Art in Paris

For decades, it's been a dream of mine to make it to Paris. The Louvre feels like a a pilgrimage for many artists, and I am no exception. So when my artist husband and I found a good deal we booked a trip and grabbed a couple of our grown children and flew across the ocean to check out the art in person.

First stop was D'Orsay. The Museum Orsay has a wonderful Collection of Impressionism in the amazing refurbashed train station. Three hours is probably the right amount of time to spend there. The cafe at the top boasts the giant clock from Hugo, which you can look through to see the city. I can't tell you how happy I am that my children love art appreciate art museums even more that they've had history of civilization and art history classes in college. It also helps that they've been visiting museums and galleries since they were born.

family Portrait with Winged Victory

Next, the Louvre. We were coming in tired, and I didn't want to be too worn out for this exhausting museum, with miles of walking. We went right after lunch and practically ran through in a few hours to see our "must see" list, which I had actually written down. If I had it to do over, I'd have waited until the 2nd or 3rd day of the trip, and gone Thursday evening when things start to clear out. They're only open one evening a week, but I hear that it isn't so busy at night. I'd intentionally decided to avoid the Mona Lisa with it's crowds, but since so many of my favorites were right by the room where she hangs on the wall, I stuck my head in. No regrets.

Modonna on the Rocks, looking dark

I was sure that my favorite DaVinci was "Modonna on the Rocks, but it seemed very dark in person. Maybe it would brighten up with a cleaning, but his Madonna with St. Anne, was very vivid, so until the restoration, St. Anne is getting my vote. Reproductions are important, but seeing real work in real life provides surprises. The texture, the size, the depth, the frame: There's nothing like the real deal.

The Palace of Versailles is packed with Art. Ceilings were covered with views of heaven and historical scenes painted by artists who probably needed massages or a good chiropractor at least once a day.

The Pantheon isn't an Art Museum, but it might as well be with so many enormous painted panels covering the walls. One of my favorite walls portrayed the story of Joan of Arc. Tres French!

And as a TVI (Teacher of the Visually Impaired) I was happy to discover the final resting place of Louis Braille in the basement, along with other notable French men and women (Marie Curry, Victor Hugo, Voltare).

Our trip included other treasures, but I could have spent an entire week in Art Museums alone. Next time maybe. 

 

Glass Blowing for the Blind

Glass paper weights my students made in a hot shop

 I was so impressed on our recent field trip to Louisville, Kentucky, with a glass blowing studio called Flame Run. There, employees was able to help my students, who are legally blind, create paperweights from glass. 

Each student chose two or three colors that they wanted to use in their piece. The hot glass was "dipped" into trays of specks of each of those colors and heated again. Then students used tongs to pull and twist their glass to create swirls of color. The staff guided hands of students who needed a little extra help for the first few tries.

The colors that are chosen don't look like the ones that are placed on the hot glass. It isn't until the process is over and the chemical process is complete for the desired colors to show. The pieces needed to slowly cool in a kiln to prevent cracking. Sweet, Meg Outland, from the American Printing House for the Blind, picked the finished paperweights up, after they had cooled, and shipped them to Georgia, where my students could finally feel the forms and grasp the process. It's not enough to read about or discuss the process, my students need to experience these kind of things first hand for all that we learn in class to make sense.

APH Insight's Art Contest Awards

The Insights Art contest had 400 submissions this year from across the country, 90 of which made it into the exhibition. There were first and second place winners from about 7 categories, and a few of my students were chosen as winners, in the 10-12th grade category.  In fact, of the eight winners who showed up to the American Printing House for the Blind conference in Kentucky, to receive their awards, four were my students. All four sold their artwork.

The thrill of the airport train

I'm always overwhelmed with the responsibility of taking other people's children out of state. In the planning stages, I wonder if it is worth the effort, but once we are there, I get to see one life changing moment after another. Three of the four students had never flown before, but were willing to face their fear and get on the plane. 

a student describes her painting process

My students navigated 30 foot escalators (which can be more scary than planes), moving sidewalks, automatic rotating doors, and city streets. They shook hands with the president of APH, stayed in a fancy hotel, mingled at the reception, stood in front of hundreds of strangers at the awards ceremony and were interviewed by a podcaster. I'm hoping that by doing worthwhile things despite being afraid, students will take courage later in life, and venture out to live more fully, despite being blind.

The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft (KMAC) had free admission and we always get an outstanding audio description tour. Art is for everyone after all, and it's nice to get some insight into not only what the artwork looks like, but the processes and intentions of the artists.

The Louisville Pumpkin Spectacular staff were also very accommodating, allowing us to enter the wooded park trail to see thousands of jack-o-lanterns 15 minutes before the crowds. The smells, and music in each section made it a multi-sensory experience. 

There are hundreds of real pumpkins, at the Spectacular, that artists have to re-carve every several weeks because they start to decay. I loved that they had a section jack-o-lanterns of famous art portraits, like the ones we had just studied in class.

Weeks after we got home from the trip, a couple of my students made sure I knew that they would never forget the experiences they had that special weekend. I'm grateful I could be a part of that memory for them.

I'm so grateful for my friend and co-chaperone for sharing the adventure.