Should I Stay (In) Or Should I Go (Out)

It's hard to know what to do or not to do in the face of the Covid-19 breakout.  I've been home quite a bit for other reasons and starting to feel squirrely.  On Monday, I thought I would work at my co-working site both today and Friday.  By this morning, my thinking had changed and I decided it might be better to continue to work from home.  At the same time, I decided to make a quick jaunt out to the Minneapolis Institute of Art to see an exhibit which closes on 03/22, since it seems more and more likely that very soon I will want  to temporarily shrink my world as much as possible.

I don't think I'm overreacting.  This afternoon I found out that the University of Minnesota, which is currently on spring break, is moving to online classes until 04/01. I'm not panicking or being maudlin, but I have also been thinking about some of the information I learned about my biological family.  In the mid 1940's my maternal aunt was the first person in her community to die from polio as a teenager.  I can't help but think about how hard that must have been for her parents, my maternal grand-parents, including how scared they must have been for their two other children.  Also, I wonder how were they were treated by their friends, neighbors, and others in the community?  It must have been a very scary and fearful time.

Anyway........

I'm glad I ventured out to the MIA.  Without being intentional about it, I've gone to a different exhibit about something I'm interested in the last 3 weeks.  Two weeks ago, it started with The Beginning of Everything - - An Exhibition of Drawings at the Katherine Nash gallery at the University of Minnesota.  I went with a friend.  Last week, the same friend and I went to the exhibit of Elizabeth Scheu Close: A Life in Modern Architecture also at the University of Minnesota. I became aware of Elizabeth Close when I toured one of her houses in St. Paul.  It was so many years ago that I don't remember the address or much about the house, but the house design made an impression on me.  Both of the Close's have died, but their architectural firms lives on and is located close by my house.

Today, it was the Color Woodcuts in the Arts and Crafts Era exhibit at the MIA.  I am a fan of woodcuts, especially those of Charles Beck.  I have 4 of them in my home.  I also am a big fan of the Arts and Crafts era.

In today's exhibit, one of my favorites was Dandelions by Mabel Royds.

Another favorite was Golden Lotus by Anna Heyward Tayor.  The actual flower is much better in person.  I didn't fiddle with trying to take great pictures.

I like it when I look at a piece of art and can say "yes, that is how it is".  Sometimes that comes from an experience I've had.  Sometimes, it just comes from the truth of the art itself.  In this case, I was transported back to 2006 at the Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland OR.  It was the first time I saw lotus flowers like this.

It was a very pleasant exhibit and I am glad I went.