Art Museum Visit

This weekend Scott and I visited the Cincinnati Museum of Art, something we've been wanting to do since we've lived here but haven't had the chance yet.  The Eden Park area surrounding the museum is absolutely beautiful, providing breathtaking views of the city.

Look! There's Kentucky!

 

During our visit we discovered the work of Henry Ossawa Tanner, an Africa-American artist from Pittsburgh who lived from 1859 to 1937.  His art was featured as part of the special exhibit at the museum.  Many of his pieces are religious, and his work was by far our favorite.

This is the one he's probably most famous for.  I'd seen it in books but I didn't know he was the artist.  It's called Banjo Lesson - Source 

Flight into Egypt - Source

Teaching Jesus to Read - Source 

Daniel in the Lions' Den - Source

Angels Appearing Before the Shepherds - Source

Palace of Justice, Tangiers - Source

Christ at the Home of Mary and Martha - Source

Here are some of my other favorites from our visit.  You were allowed to take pictures of works older than the 1960s so these are my photographs of the pieces. 

Peasant Women of Borst (Elizabeth Nourse 1859-1938)

Eve Hearing the Voice (Moses J. Ezekiel 1844-1917)

Industry Protecting Art and Music, 1930 (Clement J. Barnhorn 1857-1935)

Jim Dine's Pinocchio lithographs were also really neat, part of the exhibit, In Celebration of Pinocchio.  You can see pictures of them here.  The exhibit is being held to celebrate the twelve-foot bronze sculpture that greets visitors outside the museum.

It ain't your granny's bluegrass!

I am officially on summer break, and I graduate in less than a week! No more papers to write or articles to read, and although I'm letting out a sigh of relief, it's followed by a feeling of bittersweet sadness - no more exciting class discussions (in the role as student, of course), no more visits in the TA office, and no more getting paid to read and write stuff that I enjoy.  Though I'm sad to be leaving this time with an awesome group of people, I'm excited for the next step...playing the waiting game after sending out applications, hopefully getting a job soon, and (my favorite part in all this) sitting back to enjoy a little bit of downtime . . .

To kick off the summer, this past weekend my husband and I ventured to Scottown, Oh to our first Appalachian Uprising Music Festival! Even though we were in Ohio, we definitely felt like we'd ventured south, back home to the foothills of Appalachia.  The bluegrass festival was held in a 'grand field' (as Chris Thile from The Punch Brothers called it), where people could camp out between the three days of endless music.  We only stayed Saturday night but we listened to more than 11 hours of bluegrass including music from The Vespers (my new band obsession) and The Punch Brothers (my husband's current favorite).

The road trip there was half the experience, venturing off the beaten path and on to winding country (and sometimes) barely-paved roads.  We took our tent and camped out with the rest of the festival-goers, and spent the day in our folding chairs, eating pulled pork sandwiches, corn on the cob, and fried potatoes on a stick, listening to some awesome bluegrass.  But this wasn't your granny's bluegrass!

I have my husband to thank for introducing me to The Vespers who played a couple acts before The Punch Brothers.  The foursome rocked out with their unique, spiritually-inspired, soul-driven music, bringing people out of their chairs not only to 'flat-foot,' but also bang their heads.  To give you a little taste, here's a video clip I took - the chorus of one of my favorite songs, "Got No Friends."  You can listen to the whole thing here, and watch more of their videos here.

Well I got no friends today, and I wonder if tomorrow will be the same. But I know no matter what I do, Jesus I will always have a friend in you!

Some other highlights from our first 'Appy Up' experience . . .

"Appy Up Ya'll"

. . . venturing off the beaten path . . . 

the camping folk in 'the grand field' of Eden Valley Farm 

our little campsite

The VESPERS performing "Grinnin' in Your Face"

signed merch.

The PUNCH BROTHERS

.the nature poems of Mary Oliver.

So the other day I wrote a post about 'writing the body' and how examples were revealing themselves to me everywhere I went, in whatever I was reading.  A similar thing has been happening since I discovered the nature poetry of Mary Oliver, an American writer born in Maple Heights, Ohio.  She's written countless collections of poetry and prose, (you can view many of them here) and I've decided she'll be the perfect companion for when my husband and I go camping this summer.  (We'll also be taking The Night Circus...my husband is really intrigued by this new novel).

I first discovered Mary Oliver thanks to a blog I follow called Kingdom Poets.  Then she showed up again in the daily post by The Writer's Almanac today on behalf of the first day of spring.  I'm already in love with her poems - lovely descriptions of nature, animals, and natural life.  I also love that you can find so many of her poems on the web, and lots of them are recorded.  

I really enjoyed this one (from Poetry Magazine), titled "Spring."  Signing off to continue reading and enjoying the lovely weather (even though we've leap-frogged spring and found ourselves in summer temperatures, humidity and all)!

Source: amazon.com via Jade on Pinterest

.Chicago on my mind.

Yes, it's only the end of January but I turned in my master's independent paper proposal this week, I'm heading into my fifth week of winter quarter, and I'll be juggling classes, lessons, grading, and writing for another 4 1/2 months! - - I can't help but think of summer vacation! Since Scott showed me a rental in downtown Chicago the other day I've not been able to get it off my mind.  Scott and I have never visited the windy city and there's absolutely nothing we enjoy more than losing ourselves in a new place, surrounded by museums, restaurants, parks, and quirky bookstores.  Our first two summer vacations were spent near the beach, strolling the historic southern neighborhoods of Beaufort and Savannah, riding bikes to small cafes for lunch, and marking off bookstores in our travel guides.  This year's summer plans haven't been made yet (other than 3 graduations and weddings on the calendar) so who knows what we'll be thinking by March or April?  But for now I'll just continue to Google images of Chicago and share them with you...

.the power of laying on hands.

I've been wanting to write about this experience since we returned from vacation, and after reading more of Barbara Brown Taylor (yes, I'm a little obsessed) I've found the words and motivation to share my experience with laying on of hands.

Scott and I stayed at a small bed and breakfast within walking distance of downtown Savannah and while there we talked with the owner, an older man in his late 70s enjoying the everyday "chores" of life which included replacing the fresh magnolias in the parlor and walking "Gordie," the master mutt of the house.  In the mornings we would have delightful conversations with Robert over granola, fresh fruit, and coffee, and he suggested almost every restaurant where we dined during our trip.

One morning when Scott and I mentioned we attend an Episcopal church in Ohio he told us about a Thursday morning service held at the Episcopal church on the next block from the b&b.  We decided we would go to the intimate gathering having missed church at home and found it to be both delightfully simple and complex at the same time; simple in its small chapel setting and complex because of the extra liturgy we were not necessarily used to.  But though we might have fumbled with the booklet and tried to rise up from the prayer benches without a loud creak (we tend to always do that for some reason), I was moved by the blessing and laying on of hands in the middle of the service.  Each person in the small gathering went up to the alter and kneeled while the priest laid his hands and gave blessings to each of us.

I had never really done this before but I have to say I absolutely loved the intimacy and I felt that these hospitable southern "Savannah-ians" were part of my close family afterwards.  We all kneeled at the front and bowed our heads, listening to the quiet murmurs of the priest as he gave his blessing to each one.  His voice grew louder as he made his way down the line, drawing closer to Scott who was kneeling next to me.  After each blessing we replied "amen" in unison.  When he came to me the priest placed his hands softly on each side of my head, resting them right above my ears.  But what was amazing was that Scott and Robert laid hands on either of my shoulders so that in that moment I felt enveloped in Christian love and fellowship, more than I could have ever imagined from such a small gesture.

In her memoir, Leaving Church, Taylor writes, "By offering people a place where they may engage the steady practice of listening to divine words and celebrating divine sacraments, church can help people gain a feel for how God shows up - not only in Holy Bibles and Holy Communion but also in near neighbors, mysterious strangers, sliced bread, and grocery store wine.  That way, when they leave church, they no more leave God than God leaves them.  They simply carry what they have learned into the wide, wide world, where there is a crying need for people who will recognize the holiness in things and hold them up to God" (166).

In that moment among "mysterious strangers," I gained "a feeling for how God shows up" in the small things - in the soft touch from strangers, in a brief hug from a friend, and the holding of hands during prayer.  Though physical touch is sometimes something we often shy away from in our culture, it's sometimes in those soft, brief moments we stop and "feel," sensing God and recognizing holiness.

.vacation in Savannah recap: part 1.

For our second summer vacation as a married couple Scott and I chose Savannah, GA as our destination of adventure.  Scott had never visited the "host city" and I had only been when I was younger so we enjoyed exploring together, eating southern cuisine, browsing eclectic shops and galleries, and reading on the beach at Tybee Island, "Savannah's beach." (these are the first batch of photos...more to come!)

[The bridge going to Savannah]

[The B&B where we stayed, walking distance from the galleries, cafes, and shops downtown]

[The Lady and Sons  - Paula Deen's restaurant]

[Heading to dinner our first night - we had shrimp and tilapia tacos at the Kayak Kafe]

.out in the sticks.

Today Scott and I ventured out to one of the Metro Parks to see Patrick Dougherty's "stickwork."  Scott got the opportunity to meet Dougherty in April and hear him give a talk at the Dayton Art Institute.  He bought his new book so I'd already seen a lot of his work.  But it's nothing like seeing it in person.  For more information or pictures of his work the New York Times had a very interesting article about his log cabin home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  Here are some pictures from our excursion.