Art Day
We spent most of today visiting art museums here in Charlotte. We started with the Bechtler Museum which was interesting – some nice pieces for sure, but a little small. The Firebird (shown above) by Niki de Saint Phalle was my favourite piece. It stands just outside of the museum and really is a lovely way to entice people.
Next we hit the Mint Museums – both were very interesting, but I loved the one in Uptown. There was a fantastic craft and design section with some amazing works. I have no idea how these artists create such beautiful and intricate works. It was inspiring to see how some of these artists could take certain mediums and do astounding things with them. We didn’t get to see it all so I am already looking forward to visiting it again soon. If nothing else, it’s inspired me to do more art – in my own plebian way anyway.
Hello, 2011
We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”
-Edith Lovejoy Pierce
The Black Keys
I’ve really been enjoying listening to The Black Keys lately. This song is one of my faves from them. They have a slew of great songs and are definitely worth a listen.
Find more artists like The Black Keys at Myspace Music
November 2010 Reads
Shiver and Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
An interesting take on werewolves and an enjoyable read so far. These are the first two of the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy. I definitely plan on reading the last of the series, Forever.
Emperor’s Mage and The Realms of Gods by Tamora Pierce
These two finish up The Immortals series by Pierce. A really great series all-round. The last two books bring in a little more of the romance of the series than the first two. It’s a subtle, background romance though, which I appreciate. The core of the story has nothing to do with the romance.
Captain Wentworth’s Diary by Amanda Grange
I’m a huge Austen fan and I thoroughly enjoy these “spin-offs” of her novels. I’ve read some of Grange’s other works and really enjoyed them so I was tempted to read this. Captain Wentworth is the male lead from Austen’s Persuasion, and Grange does a brilliant job of showing his side of the story. Grange has a key sensibility to the characters created by Austen, and a real knack for giving us a new insight into these beloved characters.
An Assembly Such as This, Duty and Desire and These Three Remain by Pamela Aidan
Continuing with my Austen spin-off kick I had to read Aidan’s Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy after reading some great reviews. At first I was skeptical: Aidan takes Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (my favourite of her novels) and somehow creates three, fairly lengthy, books for Darcy’s point of view. I was wondering how in the world she could make 3 books out of this, but she does, and she does it beautifully as well. I adore Mr. Darcy and Aidan has a real skill in delving into his character. I am sure, that if Austen were alive, she would have thoroughly enjoyed these.