so far we are

And another week begins. Its hard to believe that it is the middle of January already. I feel like the past few weeks have rushed by like a winter wind, each day another fat snowflake - seemingly the same, but just slightly different.

This week I've been learning about one of the many joys of adulthood: insurance companies. My car was hit a few days after my birthday, and I am still battling with the other person's insurance company to try and get full coverage for the repairs. I know this is good for me to experience, but its an exhausting and endlessly frustrating process. Its still not solved, but I'm hoping to get even further this week.

On Friday, Marley and I took a day trip to the Art Institute of Chicago!! We left Madison around 9:45am and drove down to the city. We spent a little over 4 hours exploring the Art Institute and didn't even get through everything. It was exhilarating and inspiring in a million different ways. I could probably spend an entire week going there everyday to look at everything and still feel like I hadn't taken in enough. As an observer, its just amazing to think that you are standing in a building that contains collections of some of the most famous works in the world. When I was younger I never imagined I'd someday be standing in front of a Pablo Picasso, Matisse, Monet or Manet...its just an incredible experience. As an artist, there is SO much to learn. I could stand at one piece for an hour just trying to imagine what techniques were used for certain parts. There is so much I'd like to emulate, and it was sometimes a bit overwhelming to think that there is such an incredible amount of knowledge in art that I haven't even begun to unearth. The colors, the technical skill, the media, the presentation, the concept....the possibilities in art are endless. Thus the trip was something I desperately needed (whether I knew it at the time or not). I did need a mini-vacation, and the day definitely fulfilled that. But more importantly, just being in a beautifully constructed building, filled to the brim with these amazing [and sometimes less amazing] works of art was just the artistic inspiration necessary to give me a push in life  - artistically, mentally, physically, in all sorts of ways. And for free admission, I couldn't have asked for anything more. =]

Marley and I outside the Art Institute of Chicago

 The trip back took much longer than expected after we ran into a small snowstorm on the way back. We  drove a maximum of 50 mph on the Interstate nearly the whole way back, and we arrived home in Madison- safe, sound, and sleepy- around 11:30pm.

On a semi-related note, sometime soon I will have a few more pictures of some recent art projects I've been working on. And hopefully I'll be able to start some new exciting things in my life to tell you all about, too!

Until next time....