A Moment at the Museum

I had 45 minutes between appointments. That is like gold to me. I can be MIA for 45 minutes! No one can fill the gap because it is only 45 minutes and yet it is 45 WHOLE MINUTES! With sketchbook in hand I headed to the museum.

There was an exhibit that I wanted to see. The Museum was quiet, just the way I like it, and I exhaled a happy breath as I stepped into the exhibit. About 30 seconds later two women came in......talking. You know those guards that have the insufferable job of wandering the rooms to be sure no one is harming the art? They should be the Guido's of the loud talkers. You know, it would look like, "YOU, loud talker, on floor! Your museum entry ticket has been revoked." Chuckle....that would make me happy. Anyway, back to my story.

This forced me into the Native glass exhibit that I wasn't that interested in. Don't get me wrong, the items were amazing but living here you have LOTS of encounters with Native art. But I did some sketching that really paid off.




I am working on my next book and I needed some strange, prehistoric flowers. These two sketches were of glass bottles that were on display. They had flower written all over them! I hadn't expected to see anything like this in the Native show. That's what I get for mentally writing of the show. Note to self, all art is worth seeing.

Here are the finished flowers. I decided to take off the 'mustache' on the cone flowers. It didn't seem like facial hair until I started to paint it. Instead I added the blue stems. I think they came out great.

So I learned a few things. First, always wander through an exhibit even if you think you're not interested. There could be something fantastic you're missing. Two, always have your sketch book to record an idea. And three, loud talkers can be beneficial but I might drop the Guido idea in the suggestion box.