigham Young University, Carl Bloch: The Master’s Hand.

If you are in the area, even for a short time, I URGE you to go!  It was so very, very beautiful!

Five original altarpieces are on display in the exhibit, 4 of them taken from their altars in Sweden and Denmark for the very first time.

This next one was my favorite.  It is so very stunning in person.

Along with the gorgeous altarpieces, the exhibit features several of Bloch’s other lesser known but equally beautiful paintings.

Bloch’s artwork is recognized all throughout the world and it is so very exciting that it is HERE in my backyard!  If you are in Utah even for a minute, try and stop in to see the exhibit.  You need to get tickets ahead of time, but the tickets are free.  Go here to do that.

And now, a guide for the reluctant museum goer. My friend told me she gets so bored at museums and I know there are many out there who share her feelings.  Take this from a reluctant museum goer turned Bachelor of Art History diploma holder.  I know what I’m talking about.  And this is what you do.

1. Go on the website to familiarize yourself with the paintings and subject matter.  You don’t have to spend a ton of time researching.  Just look at the artwork and read a blurb or two so you know SOMETHING.  You will like your museum visit infinitely more if you have a tidge of knowledge when going in.

2. When at the museum, go into an exhibit room and look around.  Pay attention to what catches your eye and go see it.  Maybe it catches your eye because it is beautiful, ugly, weird looking or features your favorite color.  It doesn’t matter why it catches your eye.  Just let your eye be caught.

3. Look at the eye catching piece of art for 30 seconds.  Try and figure out what you like/hate about it.  Notice the figures and the objects in the painting.  Think if you can figure out the story being told.  After you’ve looked at it for a little bit, read the placard next to the painting (if you feel so inclined).  You may learn something interesting.  Or you may not.  Either way, it’s ok.

4. Now glance at the paintings near the one that caught your eye.  Do you care to see them?  If not, move on.  If so, repeat the above steps.  There is no rule that says you have to view every painting.  There is no rule that says you have to LIKE every painting.

5. Go into another room and do the same thing.  Challenge yourself to do this to at least ONE painting in each room.  If you find yourself enjoying your visit, start paying more attention to the way the exhibit is set up.  Did the curators haphazardly hang the paintings or did they hang them in a certain order or grouping?  Are they trying to teach something about the artist, subject matter or time period in their placards?  Do you agree with what they are teaching?

6. Before you leave, allow yourself to go back and look at any favorite paintings.  If you want.

7. Watch out.  You might find yourself having a good time!

Right before bed the other night, my daughter found her Halloween costume from 2 years ago and begged to wear it.  Ryan said she could wear it “tomorrow,” and satisfied with the promise, she went to bed.  But you know how promises to 2 year-olds go.  We forgot about it.  And so did she.

Then a few days later, she found the costume moments before we were about to leave the house to go to an arts festival. 

“Oh!  My wings!” she exclaimed with glee (‘glee’ the emotion, not the TV show).  “Remember Daddy say?  I wear it?”

So I let her wear it.  I was surprised (and quite happy) that it still fit. 

Because she was an adorable ladybug in the middle of June.

If you would like to read about the arts festival, you can check out my post for Visit Salt Lake here.  If you live in Utah, you should definitely try to go to the festival next year.  Also, if you live in Utah, click the link above and then be sure to stick around at Visit Salt Lake’s blog for a minute.  Local bloggers share their insider tips on restaurants, family friendly attractions, outdoor recreation, arts and culture (moi!), shopping and more.  It’s a great place to go if you’re planning a visit OR if you live here and want to find something fun to do!

And most events are ladybug friendly.

I am really super-de-duper excited to be the new arts and culture blogger for Visit Salt Lake! 

For my first post, Lydia and I had a great time exploring a beautiful art gallery that has long been on my “To Visit” list.

We adored the sculpture deck.  When I told Lydia to “sit between the birdies,” she took that to mean “ride the birdies.”  Never fear.  This is as far as she got.  My new, super-fast camera quickly got this picture and less than a second later, I took her off the sculpture.  That’s how amazingly fast this camera is.  I love it.  (Still need to figure out how to actually use it, but I AM enjoying the super-fastness of it right now)

Somebody really does need to keep an eye on this girl in an art gallery. 

Read more about my visit to the gallery here.

There is a story too horrible to tell.

Yet it was told in sickening detail in the newspaper.  I stumbled upon it unaware, while I ate my breakfast one day.  My eyes traveled through the paragraphs, while my spoon traveled to my mouth.  There was no warning.  Just as I put another spoonful of Cinnamon Toast Crunch into my mouth, the words unfolded themselves to me with no regret and no sorrow.  Just awful, horrible facts.

The victim was much too young to have any understanding of the cruelties he was receiving.  The abusers were children themselves, much too young to commit such heinous acts.  Yet they did.

I have read many stories of human suffering, but this one won’t leave me.  I read it a month ago, and I still have not been able to bring myself to say out loud what happened.  I won’t give any more details here because I don’t want you to read what happened.  It’s awful.  It sneaks into my mind when I’m not expecting it.  Nearly every day, I see what happened to this little boy and I cry for him and his parents.

For a while I was in despair.  I thought that nothing, absolutely NOTHING, could make what happened to this boy any better.  I then thought of others who have suffered at the hands of cruelty and began to wonder: can this EVER be fixed?  Will they ever be whole?  Even in Heaven, can they be made complete again?

I came to a point where I had to make a decision:  Either the answer is no, and some things are just too horrible to ever be made right.  Or it is yes, and the atonement of Jesus Christ is real.

I believe in the atonement.  As soon as I thought that the answer has to be NO, nothing can fix these things, I thought about the atonement of Jesus Christ.  He suffered not only for our sins, but for the things WE suffer.  There is forgiveness and love and healing power.  If the atonement is true, and I believe it is, then the atonement is the only thing that can fix these awful, cruel things.

As soon as I had this thought, my mind again went back to the little boy I read about.  Oh no, I thought.  Not even the atonement could fix this.  But then I thought that if the atonement can’t fix this, then how can it be real?  It IS real.  I KNOW it is.

So the conclusion I came to is that the atonement is more powerful than I ever understood.  The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the ONLY thing that can save us.  It is the ONLY thing that can make things right for that little boy.  And if those things can be made right, then the atonement of Jesus Christ has to be the most powerful, most loving thing in this world.

I believe this.  I know it to be true, yet I think I only grasp one millionth of that truth.  Even so, with my one millionth of understanding, I am more grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ than I can even express.

This was painted by my dear friend, Eve Okura.  Isn’t it lovely?

‘Twas a lovely day yesterday.  March 3rd normally is.  That’s because March 3rd is my birthday.

My handsome hubby took a half day off so he could spend the morning with me.  The night before, he presented me with many well researched options for our morning together, and I chose to go to Brigham Young University’s Museum of Art.

Oh, how I miss that museum.  When I attended BYU, I would stop in many times a week to see if my favorite paintings were still there.  As an Art History major, I even had classes in the lovely place.  I volunteered at the museum and later, when I worked for BYU’s anthropology museum (The Museum of Peoples and Cultures), I got to spend hours in the art museum’s basement playing with…I mean…carefully handling anthropological objects that were housed there.

Getting lost in a museum is one of my favorite things to do and I so want my daughter to appreciate art and museums.

Going to museums or art galleries with a toddler can be tricky.  But if you do it right, you can really have a good time with your child.  When Lydia was just a few months old, I wrote a post for Vanessa at I Never Grew Up about visiting museums with children SUCCESSFULLY!  You can read it here.  Since Lydia was still a wee baby when I wrote it, my tips were based on how I WOULD do a museum with a child.  Now that Lydia is a very active toddler, I find that my tips hold true. 

We had a great day yesterday, mainly because we involved Lydia.  We held her at the paintings’ levels and talked about things that would interest her- animals, babies, colors, shapes.  We helped her relate to beautiful landscapes by asking if she thought they were pretty and if she would like to go there.  She even let me tell her stories about the backgrounds of a few paintings.  When she got bored, we moved on, circling back later if we missed something we wanted to see.

The cutest thing was when Ryan took her into another room while I lingered at a painting.  When I joined them, she hopped, jumped and ran (whoops) to different sculptures and paintings, proudly telling me what they were about.  “That’s Mary.  That’s Baby Jesus.  That’s donkey.  That’s red and that one’s red too!  Look!  Kitty!”  It seems Ryan had already given her a lesson- and it stuck.

Of course, she got antsy.  Fortunately, it happened towards the end of our visit, so we were happy we had seen our favorite exhibits first.  That may be my best piece of advice- go directly to what YOU want to see!

I’m curious: do you take your children to museums?  Do you enjoy museums yourself?

We spent Saturday in Park City, an artsy community in the mountains.  Main Street is home to more than 20 quality art galleries, tons of restaurants, fun stores, and a few sweet shoppes (where we always stop for a yummy candy apple).

We made three happy discoveries while there.

1. Thomas Kearns McCarthey Gallery, which specializes in beautiful Russian Impressionist art still exists!  Several years back, on a visit with my mom and sisters, I happily stumbled into the gallery and found myself completely enchanted with the paintings on the walls.  Each subsequent trip propelled me straight to that gallery.  A few years later, I arrived at the gallery to find it closed and gone.  I despaired.  This weekend, we found it across the street!  They had simply changed location.  I was elated!

all images here

2. We discovered Michael Fatali, a landscape photographer at Sacred Earth Images gallery.  He uses an old-school camera and develops his pictures on special paper in a DARKROOM.  That’s right- none of his pictures are touched up or Photoshopped.

all images here

3. We stumbled upon the delightful work of mixed media artist, Denise Duong at Phoenix Gallery.  Her subjects are primarily herself and her husband.  Love it!

all images here

It was a visually stunning Valentine’s weekend.  I’m feeling very artjuvenated.  What great art have you seen lately?  How was your Valentine’s Day?

Have I ever told you about J. Kirk Richards?  If I haven’t, shame on me.  He is one of my very most favorite artists.  I love his colors and visible brushstrokes.  Many of his paintings even seem to glow.  How does he do that? 

Here are some of his latest works available for purchase.  One day, I will have enough money to buy an original!  Until then, I will just stare at his website a couple times a day to make me happy.

An Angel’s Whisper

Cantata (Wir eilen mit Schwachen)

Flower Garden

Holy Family

Children Singing

Woman with Holly

All pictures from here

This is the cover of this month’s Ensign, a publication of articles put out by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

I was lucky enough to see this painting in person when it was on display at the 8th International Art Competition put on by the Museum of Church History and Art in Salt Lake City.

It’s gorgeous on a magazine cover or on the internet, but even more so in person.  (Isn’t that always the case?)

Entitled Flight, it depicts the story of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus’ flight into Egypt.  I love it for the innocent face of the boy Jesus and for the determined and steady face of Joseph.  And, oh, those billowing robes!  Aren’t they stunning?

You can visit the blog of the artist, Rose Datoc Dall, here.  Take a minute to click on the images on the site’s sidebar.  She has links to her images of Mary, Joseph and Christ series, interior landscape series, Adam and Eve series and more.  I especially love the painting of Adam and Eve, which you can find in the link to her paintings and in the Adam and Eve series link.

I haven’t been in the world of art lately.  I’ve been in the busy world of mothering, teaching piano and learning the ropes of a new writing job.

Whenever I get too busy, finding time to appreciate art is one of the first things to go.  It’s unfortunate, but understandable (I think).  Everybody gives up something when they are busy.  What is the first thing you give up when life gets too hectic?

One thing I love about viewing paintings is that you can’t run by them if you want to appreciate them.  You won’t get the story or the emotions that way.  You have to stop, think and admire.

So, since I’ve been too busy to stop, think and admire, I am posting one painting that always makes me do just that.

This is Supper at Emmaus by Rembrandt.  It tells the story of Christ after his resurrection.  Before the scene in this painting takes place, Christ has walked with disciples who did not recognize him.  While having supper at Emmaus, the disciples’ eyes are opened and they recognize who they are with.

I’m a sucker for the deep colors of Dutch painting, so I would love this painting even if I didn’t know the story.  But when I saw it at the Louvre, I took the time to sit and stare.  I noticed how Rembrandt used those deep colors to convey the dramatic understanding of the disciples.

This photograph doesn’t do justice, but notice how the light is brightest around Christ’s head.  It seems to gradually reach the men whose faces, when touched by the light, show a sudden understanding.

That symbolism can be taken in so many ways, but I love the idea of light.  When we are in the darkness of grief, selfishness, ignorance, hatred etc., we don’t have a full understanding.  When we look to truth and love, the darkness escapes as we enter the light.  I know that not all my readers believe in the same things I do.  But I want to share that, just like in this painting, I believe Jesus Christ is the light.  The light that brings truth, love and joy.

Alright, I know you’ve been dying to know where this sign was posted.

If you are ever traveling through Nevada along I-80, your sight will be teased with this crazy structure.

You will speed by it at 75 mph (because you don’t go 85 anymore after that ticket in California), blink, rub your eyes, and look back, daring your brain to process the sight.  You may question: Was that a mirage?  We are in the desert, after all.   Could there really be something interesting to look at out here amidst the tumbleweeds and infinite dust?  And just WHAT IN THE WORLD IS IT?

And if you have been on that awful stretch of I-80 for long enough, you will just file that question away and keep going.  Because stopping in the desert only means you have to remain in the desert that much longer.

But if you have driven past that structure since you were 9 years old, you will finally say, “Enough is enough.  What IS this place?” And you will stop. 

A Native American named Rolling Mountain Thunder created this fascinating structure as a monument to Native Americans.  He built it (with some help from wanderers) during the 60’s and 70’s from items found within a radius of Imlay, Nevada. 

The only thing he paid for during the construction of the house/building/artwork/thing was concrete.  He wanted to make a statement that the “white man” is wasteful.  And the statement is loud and clear as you walk around the property, viewing hundreds of bottles creatively used for insulation in the walls,

police car windshields transformed into windows,

who-knows-what as part of a fence/wall

and old cars and machines as fences,

to name just a few.

We discovered that the “Enter at Your Own Risk” is a necessary sign as we tiptoed around and through broken glass and who knows what else.

The little dear got to walk for only a smidgen of a second before we realized she was about to eat glass.

So…if you ever find yourself in the middle of Nevada, bored out of your mind, do stop at this place.  You can’t miss it.  Plus, it is truly fascinating to see up close.  Just be sure to wear steel-toed boots.