I don't have the new blog quite started yet, despite having had twelve days off and almost feeling like myself again (but it'll be over all too soon). I ordered my new easel but it hasn't arrived yet; I'm looking forward to that. A little sewing and stitching got done, but not much, to be honest.
I spent a day at the Denver Art Museum where I saw the King Tutankhamen exhibition; while it's great to see these antiquities any way we can, I was disappointed in the way the show was put together. It was very crowded, and the traffic flow was awful and killed the intended drama at several moments. As you might have heard, some of the more spectacular pieces are no longer able to travel from Egypt. Still, it's hard not to be intrigued by it all. The exhibition felt like it hasn't been updated much since the first and second tours, several decades ago, and there were missed opportunities to integrate 21st century multimedia. For example...they'll sell you a $5 audio tour that only you hear, so why not develop audio tours that focus on specific areas of interest? I would have loved and gladly paid more for an audio tour that discussed the textiles and apparel and decorative elements of the show.
As so often happens at museums, the big show was not the best show. Alongside King Tut, the museum has just opened an absolute gem of a show of contemporary American landscapes, called Western Horizons. I fell in love with the work of painter Mark Bowles, and the "expedition watercolors" of Tony Foster. The Deborah Butterfield horse, at right, was an unexpected sculpture in the show of paintings. Finally, we visited the beautiful Asian galleries, which housed a lovely show of bamboo objects; I liked the perfectly made snail, below, from the century before last.
In keeping with the ancient Egyptian theme, I'm reading Cleopatra, by Stacy Schiff. I've only begun, but I'll report more when I've finished. I'm also reading this Sally Kempton book on meditation.
The Slow Cloth group has now been in place on Facebook for a year, for better and worse. What it's become is both more and less than I'd hoped for, but there are 1,947 members as of today, and I'm very thankful to every one for being there. I'm amazed at how my idea -- which got me nothing but quizzical looks back in 2007 when I started to talk about it -- now evidently makes sense to so many more people. I bought the new issue of Threads magazine today and sure enough, there's an article titled "Slow Sewing" by Patricia Keay. Her version of slow is more literal than mine, but does focus on craftsmanship. She acknowledges slow-movement leader Carl Honore, who published my Slow Cloth article a couple of years ago on his Slow Planet website. No mention of slow cloth, though. Whatever. It's a nice article and I'm sure it's a satisfying version of "slow" for most Threads readers. I wonder if the haters will target her next.
Which brings me to the new year. 2010 was a kicker, wasn't it? I'm glad I made it through intact, and glad for the good things that outlasted the year. I hope that this year sees many changes for the better. And I thank you for reading and visiting and sharing your thoughts in the comments and sending good vibes and for inspiring me to keep on. Have a very beautiful 2011! Back to work on Tuesday (on the good side, I'm especially liking working with authors Alisa Burke and Daniella Woolf, two very talented and wonderful ladies).
Denver Public Library, seen through the window of the Denver Art Museum.
