Picasso Funtime

Portrait of Dora Maar
Pablo Picasso

There are many ways to cap off a week of back to back errands, appointments and obligations. Spending 4 blissful hours wandering the exhibitions and collections at the Seattle Art Museum sure is a nice one! Just as I said to my friend accompanying me, "This sure beats watching Netflix!"

The occasion was of course, to see the overly-talked about Picasso exhibit on view through the end of this weekend. And it truly did not disappoint. If you happen to like Picasso. There! I said it publicly.
There were many things I could appreciate about the show however - such as the intense retrospective aspect and seeing certain pieces come to life in person. For instance the portrait of Dora Maar pictured above was nearly electric and alive in real life.

But the real kicker of the evening for me was the company. Due to an extended visit here in Seattle on her part I got to museum walk with fellow Vermont Studio Center Residency artist Evelyn Donnelly. We had a divine time wandering the museum's collections. She hadn't been since before the renovations and I got to re-discover the museum all over again by taking notice of things and talking about collections that I had previously just walked on by. The Porcelain Room for instance totally wowed her. Never before had I really noticed how incredible the curation and design of the room was. Thanks for showing me the magic Evelyn!

And even though these are also part of the permanent collection, I only just now got all sparked off from them. Mainly due to the description of their use & meaning. I'm imagining a burgeoning series based on "Soul Washer's Discs".

Soul Washer's Discs (akrafokonmu)
Ghanaian, Asante
"Such discs protect the wearer from danger. The radiating pattern refers to the sun, which is the source of each person's kra - the spiritual essence given to a child at birth. They are worn by rulers, queen mothers and by individuals known as akrafo, or soul washers, who conduct ceremonies to purify leaders' souls."

Edelweiss
Cris Brodahl

Also on view right now in the Up Next gallery are works by Cris Brodahl. The pieces themselves were extremely striking. But also what interested me was the description of her process of situating her easel in a way that she can only work one piece at any given time, and even more importantly, only SEE that one piece she is working on. As someone who likes to surround myself with inspirational bits and snippets in the studio this concept felt so foreign. But I find myself oddly drawn.

All in all the evening gathered much inspiration. Definitely way better than sitting at home and watching Netflix. How have you filled your inspiration well lately?