Arrivederci Leonardo! TWO THINGS CHALLENGE- Saturday/Sunday

Independent Presbyterian Church

As many of you already know, our Birmingham Museum of Art has had the privilege of hosting a  very special exhibition of  11 important drawings and the Codex on the Flight of Birds by Leonardo da Vinci.  The very first time this collection has ever left the Biblioteca Reale in Turin made this exhibit a must see.  Today we say,  "Arriverderci Leonardo". He will leave us and go to San Francisco , then home to Turin, Italy.  As is typical for an exhibit of this importance, we have seen a wonderful turnout the entire time, but the last weekend we had visitors willing to stand in line for almost 2 hours to spend a few minutes with the master's work.  I consider myself fortunate to have been able to volunteer my time and actually work inside the exhibit itself.  I never tired of looking at his exquisite drawings.  I am looking forward to seeing  "The Virgin of the Rocks" at the Louvre after gazing at his magnificent sketch of the angel here.  I spent my SATURDAY as the cheerful greeter reassuring all these visitors that the wait really WAS worth it! 

My SUNDAY morning will be spent at my church, Independent Presbyterian Church.  I took this photo the other night and am pretty proud that I captured it without a tripod.  Team Minneapolis, thanks for all your tips and encouragement. Mitch, how are my "skills"! 

To see how other bloggers interpreted the TWO THINGS CHALLENGE click here.

The Tune du Jour is "A Kiss To Build a Dream On" by Rod Stewart

PARIS COUNTDOWN..... 7 DAYS!  

Visitors wait in long lines on Saturday at the Birmingham Museum of Art

Discover Rod Stewart featuring Chris Botti!

Welcome to Birmingham, Leonardo!

It's not every day that you go to the Bimingham Museum of Art and bump into the master himself!  Several weeks ago the museum threw a Family Day and look who showed up?  Leonardo da Vinci schmoozed with the kids and greeted visitors as they came in the front door!  Everyone in town is excited about this special collection of his drawings that have never before traveled as a collection from the Biblioteca Reale in Turin.  The works include one of his most celebrated notebooks, the Codex on the Flight of Birds and 11 other important drawings.  The exhibit is unusual in many respects.   Because the drawings are small and detailed ( you can actually see each and every stroke of his stylus) , the viewer is allowed to get extremely close with a magnifying glass.  This invites a very personal experience between the observer and the artist.   The room is kept darkened somewhat with a chilly temperature of 62 degrees F.  To highlight the theme of the flight of birds and some of his horse drawings, the museum invited the Birmingham Zoo to bring birds which everyone enjoyed seeing in the Sculpture Garden and horses from the Birmingham Police Department were a favorite in front of the museum.  In addtion, art activities were provided in the main lobby area for the kids.  What a great way to introduce children to the wonders of art and make them feel comfortable visiting our museum.  

Tomorrow,  I will be a volunteer inside the exhibit for the first time.  It will be a very chilly 3 and a half hours, but getting to view the drawings as much as I'd like is a good trade off I think!

Postscript: Grazie to my friend Fabrizio, who taught me that he is referred to as Leonardo, not da Vinci. He explained that "da Vinci" merely means that he is Leonardo of Vinci.  

BELOW: Art Birds!

The Tune du Jour is " Per Te" by Josh Groban

PARIS COUNTDOWN.....18 DAYS!

Merci beaucoup to my friend D.C. Confidential for sharing the BFF AWARD!  You have raised the bar for me in so many, many ways,  and I thank you for that.  You are talented, articulate and passionate about what you believe in. I hope to follow your example my friend.

Discover Josh Groban!

A Watchful Eye

This past weekend the creative juices were flowing in downtown Birmingham.  The 7th  annual Art Walk started on Friday night and rolled thru Saturday.  I have to say it was the most fun I've had in a long time.  Artists and crafts people could be found in every nook  and cranny of the loft district.  Today's photo is one of those that you take,  and then when you get home you find the added element of surprise.  Note Leonardo da Vinci's subject giving this artist's drawing the eye!  The poster by the way, was advertising an upcoming exhibit featuring Leonardo da Vinci's  collection of drawings at the Birmingham Museum of Art.  It begins September 28th.   More Art Walk photos to come. 

The Tune du Jour is " I'll Be Seeing You" by Rod Stewart.