Draw New York

Student works

2010-08-16T14:24:00.000-07:00

We had our final critique on Friday. The grades are turned in. Here are some highlights from the finished drawings


Charli Terry, Brooklyn Bridge

Bailey Arnold, Midtown

Angelina Mazzanti, Brooklyn Bridge

Sarah Crites, 10th Ave from the Highline

last night

2010-08-11T19:50:00.000-07:00

The girls and dinner at Boca Chica in the East Village

The view from the roof at the Pod

See ya for now NYC! I'll be back!

2010-08-11T12:39:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's almost time to go back to Mississippi! This have been such an awesome trip and it has gone by entirely too fast for me. I have had so much fun and made some great friends! It has been such a great experience and I have gotten to do things and see things that I never have before. Visiting all of the museums was so cool and I learned what I like and what I don't like in artwork. I love huge paintings with lots of color and I like really small sculptures because I feel like I can hold it and its more intimate. Although I have really enjoyed it here and want to come back soon, I am ready to be at home in my own bed and my car! We have all for sure gotten workouts this week from walking everywhere! (I'm really not as lazy as I sound..) Haha! I do feel that I have grown as an artist and I am pleased with a lot of the drawings I got done while in New York. Mrs. Haney was a fantastic instructor! She knows a lot about the city and how to get around here, which has been very helpful. I actually feel like I can somewhat get around the city on my own now and I thought that would be impossible! Maybe I will get to put that knowledge to use the next time I am here. It has been awesome and am already ready to come back!

Bye bye big city!

2010-08-11T12:13:00.000-07:00

Well the NYC trip is coming to a fast end. Ive had so much fun, but Im totally ready to go home and sit under a big tree! I know for a fact Im not a city girl. I like sitting in my hammock and walking in the grass! I really enjoyed seeing all the museums. I GOT to see some really awesome art work and got to take some fabulous photos. I have taken 2 black and white rolls of film and 1 color roll. I can not wait to develop them when I get back home! Im glad I got the chance to come on this trip. I have made some great friends and had way to many laughs! The Pod hotel has been great but I have to say the rooms are really small! Working in the room with sarah has been a whole lot of fun and super messy! Thank goodness our art is due at 4:00 and our room is somewhat clean...! When I'm sitting in our room I feel like I'm in Crosby hall. We always leave our door wide open and all the foreign people laugh and talk as they walk by our room. We laugh too cause we know our room looks just like a college dorm! Sorry House cleaning! You are going to have to work extra hard! Overall the trip has been great. I would do it again! Thanks Mrs. Haney for putting up with us!!

Bye bye NY!

2010-08-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

Well I hate to say it but we are leaving tomorrow... Time has flown! I have really gotten a lot out of this trip though, I have acquired a more worldly concept by coming here. I have grown to appreciate the slow steady pace of the south even more, but that's not to say I don't like it here either. I love the rush of all the people and all the different languages, the art, the constant energy is exciting- and anyone who knows me, knows I love excitement! This place has taught me there is a lot more out there to go do and see. I have gotten to see so many different, and world famous kinds of art. I got to eat all kinds of great food too, made some great relationships, and got to sit back and watch the craziness as I sketched it all onto my paper. It has been a great experience coming here and doing this, I would definitely do it again. I'll miss ya until next time New York!... Barcelona anyone??

Aug 11 Blog

2010-08-11T01:15:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it is my last day in New York. I had such an amazing time- but it literally feels like I got here yesterday. I would love to come back and vacation and draw some more. I am amazed at how much we did in so little time- going to who knows how many museums and galleries. I was fortunate enough to get a long with the other girls in the class- I made new friends which is a total bonus. We have definitely gotten closer and made a lot of great memories. Our fun literally never stops... well if it does it is for a VERY brief moment. We have gone to amazing restaurants and stores and most definitely bought our share of stuff... Ms. Haney included :) haha.

I really think my sketches gradually got better. I definitely practiced. I can tell I improved a lot- my lines got straighter, my shading was better, and I really challenged myself. New York is such an amazing place to learn how to draw or to practice drawing. All of the different kinds of people and different buildings- it's amazing. I don't think anyone could ever get bored of drawing in NYC- there will always be something new.

Da station

2010-08-10T23:54:00.001-07:00

Well I'm so glad I'm smart! I decide to tell the girls that we were going to eat dinner in Grand Central Station. We all brought our sketch book and got some food in and drawing too. We stayed there until our section we sat in closed. Then we headed upstairs and sat on the side of the wall. We stayed there for a good while drawing all the people going by until 10:30 or so. We got to experience the fire alarm getting pulled and got to see the police officers at all the doors. There were A LOT of them! I overheard a man talking who said a police officer had bomb dogs there, but nothing was wrong... just some dumb kid that pulled the alarm. I had so much fun seeing so many people in such a short time and I think I probably saw over 15,000 people just today! maybe more...

favorite day in nyc

2010-08-10T23:37:00.000-07:00

Well, today started out at 10:00 when we headed to the Guggenheim museum. This museum was nor like any other. The outside of the building looks like a tornado with a rectangle beside it, the whole building is made out of cement. The Guggenheim museum was my favorite because it had a lot of photography. I got to see my favorite new artist, Christian MarcLay. MarcLay's work was of three huge cyanotypes. The cyanotype was of old caset tapes. This image was perfect for cyanotypes. It allowed for light to come through the film of the tapes. MarcLay layered many tape film over a huge paper. The rich color blue is beautiful. It was my all time favorite. After going down the tornado museum ( Guggenheim). We left and went to the Smithsonian, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. This museum was super cool and it told you why they made everything. It had a reason for everything in the museum. There was so much to look at. There was a google design room designed by children to be put on the web. This was downstairs with all of the winners from all sorts of ages.

The museum of Design had the neatest stuff, and everything had a purpose, which I thought to be the coolest part. They were all about eco friendly things and recycling and reusing. I really enjoyed both museums today. They were both totally different from the Met and the Moma. They are less traditional than the other museums was got to see. The Guggenheim was the best museum in New York! (I thought) It was my style and I also enjoyed looking at Pablo Picasso. He had a small chunk in the rectangle part of the building. Today was my most favorite day in New York!!

8/10 guggen and hewitt

2010-08-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Guggenheim and I have to say, it was one of the most original museums out of all of the ones we have seen. I loved how when walking up on it you immediately notice how the architecture is more rounded and not so square like all of the other buildings that surround it. Even when you walk into it you see how there is a spiral that winds around for six stories. I think the Guggen was one of my favorite museums because it had a lot of modern art in it and also a little bit of extremely famous artists such as picasso(one of my favorites). I enjoyed seeing everything it had to offer, especially since it was a great combination of old and new masterpieces!

After leaving there, we went to eat lunch on lexington and then headed to the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. This museum took me by surprise because I wasn't really informed on it too much before coming. Thankfully, it was a nice surprise because everything in it was focused on technology, and designer labels that mainly focused on recycling, and organic material use. I drew a few pieces of clothing, one that had a shirt made of "wild silk" which means silk worms were not killed in the process of making the shirt, and no harmful chemicals were used in the process as well. It was a very stylish looking outfit and I was impressed to learn that even the way things are made are important in the art/designer world. New York and all of these unique museums have been great for me to see because I feel my art perspective has expanded tremendously. Thanks NYC!!!

Jammin' in the subway!

2010-08-10T21:44:00.001-07:00

So far I have really loved the subway because it is cheap, easy and quick. Normally we have been taking the E train and the 6 but as of yesterday those two trains have not been running everywhere we have needed to go. This gave us major problems last night when Bailey, Angelina, Sarah and I decided to go to Chinatown. The subway stations are already pretty chaotic but I felt that it was even more chaotic when we were not exactly sure what train to get on. Once we finally figured out where we needed to be we ran through the subway station to get to our platform. As we were running through the crowds of people we heard music playing and saw a crowd of people gathering around these two men. The two men were dressed in solid black with white masks over their faces. They were hip-hop dancing to Usher's "OMG"! They were amazing! We found ourselves not so worried about finding our platform anymore. When they finished dancing we continued on to our platform where we found another man playing music on metal garbage cans and buckets. He was extremely talented, as were the other two guy that we saw dancing earlier. This is one reason I love the culture in New York and one way that it is so different from the culture at home. There would never be people dancing or making music just on the side of the street. These are also some ways that I have been able to see different forms of art outside of the museums. From the two men dancing and the man playing awesome beats on a garbage can to the beautiful mosaics along the walls, art is everywhere in the subway stations!

Drawing in Grand Central

2010-08-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

Today was our last day to visit museums and draw in New York. This morning we visited the Guggenheim museum and in the afternoon we went to Cooper-Hewitt. Both of these museum were awesome and i would love to go back because the exhibits are always changing. I wrote a little about each of them in my last blog post. Bailey, Angelina, Sarah and I all had more drawing that we needed to work on before we turn in our sketchbooks tomorrow evening so we went to Grand Central Station tonight to get in some last minute sketches. I have never been to Grand Central. It was absolutely beautiful! I have seen it in television shows and thought it was so awesome to be there. We found a great spot to sit and sketch as we ate dinner in the dining hall. I love to draw figures and I was able to do some great figure sketches! People are constantly moving in Grand Central so I had to sketch pretty quick. Once the dining hall closed we walked into the main hall and sat down in the middle of the floor to draw. We got some pretty strange looks but, hey we are in New York, I'm sure there is nothing these New Yorkers haven't seen! Aside from the strange looks, there were others that stopped to watch us draw and complimented us on our work. Although everyone around me was running to catch there train, I felt so relaxed sitting there in the middle of all the chaos. I feel like everywhere I sit down to draw here has been pretty chaotic! Tomorrow will be the end of that though because it is our last day here. I'm ready to be home but I will miss New York for sure!!

Museum, Museum and Museums!

2010-08-10T20:08:00.000-07:00

Almost everyday since we have been in New York we have gone to a different museum. So far we have been to the MoMA, the Metropolitan, the Guggenheim, the Frick, the museum of Natural History, Cloisters and the Cooper-Hewitt. I have really enjoyed each of them because they each have totally different types of art work. The MoMA had so many pieces that I recognized and had studied before. MoMA had such a variety of art work. There is something there for everyone! Modern art is what I usually like the most so the MoMA has been one of my top favorite museums that I have been to. The Metropolitan museum was completely different from MoMA. There was only one room that had modern art on display. Seeing all of the Greek statues that I have studied in art history was pretty awesome. I also loved all of the Egyptian sculptures and Asian sculptures. We took the summer interns tour, which was great! I liked having a tour guide because I get pretty lazy and don't want to read about each piece I look at so It was kind of nice having someone just tell me what each piece was! Haha! Bailey, Sarah, Angelina and I had to pick two museums to go to on our own without Mrs. Haney. One of the museums we chose to visit was the Frick. The Frick have a lot of older paintings that were breath taking but honestly, it is probably my least favorite museum. I saw a couple of pieces that I was interested in and drew them in my sketch book. I think this was my least favorite because there were not as many pieces that i recognized. By far the most interesting place we have visited has been Cloisters! The Cloisters is a museum that is a part of the Metropolitan museum and everything that is inside was donated by the Rockefellers. There is room after room filled with gorgeous medieval art and furniture. I have never seen such beautiful architecture. Another museum we went to was the Museum of Natural History. When I first stepped foot in this museum all I could think about was the movie "Night at The Museum"! I felt like a kid because I love museum that dinosaurs and large animals! I think I took fifty pictures of the elephants that were in there because I LOVE elephants and they were life size!! This museum would be number two on my favorites list, under MoMA. Today we went to the Guggenheim and the Cooper-Hewtitt, which is the National Design Museum. I have always wanted to go to the Guggenheim because I have seen pictures of it and the actual building itself is so amazing! It is one huge spiral and from each floor on the inside you can see every level of the museum. The architecture was really fun and somewhat challenging to draw. They had so many cool exhibits that used projectors that flashed different videos and pictures on the wall. After we left the Guggenheim we walked a couple of blocks over and went to the Cooper-Hewitt. This was the second museum that we chose to visit on our own. It was definately the smallest museum but had really cool, modern designs from clothing, furniture and fabrics to new inventions. Some of the designs were wild! It was crazy to think that someone had thought some of those things up! My favorite design was a dress made completely our of shoelaces. I have enjoyed all of the museum and I would like to visit some of them again if I get to come back to New York!

August 10 Blog

2010-08-10T14:17:00.000-07:00

I went to an art museum last month in Arkansas and saw my first Picasso in real life. It literally felt like I was meeting a celebrity. I didn't know how to approach it and I kind of felt nervous around it. My heart was racing all because of a famous painting... Then I saw a Monet painting... And I got to the point I was worried I may have a heart attack. When we went to MoMA in NYC I saw all these amazing, gorgeous and FAMOUS paintings by all these miraculous artists and I really could not believe my eyes. Starry Night was right in front of my face. I might of well have just met the Pope. It's funny how some paintings are that amazing. I really could compare them to celebrities. Kind of like you want to meet the star of the show because they are so good for what they do and famous- whereas the side parts aren't as exciting and you may even just walk right past them. Either way art is art and someone will appreciate it- whether I believe it is good or bad... Kind of like acting or singing. Someone will always love someones' work.

I have had such a great experience in New York and seeing ALL the different pieces of art. I'd love to come back here.

Guggenheim

2010-08-10T14:08:00.000-07:00

We are almost done... I can't believe it. The Guggenheim was the last museum we visited as a group. They had a great contemporary photography show that looked great.

bloggin' it

2010-08-09T18:46:00.000-07:00

Today was one of my favorite days because we got to see where the last draw new york group stayed last year in Brooklyn. I really like Brooklyn because it is a lot calmer and not so hectic like mid town manhattan. We started the day in Brooklyn by walking the Brooklyn bridge and it was so beautiful, I couldn't get over how pretty the architecture was. Mrs. Haney's mother started telling me a lot of great history on the bridge, and how a lot of sweat and blood (literally) went into building it, mostly from Irish people that came over because of the potato famine. I couldn't help but remember the "you learn something new everyday" saying when she was telling me about it. On top of learning new things, the site was absolutely beautiful and a good start to the day.

After our walk over the bridge, we worked up quite an appetite, and Mrs. Haney took us to Gremaldi's pizzaria. IT WAS AWESOME! After that we went between the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridge to draw and I truly had a great time sketching both bridges down beside the water. There was a nice breeze and it was peaceful to draw in such a calming atmosphere and just to attempt to sketch such great works of architecture. After that we went to Promenade in Brooklyn Heights and drew a bit more. I really enjoyed seeing the homes and different view of the city and water because it was yet again, gorgeous! When it was finally time to head home we hopped onto the subway and got an exciting show from some little boys that could dance like no other. They had their boom box booming and were breakin' it down on the subway! It was a great pick me up for the end of the day... It was nice to get a little bit of true new york culture and flavor before heading back to the pod!

P.S. Here are a few pics from the week, Enjoy!!

Brooklyn!

2010-08-09T13:50:00.000-07:00

The girls and the Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge

more bridge

Brooklyn Bridge Park with Lower Manhattan in the background


Bailey drawing on the Brooklyn Promenade

Brooklyn was great (and hot). It is much more laidback than Midtown Manhattan. I love the old, elegant houses of Brooklyn Heights.

The Met

2010-08-09T04:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we met at the Met. We took the summer intern highlights tour with Jason. I think he did a great job and we learned a lot about non-western and ancient art.

On the roof is the Mike and Doug Starn's piece, "Big Bambu". The sculpture/installation/performance is always evolving and you can take a tour through it.

Charli and Angelina and the Big Bambu

We are off to Brooklyn!

Bailey August 8 Blog

2010-08-08T22:21:00.001-07:00

August 8

It is really interesting to me how different peoples’ minds are. This thought was triggered by all the different pieces I’ve seen at the Met and MoMa and The Frick, and between the different galleries. I had a conversation the other day with Ms. Haney about what art is and compared it to craft. The defined line between them. If there was one. I think it is truly hard to tell, although I’m sure scholars have already succeeded, but I think it is all a matter of opinion. Is molding hot wax into something art or a craft? Scrapbooking? I know I use a lot of my scrapbooking techniques when creating artwork. I use my stamps(- like polka dot ones), and I’ll ink around the edges for a distressed look. Sometimes I even add some of my photography. But where is the line between scrapbooking and art? Because it is painted on a canvas instead of paper? I saw one piece and was like- how is that in a gallery? I’ve seen much better work than that- but Ms. Haney explained to me the probable thought behind it- simplification.

I’ve really enjoyed looking at the different artists and techniques and really catching up on my art history. I really hope those past works continue to inspire me and I hope to find more modern artists to motivate me to really find my style and my own inspiration. I want to be able to defend my work and really go into my thought process. As far as I know I do the things I do because I want to, not because of some psychological reason or some deep thought process behind it- because it is aesthetically pleasing.

Bailey- August 7 Blog

2010-08-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

It’s crazy to me how different New York is to Oxford. The Empire State building is the tallest building here… One of the tallest buildings in Oxford is Walmart. The stores are like mansions compared to the little shack-small boutiques Oxford has. My perception of New York stayed pretty much the same when I got here, and as I walk around it feels like I’m in one of those thousands of movies set in NYC. When I thought of New York, I would always think of skyscrapers, rude people, and it being extremely busy. Oxford can seem like it is extremely busy and Lord knows we have our share of rude people. In Midtown Manhattan all you can really see is Corporate America. I thought that coming to NYC, all I would see are white people in business suits, along with this Corporate America notion I had. No one told me that there would be SO many people from other countries and nations. It’s odd to find someone who speaks perfect English. Yesterday I went to eat over at a Taco Bell around the corner and the guy who checked me out there spoke to me in Spanish. I was like Wahhh? I feel like I’m the kind of person that looks like I don’t know how to speak Spanish… because I don’t. The man was extremely nice and after I paid for my cream sodas, he smiled and waved goodbye. That is one thing that no one told me about either- there are some really nice people in New York. I went to the Chelsea Galleries a day ago and found a friendly person- A girl that actually worked for the gallery. I was told that they weren’t nice (the people who sit behind the desk doing nothing but playing on the computer and making sure you don’t steal stuff), and yeah they weren’t too friendly. I could walk into a place and they wouldn’t even glance up…. So if I DID want to walk out with some massive sculpture or something- they would have no idea- because they probably wouldn’t have paid me any attention. But when I was in one gallery…. I was looking at the paintings (I was alone in this small gallery), and out of NO WHERE I hear a “hi”. Another moment when I was like Wahhhh? One of the gallery girls actually was nice and said Hi out of no where. So I said hello back. And then I started thinking… This girl is nice! I bet she would let me use the restroom (which are forbidden for public use) so with my ridiculously Southern accent I say ‘Pardon me, do you know where a public restroom is?” And she was like “Sure! Let me show you to it.” It was not a public restroom. How do I know? Because I tried opening the locked door earlier knowing it was probably locked because the sign on it said ‘Not for Public Use’. Turns out the gallery girl was a waitress and she told me that was basically she was nice- because she understood needing to use the bathroom. So as I walk down the streets of New York I will still try to consciously compare Oxford to NYC.

Bailey- August 3 Blog

2010-08-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

The internet hasn't been working and still isn't, so I don't know how to post pics or links as the screen is messed up.

August 3
I got to New York City today! I never thought I’d have an opportunity like this. It is so different than Mississippi. We haven’t really done anything yet but go to Times Square. I am very excited about drawing tomorrow. I hope to work a lot with pen and hopefully some watercolor. I would really like to work on different techniques and tighten up what I already know. I think New York will be a great opportunity for me to practice and gain experience in something I would love to do: make art.
I am very inspired by artists such as Paul Signac- mostly his use of pen and watercolor. I love his style and I hope to practice it. I also want to really develop my own style while I am here and try and figure out my motivation for the drawings I do. What brings me to draw the things I do?

SUNDAY FUNDAY!

2010-08-08T15:46:00.000-07:00

FOR BEING A SUNDAY IT WAS RATHER CRAZY! We left for the Frick around 10:25... The subway by our hotel has been closed all weekend and this has made some problems for us. We ended up taking a cab to the Frick museum. This only costed us ten dollars, not too bad. While i was in the Frick waiting for my turn to buy my ticket, the lady at the desk asked me what I wanted to pay for a ticket and I told her nothing! So I told Bailey, Charli and Sarah that we needed one dollar and we got 3 tickets for one dollar! The Frick was beautiful. There were so many oil paintings. The paintings were so big! After the Frick we unwillingly walked to the Met. This had more modern art, which is more of my style. I love modern art. I got to see Stuart Davis's work. I love his work with big colors and all different sizes. Big art is my thing! He is also an American. For some reason there are not a lot of American artist whose work is in the Met, Frick or other big famous museums. WHY IS THIS? As I was leaving the Met looking for food, I started to get grouchy and decided to be on my own in NEW YORK CITY! I was not scared but I also didnt want to get lost, so along the way I would ask every police officer where the nearest subway was just to make sure I wouldn't get lost. Getting lost while your feet are killing you is not fun... I finally found the subway and got on the uptown train. This train was the wrong one so I got off the uptown train and got on the downtown train. This was right and I had done it almost all by myself. As I walked out of the subway I saw venders in tents selling different things. This made me very happy and I shopped for about 10 minutes and my feet decided it was time to go back to the hotel!

p.s. dont let sarah drink milk!

The Frick and Met

2010-08-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

Today Charli, Angelina, Bailey and I all headed out to attempt the subway system with out Mrs. Haney, and unfortunately it was a little chaotic because a lot of routes were shut down. After a lot of walking and trying to find a bus stop, we finally decided to get a taxi and made it to the Frick Museum. Once we were there I forgot about our crazy morning and sat down to draw a piece by Francesco Guardi, View of the Giudecca Canal and the Zattere, Venice. It caught my attention because it had a lot of sail boats and buildings, with a lot of people going about their daily lives as fishermen. Although it was on the water, the hustle and bustle reminded me of the busy lifestyle here in New York. I found it to be a good comparison from back then in the 1700's to our modern day life. Funny if you think about it, some things never change!

Following the Frick, we went to the Metropolitan. I really enjoyed this museum because I got to see A LOT of greek and egyptian pieces I learned about in art history. At one point, I found myself recognizing every piece displayed in the room and kind of felt like I was taking an art history exam! It was surreal getting to see the actual historic pieces I learned about. I also got a good Indian sculpture drawing in on top of seeing all that I got to, it made my day a success! I'm so glad I'm getting to apply my education from home, and putting it into action by seeing all these pieces in the museums, to actually drawing them up close in person.

nyc so far 8/6

2010-08-08T14:52:00.001-07:00

New York has been an incredible experience so far and I'm more than glad that I decided to take this opportunity to draw here in this ENORMOUS, hectic, and diverse atmosphere they call the big apple. We arrived on Tuesday and explored our block around the pod, and wednesday we ventured to Central Park. I found a little spot beside a lake on some rocks. There I got to see a beautiful sky line beyond the tops of the trees that outline the park. I began to draw the sky line and got in a good zone for a little while until a couple arrived under the terrace near me. I got to witness them being married and did a quick sketch of the couple. It was a good, calming experience.

Thursday we went to the Moma, it was almost surreal seeing the originals like starry night and works from Matisse and Piccasso. I compared it to the same feeling I might get seeing a celebrity! Afterwards, we went on a boat tour of new york and that was a nice time to sit and relax from all the walking while we got in a few sketches.

Today we went to the high line in the meat packing district. There I had a good conversation with Mrs. Haney about some almost "too simple" things we saw in the moma (like some blinds thrown on the floor) and we came to the conclusion that sometimes in the art sphere it's not always about the actual piece itself, it's more about the artist and their statement they want to make. I think that's something that is very dominant around the new york art scene, it's hard to make it as an artist here and when you can throw some blinds on the floor and call it art.... well I would say you have made it!

-Sarah

Tip Top Manhattan

2010-08-07T12:41:00.000-07:00

Romanesque capital

Today we headed waaaaay uptown to the Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park at the top of Manhattan. The Cloisters holds the medieval and gothic collection for the Met. Many of the architectural elements (stones, pillars, stainglass) were imported from Europe in 19th and 20th century. Here are a couple of images.

Stain glass window and the Hudson River


A cloister at the Cloisters

Merode Altarpiece by Robert Campin

The Big Apple!

2010-08-06T18:46:00.000-07:00

The city is really big....but I have not seen many apples? haha..It is also hot just not 102 like home is right now. New York is a lot different than in the south. For one there are not as many people and the people, which are here, are mean! I miss all the big trees in the south. Going around the city you see trees, just rather small trees. While we walk up and down the busy streets with taxis, bikes, busses, trucks, and people. You are almost guaranteed to get some kind of water on you while you walk up and down the streets. This water from above is not rain either... its from a bird, A/C unit, or from someone up above.... Well going to Moma's was great. This art museum was 6 stories high. All the floors had different time periods with a different mediums. Getting to see Claude Monet in person was very impressive. I knew it was big but No... it was the whole wall! I also enjoyed seeing the women's photography room! I could have stayed all day in that room. Getting to see the photos from Annette Messager in "My Vows" and Berni Searle in "On Either Side." Getting closer to the ground floor the sculpture part of the museum was interesting, even for me. I remember seeing some blinds which looked like they came from a cheap hotel. This blind was laid on the floor, and around it was yellow tape to mark the boundaries. I did not understand this work because I didn't see the art in it. I later found out that it was a way for the artist to make a statement in saying what ever I create, and say is art, IS art.

Vincent and Me at MoMA!

2010-08-06T18:21:00.000-07:00

First of all I LOVE New York and I have really enjoyed everything we have done so far. Thursday morning we went to MoMA and it was so incredible to see famous artwork in person. Seeing pictures of them in art history books does not do them near enough justice!

Growing up, one of my favorite movies was "Vincent and ME". This movie made my love for art grow, as well as my love for Vincent van Gogh and the beautiful painting that are featured in the movie by other artists. When I walked in the room filled with works done by Van Gogh I was truly amazed! It seriously gave me chills to be able to look at "Starry Night" up close in real life, even though it was not as big as I thought it would be. Not only was the room filled with paintings done by Vincent van Gogh, there was also a painting by Henri Rousseall. The name of the painting is "The Dream", which is one of my favorite paintings featured in the movie "Vincent and Me". I was so excited and amazed at how large it was. The painting is of a man sitting on a couch in the middle of the forrest. It mixes domestic and urban with exotic. It was one of my favorite moments at MoMA by far!

Chelsea and the Meat Packing District

2010-08-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we are on day 3.

Highline Park looking out to the Hudson River

Sarah drawing 10th Ave


Angelina drawing the vegetation of the High Line

Cupcakes at the Chelsea Market

Beau Chamberline at Winston Wachter Fine Arts in Chelsea. I really love this work!

Smile you are on camera!

2010-08-05T20:58:00.000-07:00

We have walked by a couple film productions. With a little google magic, I found out what movies are being filmed in NYC this week. Here is the list.

•Premium Rush is filming around the Museum of Natural History. Signs have been spotted on 76th- 84th and Central Park West/ Columbus/Amsterdam. There are also signs on 97th and Broadway for Thursday and Friday too. (Thanks Sabler, Rina, Marek, Det Movie Buff, Vic & Nicole)

The first day

2010-08-04T19:49:00.000-07:00

Charli and Angelina in class

Belvedere Castle overlooking Central Park

The first day was great. We head uptown to Central Park and the Museum of Natural History. Here are some photos...

Bailey taking photos

Giant Boat!

Geological display- I love the texture and the pattern.

Jerry Saltz and his favorite NYC paintings

2010-08-04T19:36:00.000-07:00

This is a great list and we are going to see a lot of these painting. Make sure and read Jerry's commentary in the slide show. I might have to make my own list at the end of the trip!

Watch Out New York!

2010-08-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

Hi Im Angelina Mazzanti

I am a college kids living with type one diabetes and I'm total dyslexic! and just today I busted my head open at walmart and went to the ER. I received 36 stitches... my head hurts but Im fine...i think! i love jam bands and music festivals. Tie dying is so much fun and loving doing it. I am also into photography. i love my SLR Cannon and film Cannon which are my two favorites. I can't wait to go to new york and draw! Im taking this class because I'm not sure if ill be able to get another opportunity to take a class in new york city! I'm also very interested in photography and being in new york I'm hope to take some good photos as well as some great drawing. I'm so excited!

Draw New York

2010-08-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hi I'm Charli Terry from Corinth, MS.

New York is one of my favorite places. I have only been once and I can't wait to return! My goal is to further expand my artistic abilities while visiting and learning more about the cultural and art side of New York.

Introduction to Bailey

2010-08-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

Hi I'm Bailey Arnold.

I'm originally from Jackson, TN but have been living in Hernando, MS.

I signed up for the draw New York class so I can gain experience in a place I've always dreamed about going.

I'm looking forward to seeing the culture and art, meeting new people, and learning new techniques, as well as to improve my drawing skills.

Best Ice Cream Sandwiches in NYC

2010-07-26T05:24:00.000-07:00

It is going to be hot... Here is a list of the top ten ice cream sandwiches in NYC.

Hand Drawn Map Association

2010-07-19T15:48:00.000-07:00

This is such a cool site. Look around and get inspiration for your sketchbook!

A show we are going to see!

2010-07-19T14:35:00.001-07:00

The Matisse show will be up at the Moma while we are there. Here is Roberta Smith's review. Yeah!

Draw-bridge

2010-06-14T17:08:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn video

This video combines drawing, animation, and Brooklyn. Check it out!

Draw! New York 2010

2010-03-03T15:57:00.000-08:00

Others draw New York...

2009-09-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

Just saw this on The New York Times on-line. Apparently, y'all weren't the only ones drawing New York! Enjoy...

http://happydays.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/sketchbook-a-summer-in-the-city/

Frame up opening

2009-08-31T05:42:00.001-07:00

I love these cookies! great job emilie

Here are some pics from the opening on Friday night. We had a great turnout! Thanks to everyone who helped/brought food/ bought a raffle ticket.

Official Press Release

2009-08-22T10:42:00.001-07:00

Student Art Exhibition At The FrameUp Gallery on the Square
The Big Five and The Big Apple

On August 28th, works of digital photography and drawing created by University of Mississippi students will be exhibited at the FrameUp Gallery. The exhibition will feature the work created during two different Studio Art on Location courses in New York and Tanzania.

Draw! New York, taught by Lou Haney, Assistant Professor of Art and the Foundations Coordinator, focused on New York City as their subject. Using city sites from which to draw such as Central Park, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, Greek and Roman sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum and architecture like the Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan students explored all the city had to offer. Students also experienced contemporary and modern art through visits to the Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney, and Brooklyn Museum of Art. To get a sneak peek of their experiences while in New York check out their blog site at http://www.drawnewyork.blogspot.com/.

Digital Photography on Safari was taught by Assistant Professor of Art Brooke White and focused digital travel photography in Tanzania. During their ten days of travel, the Olé Miss safari group visited five game parks including, Arusha National Park, Tarangire National Park, Lake Eyasi and Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Crater. The group saw and photographed many native animals, including all of the Big Five, which include lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino. In addition to seeing many animals unique to this region, the class spent a day with the Hadzabe tribe learning about their culture and enjoying songs. Students also learned about the cultural and ecological history of the host country, and had the opportunity to dance with the Masaai. Over the ten-day class, each student was asked to create a digital portfolio that reflected his or her own personal expression. Their results will be featured at this exhibition. To get a seek peek of one students’ work check out their blog site at: http://www.lunartwilyght.blogspot.com/

All are invited to the exhibition’s opening reception of The Big Five and The Big Apple on Friday August, 28th from 5-7pm, food and refreshments will be available. Come see what Tanzania and New York City look like through the eyes of twelve OleMiss students. This exhibition runs through September 8th and is open daily from 9am to 5pm.

BONUS: Two works created by Professor Lou Haney and Professor Brooke White will be raffled off that evening to raise money for the Student Art Association. Cash and check accepted

I wish I had found this before the trip...

2009-08-22T10:34:00.001-07:00

check out this map of street art in NYC

Big 5 and the Big Apple

2009-08-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

Here is the sign up list

Tuesday Aug. 25 @ 3 pm- meet at the Frame-up

Robert, Wyatt, Erica, Dani, Dora Lee

Reception
Friday 8/28 5-7 pm

1. appetizer - Catherine
2. appetizer- Vanessa
3. dessert- Emilie
4. dessert- Sarah
5. punch/ice- Dora Lee

I will let you know when the cards come in!

Matting demo

2009-08-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody-

I hope everyone had a safe trip home. I found a basic matting demo on the web. It is very basic, but if you have any questions let me know.

Time flies when you are having fun...

2009-08-08T19:40:00.001-07:00

Today, I visited the Frick Galleries. I had never been and I am glad that I went. Mr. Frick definitely had specific tastes- landscapes and portraits. I saw some lovely Rembrandts and Vermeers. My favorite genre is Dutch still life- New York City has little to no still lifes. I saw one Heda painting at the Met. hmmmm.... I guess I need to teach Draw! Paris or Draw! Amsterdam in order to see some good still lifes. No pictures at the Frick, but I took some images of the garden.

This is one of the paintings I saw- I didn't expected to like a Whistler show- but I think this is a really smart painting.

I headed down to the Bowery and saw the New Museum. The building is outstanding. I saw David Goldblatt and Emory Douglas exhibit. Emory Douglas was the official artists for the Black Panthers. Some of the graphic design was really nice. David Goldblatt is a more political William Eggleston. He is South African- his pictures are banal and beautiful. However, his works tells you so much about the racial issues there.

I am heading back in the morning. We just finished an awesome dinner at Gnocco in the East Village. Safe travels...

2009-08-08T13:20:00.000-07:00

last post!

2009-08-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone......

What a long week! I feel like everyone has learned a lot and seen a lot!

Now that everything has settled down I want to take a chance to reflect and actually absorb what I have seen and done during this class! I cannot believe that we have all seen works by master artists like Picasso, Monet and so on. Many people never get the chance to see and do the things in their lifetime that we have done in only 10 days! I learned a lot about the world in general through my time here.

I learned that while you may expect a certain type of person to be mean or rude or unfriendly, you cannot judge a book by its cover. You cannot also judge an artist by one work. For example the things I realized about Mondrian, Bacon and others. I also learned to appreciate architecture more...the Guggenheim drawings that I made was one of my favorites and also the hardest for me to do. It seemed simple...just circles but actually the feat was much harder than it appeared. I guess one thing I have learned for sure is that nothing is as it seems and people may surprise you in plesant ways (like nice people giving directions on subway....girls that worked at duane reade were nice and stayed open late for us) Anyhow...this has been one of the greatest experiences for me and I am so glad that I got to share it with all of you!

Last two days of Museums.

2009-08-08T12:51:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon, we visited The Guggenheim. This was definitely my least favorite of all of the museums we have been to. Frank Lloyd Wright's exhibit was amazing to take in, but his design of the Guggenheim does not serve well as a public museum, in my opinion. The Guggenheim is uncomfortable to walk, either way, down or up. Because the walls are rounded off, no large compositions could be hung for display. The rooms that are used as art galleries are too tiny for the large crowds that visit the museum.

This morning, Saturday, we ventured out on our last museum visit. Sarah, Robert and I chose to visit the Brooklyn Museum, after a good recommendation from Erica. I was fascinated with Shonibare's mannequin exhibit. All the different types of medium used to create different compositions was amazing! The girl in me, enjoyed Art Smith's jewelry exhibition. Normally people do not take into consideration all the different forms of art, and that jewelry making is an art in itself. I really enjoyed all the museum had to offer, even though it was a quick trip. Another benefitting factor was that it wasn't too crowded like most of the other places we have been too.

I'm excited about dinner tonight and can't wait to see y'all!

2009-08-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

Over already? I just kind of got the hang of this blogging thing and now we're done. Maybe I'll join Twitter...

So, don't worry, I'm not going into another pizza/small business owner rant in this post. At the Guggenheim yesterday, Lou asked us to search for positives and negatives of the space. Like Emily, I didn't really enjoy the museum as a whole, but I loved the side wings with the artists like Picasso and Matisse. Frank Lloyd Wright seemed to have lead a fruitful career, but because I don't know much about his past, I wasn't able to connect to the architecture and plans on display. Although, I was curious how paintings would be displayed on the round outer walls, and then was pleasantly surprised by the tables topped with glass set up as plans for buildings. I think the museum is interesting, but not the best we've visited in New York this far. Five floors of one architect while tens of painters are shoved to the side was a little weird for me. However, I did think it was neat that Wright was about to design his own show space, not just as instillation, but permanently.

I couldn't have been more excited about climbing to the top of the Empire State Building! I LOVED seeing the city from that point of view! See yall at dinner!!!!!!

the brooklyn museum!

2009-08-08T12:32:00.000-07:00

just got back from the brooklyn museum in a rush!! I loved it!! this museum had a relaxed feel that i liked much more than the chaos of the MET and the guggenheim. robert, dani, and i split up so that we could cover more area of the museum.. i loved the ice block installation by tarvares strachan. it was mind boggling to me that this same piece of ice has been transported all the way from alaska, to the bahamas, and now to brooklyn! i also enjoyed the films about the reflections in the electric mirror and the yinka shonibare exhibit! this exhibit showcased headless mannequins dressed in very ornate clothing. i think i found this so interesting because when you look at the human figure, your eyes are automatically directed to the face, but in this exhibit, that was not an option. we are forced to notice the bodily mannerisms of the mannequins rather than the facial expressions. all in all, the brooklyn museum was probably my second favorite next to MoMA :)

American Folk Art Museum

2009-08-08T12:23:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take ANY pictures at this museum, and I wish I could have, because it had some wonderful things, but on every floor, if I even pulled out my phone, museum security would run up to me and be like: "no pictures, no pictures!!!!." But anyway, today, my last day, I ventured over to 53rd street in Manhattan to go to the American Folk Art Museum. It is located next door to the MOMA, so it was simple to find. There are five floors of artwork. I had never been to a "folk art" museum of any kind, so my only expectations were that I would probably see a bunch of funky stuff made by natives of America or other types of things like that. Boy was I wrong! They had an exhibit of water color paintings on one floor by an artist named Henry Derger. They were landscape paintings, but a little on the abstract side but stressed people in real detail. The colors were wonderful. There were some funky indian looking things on the very top floor. But my favorite part of the museum was an exhibit I absolutely loved: the Collection of Ulysses Davis. Davis was a wood carver from Savannah Georgia. Mostly working out of his home and barbershop in which he owned and gave haircuts, he revealed his wonders to his customers and friends. He was a master wood worker. There were crazy animals and canes to people. He seemed to have done a wood carving of many famous people that influenced him directly: Malcom X, Martin Luther King Jr., Frederick Douglass, etc. One really neat thing was that all lined up in a row, Davis had carved the head and shoulders of each and every American President, each looking like he had a different personality and each wearing a different suit or tuxedo. The incredible thing was, there faces really did express emotion and a sense of unique personality. Finally, at the end of Davis's exhibit, he had carved a self portrait of himself. I was dying to take a picture of it because I just loved this piece. It was fairly small, but he had glasses and a very very large pipe sticking out of his mouth. I think Davis was obviously suggesting that he liked to just sit back, work, give haircuts, and smoke his pipe and just observe and carve. I loved the folk art museum. This concludes my blogs as of now. I have enjoyed blogging about all I have seen and done this trip. I think I have done more than five blogs, but that is ok because I accidently just did some about personal adventures I went on as well as the required ones we were supposed to do.

8/7-8/8

2009-08-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

Friday- I wouldn't think that the saying T.G.I.F. would accurately describe the way we all felt yesterday. I think we just kicked ourselves into auto-pilot and zombied our way through The Guggenheim and Empire State Building. I really don't understand how the people that live here grow accustomed to this rushed lifestyle. I find myself so tired at the end of each day that it is exhausting to do normal activities like eat and shower. I think it would be so strange to live here and allow the "go, go, go" mentality become normal to me.

As for The Guggenheim, it was my least favorite museum that we have visited. The architecture was great, but the Frank Lloyd Wright galleries became very repetitive. No matter how much you actually enjoyed his work, it was difficult to even remember what you had just seen. All around, it was a cold and unwelcoming environment. The guards were impolite, and they were also unclear about rules on photographing and how close to stand to artwork.

The Guggenheim Top of Empire State Building

Interior of NC home at Brooklyn Museum.

Really wish you could see how bright the colors were

Saturday- Went to the Brooklyn Museum for my second museum visit. Loved this place! There was barely anyone there, and they had a great variety of work. I saw everything from Monet's "Houses of Parliament" to a full scale model of a home from North Carolina. It represented Brooklyn perfectly with its laid back feel. There was no rushing from painting to painting. :)

Brooklyn Museum

2009-08-08T10:52:00.000-07:00

The Brooklyn Museum had a lot of really cool installations and 3D pieces. Some were really strange-like the refrigerated block of ice that was outside. It referenced the artists memories of his childhood with snow and ice. The ice was actually imported from the Arctic, and kept cool by a massive solar panel powered freezer.

Its always cool to see artwork that you've studies, and I got to do that today! At the Brooklyn Museum, I got to see "The Dinner Party" by Judy Chicago. I studied it last semester in art history. It's known for being an iconic piece of feminist artwork. The headless mannequins dressed in elaborate clothing was really interesting too. There is so much detail in their actions and wardrobe, but they don't have heads so it contradicts the detail and, in a way, it's kind of unsettling haha.

I can't believe it's our last day! I have had a great time, and it was so cool getting to hang out with such a great group of people! It's been a crazy packed trip, but I'm so glad i came. I learned so much and I think I got some really good drawings out of our trip.

The Whit

2009-08-08T10:50:00.000-07:00

The Whitney had a lot of really interesting pieces of artwork. I love seeing paintings, but I have also really gained an appreciation for installations on this trip. I used to not really care for installations. I just lumped them all into my category of "too interpretational and random." But at the Whitney, the room with the clear wall in the middle, and mirrors on either side was very cool. I think I liked it because it was somewhat interactive. You could go into the room, shut the door, and it felt like you were a part of the artwork, as opposed to looking at it from behind a rope.

I had never heard of Dan Graham before, but his pieces were so creative and different. He was also at the museum when we were there, which was so cool to actually be in the presence of the person responsible for these pieces of art that were on display at a major museum in New York. It was very surreal.

Seeing art in person

2009-08-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

The best part, in my opinion, about going to all the museums is getting to see the artwork up close and in person. For me, its kind of a make or break type of situation. You can love a piece of artwork that you have studied, and when you see it in person, be absolutely overwhelmed by it. To be able to look at a famous piece of work up close and see every brush stroke is incredible. The one that stood out to me was "Starry Night" by van Gogh. The organized randomness of his small brush strokes is insane. My favorite part of getting to see that piece up close was that if you look around the edges, you can see that some parts don't come all the way to the end of the canvas. Its just small details like that that make it so real and remind you that a person just like you and me painted it.

On the other hand, some pieces aren't as impressive as I thought they would be. Most of the time, it was the size that shocked me the most. These artists are so famous, and seeing their work, in itself, its awesome. But the actual piece of work isn't as amazing as i would have thought. Some pieces were a lot smaller than I would have thought, which was kind of disappointing. Overall, I think you still can't really know a piece of work until you see it in person.

G O

2009-08-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

last night i had a tasty dinner at an italian restaurant on montague. emilie kept me company along with the flirty italian owner who kept filling our wine glasses to the brim! i have been working on my sketch book a lot and am pleased with everything in it. this morning i took the subway to the brooklyn museum. after walking into the museum i realized i wouldnt have to fight the crowds today. it contained lots of ethnic art including chinese, japanese and a notable collection of egyptian work. i was thrilled to find several of monet's paintings in the european area. his colors are magnificent. his work was set off against a white wall which made it pop. i would love to mimic his loose brush strokes in my painting class next semester. the feminist exhibit was also quite moving. i noticed the brooklyn museum had an educational wing. classes are offered for those interested in learning to paint, draw etc.

upon leaving we ran into a marching band. the music they were producing brought a smile to the face. i knew this was the "sound of the city". i have met such a variety of new yorkers, all very hospitable and interested in learning more about me and our group.

although this class has been rushed i have thouroghly enjoyed my week. brooklyn is almost peaceful compared to the fast pace manhattan. lou has been such a delight to be around. i have seen so many beautiful peices of art. i have gotten to take some breath taking pictures! i couldn't have asked for more fun loving group of people to be around in new york city! i look forward to our exhibit coming up in oxford!

xoxo

dora lee

The Frick Collection Art Museum

2009-08-08T09:29:00.000-07:00

For my second art museum I visited the Frick Museum of Art. Unfortunately photos of any kind were not allowed. This is especially sad as the entire place is gorgeous! Unlike the MOMA, the Guggenheim and the Whitney, which all use the plain white wall approach to curating, the Frick presents the Art inside of the former residence of Mr. Henry Frick. Mr. Frick was the wealthy collector who amassed the impressive collection displayed within the Frick Collection. The Home itself is a work of art with impressive scrolling work on the ceilings and doors. There are several rooms where the walls themselves instead of being covered with wall paper have been covered with a series of paintings. My personal favorite was the Boucher room, the walls of which were covered in images of a little boy and girl playing together. Always the same boy and girl distinguishable by the distinctive braid on the little girl and the reddish jumpsuit outfit on the little boy. For me what makes this room special is not just the cute kids in each scene but that in one scene you see the little boy seated sketching this bust of the little girl. And then right next to that wall actually in the room with you is the bust he is sketching. Its an actual work that Mr. Frick owned. It was pretty cool. Overall I like the way the Frick was curated better than say the Whitney, but then I really don't like the whole white wall thing. I do have to say though in some places there was a glare on some of the paintings and the more consideration should have been given to light placement.

On the way home I walked past Franz West's "Ego and Id" on the south east corner of Central Park. There was also a few smaller of his pieces in the MOMA sculpture garden but the "Ego and Id" installation is massive as it reaches twenty feet high. In the plaque it states that Mr. West intends his works to be interacted with and that he was a member of the "action" art group in Vienna. Each of these pieces turn up at the bottom creating tiny seats at the bottom on which passersby can stop and sit. The colors were lovely and bright. I kept trying to figure out which piece was ego and which was id. I think the all pink was the Ego b/c the ego is supposed to be the slightly more rational and in control part compared to the Id. I think the Id would be the more bright and clashing multi-colored piece. I really like this installation and would like to learn more about the artist.

pros and cons of the guggenheim

2009-08-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

friday we went to the guggenheim!! i must say that i had higher expectations for this museum. upon arriving at the guggenheim i noticed the unique structure and was intrigued. after entering, it was obvious that the flow of the museum did not work well; i kept running into people! we took the elevator to the top and began to work our way down. i like the openness of the museum, but the constant slope downward hurt my feet. i also think it would be hard to maneuver around there if you were handicapped or in a wheelchair. on another note, frank lloyd wright's: from without outward completely blew my mind. it is amazing to me how the mind of an architect works, and i enjoyed seeing his blueprints and models firsthand. at first, i thought that wright did everything on his own, but lou informed me that he had the best architects working under him to help him out, so he did not do everything on his own. i also learned that he had workers who's jobs were specifically to make the detailed models that were on display. those were very impressive!! another con of the museum was the lack of variety. after visiting larger museums like the MoMA and of course the met, the guggenheim seemed very small and limited. All in all, the guggenheim was my least favorite, but it was still very interesting!! hopefully the brooklyn museum today will be another great experience.

Central Park vs. The Grove

2009-08-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

Friday morning, on our way to the Guggenheim, we were strolling alongside the outskirts of Central Park and an uppity real estate area. The outer branches of the park's bordering trees created a nice shade and a view that was aesthetically pleasing to look out. I turned to Mrs. Haney and said, "I know this sounds straight out of Mississippi, but I sort of feel like I'm in the Grove right now." She then preceded to tell me about Frank law Olmsted.

During the 1850s, people began to consider the beautification of cities and how it could aid in viewer attraction and create happiness. This became known as the City Beautiful Movement. Frederick law Olmsted played a leading role in this movement and has long be known as the founder of American landscape architecture.

Olmsted and a man by the name of Calvert Vaux, created Greensward, their entry for design that was entered into the Central Park design competition of 1858. It was chosen as the park's design, leading Olmsted to serve as chief architect. The park's design includes many of

Olmsted's recognizable trademarks, such as winding paths, scenic views and large open areas.

So, do these trademarks sound familiar to y'all? Olmsted was also behind the initial Grove design. Yep, that's right. Our good "Ole" university brought in the father of landscape architecture to map out a design for The Grove!

I'm excited that NYC contains a beautiful area that we can all feel at home in. I wonder if Eli ever attempts to pitch a tent and set up tailgate in Central Park? haha.

I used some information for this blog from www.franklawolmsted.com

pizza pizza

2009-08-08T04:41:00.001-07:00

I love pizza and going to Grimaldi's a few days ago was a treat! I would like to use this post to compare, in my own opinion, the pizza in Oxford to the authentic New York pizza place our class visited earlier in the week. Funky's is probably my favorite pizza in Oxford. I think Funky's one ups Grimaldi's as far as atmosphere is concerned; the walls decorated with pop culture appeals to the mass amount of students within the small town. And although Grimaldi's wasn't boring, the traditional family style joint did add any flare to the atmosphere-the checkered tablecloths could be replaced with something a little more fun. And, at Grimaldi's, no one seemed happy to have us. Maybe I'm just use to the small town feel where I can walk into a pizza joint and say hello to the owner while requesting he put on some Counting Crows. At Grimaldi's, we were corralled behind a rope to wait outside the building by an unhappy hostess who didn't seem satisfied with the lunch rush until she saw our large group leave.

Down to the pizza part.... Funky's kicks Grimaldi's butt in that department too if you ask me...LOADED with toppings and handmade, you can't get better. And although I watched the man at Grimaldi's make our pizza and throw it into the oven, there's something to say about that extra little effort they put into business at a new place in a small town like Funky's. If ya'll haven't had their pizza yet, go in and grab a slice (oh yea, Funky's sells slices) of the Fratboy, or Sorority Girl, in the early afternoon of after the bars close for late night. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

Mr. Wright, The Guggenheim and Me.

2009-08-07T22:44:00.000-07:00

So today we visited the Guggenhiem and got a glimpse into the way Frank Lloyd Wright viewed architecture and the potential of buildings. Mr. Wright was most certainly a visionary. On one of the buildings for which plans and model were on display the label stated the Mr. Wright had been approached with a request for a two or three story building. He responded with plans for a 22 story tower with an adjoining parking structure. I really don't think the man knew how to dream small. Some of his ideas were truly epic! His futuristic city was gorgeous including air taxis, gorgeous towers, and plenty of space. Its understandable as to why it never was built, but still its a pretty neat dream. His Pittsburgh Park and Recreation Center plan was I think my favorite. His design for an aquarium with two huge spheres filled with sea life was just awesome and I think it would be a fantastic design to implement. However, I don't believe this one ever was.

Being in the Guggenheim was in itself interesting b/c it was built by Mr. Wright and was a great example of his work. Its was certainly a good example of his love of including geometric shapes in his works in innovative ways. The building's shape seemed to be rather peaceful and just felt smooth. However, the building didn't seem peaceful overall to me. Maybe its because I was rather tired, maybe it was b/c of all that white paint. I don't know. I personally like the Met better, the browns seem calming to me. I also noticed that the building as a whole doesn't have much permanent installation space. It seems set up to be more of a gallery, a huge gallery, than it does a museum. However, I really like the building. I would just like to paint it a slightly less jarring color. Which, I mean I don't understand this intense fascination with white that the art world has. All of MOMA and the majority of galleries seem to all be painted white inside. I understand that you want the walls to fade away so that the viewer can focus on the art, but I think light grays and browns would do just as well. So anyway, those are my thoughts on the Guggenheim.

Dan Graham @ the Whitney

2009-08-07T22:19:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed the Dan Graham exhibit at the Whitney. I personally find Mr. Graham to be a fascinating all be it quirky person and after hearing his lecture I was looking forward to seeing his art. I was not disappointed.

I found that Mr. Graham seems to have a number of themes running through most of his work. He likes to look at concepts of time and space, both with his video art and his structures. He also likes to make a point with his work, such as with his "Rock My Religion" video and his "Homes for America" piece. I personally found "Rock My Religion" to be almost more of a documentary than a video art. Though it was very artistically done. I don't know, maybe I need to reconsider my definition of video art I guess. At any rate, the video pointed out the similarities between religion and music. The similarities between various religions groups and say the rock and roll fans or the hippies were pretty interesting. Mr. Graham's point seems to be that there is something in our make up that pushes us to express ourselves in intense emotional ways. And where the religious groups he mentioned such as the Quakers or Baptists find their emotional release and validation in their religious services and passions so the rock and roll fan find similar release in the rock concert. I'm butchering the concept but it was very fascinating. An effective technique Mr. Graham used was to play clips of the band and audience at a rock and roll concert rocking out without sound. This caused you to focus on the expressions and intensity of motion from a more objective standpoint without hearing the music. Then he switched over and let the viewer see clips of what appeared to be a southern revival meeting with the people praising the lord, jumping and praying without sound. You watched the Rock Lead interact with his audience and then you saw the Preacher interact with his congregation, all without sound. Once again, the similarities were amazing. Even down to almost exact expressions and movements towards the viewers.

So at any rate, I really enjoyed his "Rock My Religion" video. That was my favorite work of his though I liked several of his architectural works as well. I seem to be developing a really intense love of innovative quirky art design. I really enjoyed both Ron Arad and Dan Graham.

The Whitney and DA MET!

2009-08-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I chose the Whitney as one of my optional museum visits. I wanted to go because I had never been to the Whitney and it is contemporary art. First of all, I must say, I thought that the lime green tickets for the Whitney were really cool -- not relevant but something that I noticed and I know that a lot of thought was put into it.

I liked the Whitney....it was smaller and easier for me to manage myself there. My favorites there were anything by Charles Oldenburg. I am glad I went to the Whitney, because like with my epiphany at MoMA with Piet Mondrian I saw a whole new side of Oldenberg that I wasn't aware of. One of my favorite things there in Oldenburg's exhibit was his Dream Pin. All of his soft sculptures were really cool and edgy. I liked how even though he was not working with something that would become a hard and definite finished object everything he made still looked lifelike.

Dream Pin, I really liked it and sketched it for a while and included it in my collage. I like how he took an everyday object and took the time to study it and draw it and make it art. I also was only familiar with Oldenburg's sculpture so I liked seeing his sketches.

I liked Edward Hopper's work too. I am not sure what drew me into his paintings. I liked the blonde busty girl that was in a few of them. I don't know if it was the colors or the people and the time period that he created in the paintings, but I was drawn to his work for some reason.

THE MET

The Met also was wonderful as to be expected. I was almost frustrated there though because it was so crowded and I knew I wouldn't be able to see everything the museum had to offer! I went to the fashion exhibit and enjoyed it. The Francis Bacon exhibit really stayed with me after I left the museum.

I liked the Bacon exhibit, because I felt that by looking at all the paintings that he created over his career that I knew him. First of all, I never knew that Bacon was gay. This makes more sense to me knowing this because he rarely ever painted females. Also, it seems that Bacon lived a hard life and had a fast lifestyle.

I loved the Bacon exhibit, because I actually read about and understood the emotion behind his work. I have never felt like I understood all the "personal stuff" about an artist before. It made me realize how much art is connected to emotions. It evokes emotion and it is made because of emotion. I always knew that some artist didn't paint when they were depressed but I left knowing so much more about Bacon's work and his life and the emotion that he put into his paintings. I felt a little bit like an intruder on his personal life and space but I guess that is all a part of being an artist....you put yourself out there to be judged! Now we are all going to have to do that soon! SCARY!

Ya MoMA jokes

2009-08-07T20:25:00.000-07:00

MoMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my favorite museum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Excuse the blog titles, I have a strange sense of humor and have had no rest!

Finally we went to MoMA! I had been waiting for this day the entire trip! I LOVE modern art. I am not sure what draws me into it. I think I like the fact that it is not all cut and dried like art from other periods. In one painting ten different people can look at it and all see and interpret ten different things. I love it. I love the discussions that can be sparked because of art like this. It is all very stimulating to me and so I was glad to get the opportunity to come face to face with the works that I have admired since I was a little girl.

I knew what I really wanted to see the second I walked in the door. My favorite paintings are usually by French painters from the time period of mid to late 1800s to early to mid 1900s. Finally I get to use the few art history skills I have acquired at the University of Mississippi! These favorites of mine include but are not limited to the likes of Henri Matisse, Vincent Van Gogh (he is Dutch but of the period and I love him), Pablo Picasso (even though he is a Spaniard, I know), Degas, Paul Cezanne, Pissaro and I could go on and on!

I loved all the obvious works. There seemed to be something there for everyone that likes the impressionism period and current modern art. However, I was pleasantly surprised by one artist whom I had almost cast aside as someone whose work I did not appreciate enough (or in the correct way at least). This artist that I was so surprised by was Piet Mondrian.

I always thought that all of Mondrian's work was very simple and clean lines. Before my visit to MoMA I would not have described his work with any gusto. I always thought it was cool that he was most noted for creating the style of work that he is most noted for.....his grids and lines and boxes and mostly three colors being red, blue and yellow.

As I'm writing this now I am ashamed to say that in the back of my mind I always wondered if Mondrian was capable of producing more realistic work rather than his sparse lines and boxes. Luckily, at MoMA I loved the fact that I saw other work by Mondrian that was beautiful and lifelike. I especially enjoyed his sketches of plants. They looked real and beautiful and I never knew he did any work like this!

The MoMA totally blew all of what I thought I knew about Piet Mondrian out of whack! I'm glad that I had this experience, because now I want to learn more about Mondrian and his other work that I do not know anything about. Not only do I want to learn more about him, but as an Art History student my visit to the MoMA was just what I needed to push myself farther into my studies. From having my preconceived notions about one artist totally change in a matter of seconds now I want to go farther than just learning about an artist's most famous work....I want to know more about art and the people that created it!

catching up on my blogin' fools!!!

2009-08-07T20:04:00.000-07:00

WHEW!!! What a time we have had so far! I got a little behind with my blogging and now I am hitting the ground running ready to catch up!

Ok....where to begin? There have been too many amazing things that we've all done and seen. I could write all night about it! Also, all of us already know what has been going on this week so why waste my breath, or keystrokes in this case.

I have noticed that it has been hard to keep up the pace of this city. I know that at least in room 707 we all are exhausted by the end of the day and usually end up at home and in bed by 9:00 or so. I have found this trend to be somewhat different to my life in Oxford. I love it here because of the fact that there are so many things to do during the day. In Mississippi I dread Saturdays and Sundays from the hours of about 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

However, in New York I wake up early (yes 8 and 9 a.m. is early to me) and I am actually in a good mood and look forward to the plans that lay ahead. I wish that the museums could open up earlier, because I want to get in there and see everything and do everything that this city has to offer!! I wish that I could have the same type of enthusiasm towards my life at Ole Miss.

I want to learn to be more like a New Yorker.....No, not in every sense but the pride that they all take in their city is amazing. The love they all have for New York is something that links them all together no matter what part they are from.

I have noticed that "real" New Yorkers do not litter. They respect their city enough to keep it beautiful and clean. For example, on the subway Erica was sitting by a man and she got up to get off subway and he reprimanded her for leaving her empty bottle on the subway. It wasn't actually her bottle of water, but the man thought that it was and it clearly offended him that she did not throw it away! I cannot picture this happening at home! The people here treat their city as their home! People lay around in the parks and probably spend more time outside than in their homes....therefore the city seems more like a home to them than a cramped apartment. That is not the way that people think of our cities in the South.

Now that I have come to some of these realizations, I am going to try to respect my city more and also even though I can't take the subway to go visit The Met or see the latest show on Broadway I need to appreciate where I come from more and find things that I enjoy doing at home!

Guggenheim Museum

2009-08-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

Today we ventured all the way up on the east side of Manhattan to the spectacular Guggenheim Museum designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Conveniently, his exhibit was showing at the museum. I had been looking forward to seeing this museum and exhibit all week, and it definitely did not disappoint. I love architecture, and I almost career-wise went that route, so this exhibit was just for me. I was fascinated by the sixty something different projects of Wright's that were on display. The floor plans, side views, overall drawings and plans, and even real models were all there and full of detail. The structure and form of these beautiful designs just blew me away. Wright truly was one of the greatest architects of the 20th century. Also, this museum houses a Van Gogh and a Monet painting. Both were extremely beautiful. Van Gogh is my favorite major artist, so every time I get to see one of his paintings, many of which are landscapes including this one, I am just in awe. His colors and brush strokes are just amazing. Overall, this museum has ended up being one of my favorites in all of New York.

After the museum, we went to the Empire State Building. This was my second trip there this week, but this time I got to go to the top during the day. I got some great pictures, one of which is on display above. Just looking at all the amazing buildings and layout of the city amazes me. I could stand and gaze over the city for hours.

This concludes our day of class. It was one of my favorite days by far.

Thursday-8/6/09

2009-08-07T16:52:00.000-07:00

Thursday was the fourth day in NY, and we had a free morning to do museum visits. The Whitney was my museum of choice. I picked it because it has modern art, and modern art it is usually more appealing to me. One exhibit that I found interesting was Dan Graham: Beyond. He had several different large pieces that were made of large walls of reflective tinted glass and mirrors. They were large enough that one could actually walk into the space that was created. It was interesting because the reflections you saw of yourself made you feel as if you were part of the artwork. You became the focus of the art, and it was sometimes humorous and embarrassing. It almost reminded me of the trick mirrors that you would see at a carnival. I would even compare it to the wall that you could record your height on in the MoMA because it provided such a connection for the viewer.

The Met

On the roof of The Met

Next, we hit up the Met. It was unbelievably amazing but also overwhelming. After much walking around and getting lost, I decided to return to the Mezzanine floor that was used for the storage of American Art (the room that contained Madame X). It was such a relief to be there. There were barely any people, and it had such a variety of things (paintings, furniture, baseball cards, etc.). Although I really enjoy large museums like the Met, they can be exhausting. I like to be able to focus on a piece of artwork rather than feeling rushed walk by it because there are 20 other people waiting to see it. I like the peace and quiet of rooms like the storage area, and they feel like they contain such hidden treasures.

Subway Art

2009-08-07T16:14:00.001-07:00

I have to say as much as I love the subway system and how convenient it makes travel around the city I really do hate the subway platforms. Its usually hot and muggy. Lots of people are there, unless its late at night in which case no one else is there. And then you wait for your train to come, which can take anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes. Thats also annoying, for the rest of your day you may be stuck in a crowd, climbing stairs or riding in a packed elevator but you can still take comfort in knowing that you are moving at least a little. You are making progress and moving towards your goal. On a subway platform you come to a complete stop. There is nothing you can do to hurry the process up and you are completely dependent on the subway system.

However, one thing I do love about the MTA that they try to liven up as many of the platforms as possible. They include art in the walls. Different designs and themes individual to each platform. Not all the stops have art work, but many do. It keeps the often times monotonous and dirty platforms from being unbearable. For me at least, the art prompts me to consider why that particular design was chosen for that particular subway station. Sometimes its easy, like the art on the C E Line at the 81st St./ Museum of Natural History stop is pretty easy to figure out. Its animals and natural phenomena on the walls and thus a no brainer as to the connection. But then you have stops like the 14th Street A C Stop that has curious little characters holding money bags perched at random intervals throughout the station and you just stand there wondering. Or the AC stop on Canal street with the black birds perched everywhere. Just makes no sense.

I personally feel that the art enlivens a rather boring and oppressive space. Similar to the musicians who play on the platforms, subway art gives commuters something to occupy there minds with and lift their spirit through.

today is friday!

2009-08-07T14:47:00.001-07:00

in my bed!

this morning ms haney looked over my work. i think i'm on the right track i need to draw draw and draw more though. this morning we traveled to the guggenheim, this is my least favorite museum we have visited thus far. the building although complex seemed very cold. the frank loyd wright exhibit contained only black and white. i prefer to look at more of a value range. one thing i really liked was the fact the ramps made the museum seem more of a whole rather than choppy with all the different levels. i made my way through the museum fairly quickly. the permanent exhibit was rather impressive and contained a variety of pieces.

a group of us went to lunch in an area close to the empire state building. the nachos=YUMMY. service=terrible. we finally caught up with the rest of the group after surpassing many a tourist at the empire state building. i don't do well with heights so i grabbed sarahs hand on the 80 floor ride up to the top. i got some nice pictures on the top but was not able to draw with all of the crowds shuffling around. wyatt asked me to a yankees game but i have to work! ahh.

home!

xoxo

dora lee

Friday.... whew!

2009-08-07T14:31:00.000-07:00

Today we headed uptown to the Guggenheim. They had a Frank Lloyd Wright show. I was pleasantly surprised! It is amazing to see the breath of his career and how many of his buildings did not get built. I bet people are kicking themselves now...

Waiting in the Guggenheim. We are all worn out....
We headed downtown to the Empire State Building. I took these during the lunch break.
On the 86th floor at the Empire State Building.... It was quite a haul. They have lines and more lines and then some more lines. I was so exhausted that we didn't make it to Chelsea. If I did this again, I would let the students go to the Empire State Building without me. It was beautiful, but I think I would rather look at some art.
On the subway and we are coming home!

Tomorrow is a "free" day. Finishing up sketchbooks, grading, blogging, etc. I may head over to Chelsea in the morning or go the Frick.... There is so much to see and we are headed south on Sunday. Oh well, there is always next year.

wednesday!

2009-08-07T14:23:00.001-07:00

today i woke up and went to a quaint little coffee shop near by with sarah and dani. i had a delicious cafe au lai (my favorite). we headed to the whitney shortly after. i thoroughly enjoyed the whitney..partly because i could cover the entire gallery in about two/three hours. i felt the museum was very interactive. I loved that each floor contained different exhibits. the life size cigarette butts and french fries drew my attention. i immediately pulled out the charcoal pencil! i loved that the whitney had more of an edgy, chic feel. the bottom floor contains sarah beth's. it is famous for its omelets and muffins! i got lox, so good.

the met was huge. i visited "model as the muse" a temporary exhibit on the fifth floor which i loved because of the fashion. the met contained work ranging from hundreds of years old to recent work. i got several good drawings in of greek goddess statues. an intern showed us five of her favorite works as a group. the history behind each of the works was fascinating. after the met i went to TOP SHOP on broadway. i saw the gossip girls shopping (vanessa and blair). emilie and i went to dinner at an italian place up the street from our place. after dinner i worked on my sketchbook and popped in sex and the city (how appropriate).

xoxo

dora lee

I can't believe thursday has come and gone!

2009-08-07T06:13:00.000-07:00

Soo... I also wanted to go to PS1 but noon made that a no go. Instead I trecked the subway system like a brave little girl all the way to The Brooklyn Museum of Art (less than five stops from the Clark subway stop). Anyway, I am really happy that I went to this museum. It was quiet and I had my own personal space as I walked as slowly as I wanted through each part of the museum; not bothering to look at a map even once. De ja vu quickly came over me as I found myself in wonder over all of the different mediums ONE artist can work with. The most standout artist at BMoA, for me, was Yinka Shonibare. His work reached from the world of fashion to instillation art and photography. However, I was pleasantly suprised by the films in his exhibit. One was an interpretation on Swan Lake. Two ballerinas danced the same dance, and depending on the camera angle, one was a reflection in mirror. The was Shonibare grabbed ideas from other artists to compose his artwork struck me as interesting and I love to think that any art from any period can effect all art that is to come.

After BMoA I met up with the class on the steps of the Met (yes, I made there on the subway AND on time)! This museum was SO large and considering how slow and comfortable the Brooklyn Museum was, you might can tell I was a little shocked by the pace. There was no way to see everything and I knew that if I looked at a map I would just be upset at all the art I missed. So, I wandered. It was amazing to see artists like Francis Bacon at this spot. I needed more time! When I come back to New York the Metropolitan will be a place I revisit for sure.

I feel like I've seen a little of the city now, and I'm ready to make some judgements. One-EVERY country of the world is represented in this city. Two-ALL of them go to the Met. Three-people in New York co-exist in a way they NEVER would in Oxford. I think cities like this are amazing. My favorite quote in the world is from Mark Twain, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." And although I have traveled a fair bit before, this is the first time I have noticed all of the different nationalities that coexist in a place like this.

2009-08-06T22:15:00.000-07:00

hey hey.. today was our fourth day! dani, dora lee, robert, and i had plans to go to ps1, but luckily, we ran into katherine, emily, and vanessa on the subway who told us it did not open until 12! so we went to the whitney, which to my surprise was so much fun! dan graham's installations were so much fun because we got to interact with the pieces of art, and not just look at them. we could walk inside of them, see ourselves in the mirrors, and even on the delayed tv screens. dani and i took lots of funny pictures:) also, we watched videos by carolee schneeman which were very interesting, and possibly a bit disturbing. they contained lots of nudity and people rolling around in raw meet. crazy stuff!

afterwards, we went to the met which was crazy amazing and HUGE. i hope i get to spend a whole day there the next time i come back to ny, because there was so much more i wanted to see. the roman statues were great for drawings; robert and i got some good final drawings out of the way. the installation on the roof was super cool too! after the met, we had dinner at cafe habana (for the 2nd time this trip, it's so good!) and then came back to our rooms and worked on our collages. they were lot's of fun! but now it's time for bed. see you at 10!

The Museum Mile

2009-08-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

This morning, Sarah, Dora Lee and I enjoyed breakfast at the little cafe across the street from our dorm called Tazza. It was delicious, and I'm sure we kept the other customers and staff entertained with our photo shoot!

Next, we journeyed over to the Whitney Museum to take in all the art it had to offer! Dan Graham's installations were absolutely fascinating! The security guard encouraged Sarah and I to play inside one of the pieces, where he secretly allowed us to take pictures!

This double-sided room was so much fun! I also loved the installation where two cameras and televisions were placed on opposite sides of the room and delayed images were used.

My time spent at the Whitney allowed me to learn about different, contemporary artists I can take an interest in. Needless to say, I wrote down many names and pieces. I was really amazed by Claes Oldenburg's music inspired pieces. I

n comparison with MOMA, the Whitney Museum was not quite as interesting, but it was less crowded and that to me was a definite plus! A lot less overwhelming.

After eating a delicious hot dog from a local street vendor, we went to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is giiiiiiiinormous. I could literally spend 5 days in there and still not see everything. I really enjoyed the tour we went on with the Met intern where she showed us her favorite pieces. The Met definitely has the overall selection of all the museums we have visited. Not to say it's my absolute favorite, but it's pretty amazing! It has so much to offer anyone and everyone. I got some good drawing time in, sketching out a few of the Roman sculptures. The view from the roof of the Met was so great. I can't believe it's almost Friday!

Day Five: Whitney Museum and the Met

2009-08-06T17:55:00.000-07:00

This morning I ventured over to the Whitney Museum of American Art. Honestly, after having been to the Museum of Natural History, The MOMA, and looking forward to going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I was not to thrilled about the Whitney. Upon entering the museum, I walked to the top floor where the museum holds its personal collection, and I was just in awe of several works. First, John Sloan's "6th Avenue Elevated at 3rd Street" and Joseph Stella's "Brooklyn Bridge" were two paintings that I really fell in love with. I love paintings that just capture scenes in a unique way from a city, and these paintings did just that. The Brooklyn Bridge piece showed the bridge abstractly from all sorts of angles and used many colors, and this revealed just how awesome the real Brooklyn Bridge is with its height, length, and design. The 6th avenue painting just showed a busy, night-time scene in New York city with much detail, and I just sat there for maybe ten minutes looking at it. I was not in awe of the special exhibits they had there, but my favorite part of the museum came when I noticed a collection of five or six paintings from one of my favorite artists: Jacob Lawrence. I have been a huge fan ever since I did a master copy of one of his paintings in high school. I love his colors, his subjects, his compositions, and his themes. The series here in the Whitney was his "Wartime Series." Each painting seemed to show a different scene from world war one with both black and white soldiers. From elaborate greens, yellows, browns, and blues as the main colors, Lawrence really reveals powerful and moving scenes in this series from soldiers charging a trench to five men sleeping in their bunks at night on a boat across sea. Seeing these paintings basically made my day. Too bad the Whitney would not let me take pictures or I would have taken one of each painting and put them all on here.

I have been to the Met before, but today I got to explore a little more of it. The roof garden was just amazing with its views of the city and its design of the silver branch/tree that snakes its way around the rooftop. As you can see in my pictures above, I loved the American landscape paintings. The colors, the scenes, and the light appear to be so real just like a photograph. I am glad I discovered those.

As far as museums go, today has been my favorite day to visit them.

Day 3- 8/5/09

2009-08-06T05:56:00.000-07:00

To start this off, last night Dora Lee, Wyatt and I had a very interesting experience at an Irish Pub down the street. We saw two federal judges get in a bar fight and met Eric Mabius from Ugly Betty. Anyways........

So glad that the meteorologists were wrong, and we were not rained on today! Went to Central Park and worked on a big drawing. To be honest, the smell of the park was very disappointing. I think I heard someone say that it is close to a zoo, so maybe that explains it.
Song Dong's "Waste Not"

After a quick lunch, we went to the MoMA, and I was so overwhelmed (in a good way). I thought it was interesting to see really famous artwork, but it bothered me that many of the people there only admired the popular ones. The pieces that were my favorites all had one thing in common, repetition. Song Dong's "Wast Not" was easily my favorite. The arrangement of the different items was so repetitive. More than that, I felt so attached to the installation. I could easily see myself becoming like Song Dong's mother. After recently sorting through my great-grandmother's house, a Great Depression survivor, I realized that I have seen many of those habits before. Our generation is unknowingly falling into the same tendencies.

having my height recorded for Roman Ondak's "Measuring the Universe"

Wednesday in NYC

2009-08-05T21:32:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to finally visit both Central Park and MOMA today! Although I wish I could have seen more of the park, I absolutely loved the area I chose to sit at and sketch. I sat on a park bench to the left of this little restaurant called The Ballfield Cafe. I chose to focus in on the interesting roof design and tops of the umbrellas.

We had lunch at a little pub a few blocks down from MOMA, and they had delicious hamburgers! When first arriving at the Museum of Modern Art, I experienced an instant fascination. I literally could have spent all day long in there just walking around and gazing at every single piece of art. The installation on the second floor where the guy had organized everything from his mother's home was insane! I was so excited to see the famous works of artists, such as Van Gogh, Picasso, Warhol, Mattisse, and Lichtenstein. To my surprise, Van Gogh's Starry Night was so small. Since middle school, I had always pictured it to be this gigantic painting; a sky the size of an entire wall that one would simply get lost in. I absolutely fell in love with Picasso's Lady in the Mirror. I have seen pictures of it before, but never knew the suggested story behind it that Sarah shared with me.

Another artist that I enjoyed was Jackson Pollock's work. I never was one to say it isn't art, but seeing it up close and from all angles was really intriguing. If Pollock's work can be argued over, then much more should be taken into consideration. The part of the museum where our height was written on the wall as part of an installation wrapping around the room was so exciting. I can now say that I contributed a piece to MOMA...haha! I chose to do a master copy of a painting featured along one of the staircases leading down from the fifth floor. It was called Moby Dick, but I can't remember the name of the artist at the moment. It was a colorful painting, that I attempted to translate into black, white and hues of gray using my charcoal pencil. I attached some pictures below to look at. We had fun visiting the museum and taking goofy pictures with some of the installations! I even bought a poster. I am so excited about visiting PS1 and the Met tomorrow!

wednesday!

2009-08-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

hey everyone! i can't believe our class is halfway over! so sad! today was the third day, and we started out in central park. it was so pretty!! I've been to central park many times before, but it seems like every time i go there i discover a new part i've never been to before because it's so huge. after riding the carousel with katherine, i started drawing and surprisingly finished 3 while there. after a fast lunch, we went to MoMA which was amazingggg... i'm not sure which was more amazing, seeing all the different types of modern art by newer artists, or seeing the classics which i've always imagined seeing in real life but never really have. after seeing warhol's campbell soup cans, i can now die happy.. kidding, but seriously, it was all so awesome! i did 2 matisse master copies, one of 'goldfish & palette' and one of 'the moroccans'. i also did a mastercopy of duchamp's 'network of stoppages'. oh but my very favorite was the 2nd floor. ahh so awesome.

well after class, boy did we have a hard time. dani, robert, and i got on the subway. it was during rush hour, so of course it was crazy and people were packed on there. we questioned even getting on the subway car because it was so packed we weren't sure if we could even fit, but we squeezed on anyway. WELL... after being on there for about 1 minute, we noticed that the air conditioning went off, and then the cart came to a complete stop in the tunnel and whadda ya know.. the electricity was cut off because a man had fallen into the tracks! we were stuck on this packed subway cart for 40 minutes in the boiling heat. TERRIBLE. i think the three of us had anxiety attacks. i was even passing out pieces of my bristol board for people to fan themselves with. moral of the story? don't get on a packed subway cart i guess?

tomorrow will be a better day:)

sleep well!

sarah j

MoMA

2009-08-05T19:37:00.001-07:00

Considering the Museum of Natural History was the first museum I have been to outside of Fernbank, I was blown away by the art museum today. I had never seen an original Van Gogh, or an Andy Warhol, or Picasso. Henri Matisse is one of my favorite artists. Seeing his work close up was more effective than I imagined it would be. The work is striking from a few feet away, but even more interesting with your nose right up on the work-I thought master artists would be focused on perfection; but it seemed to be more about the intention and effects of each brushstroke. Online or in a textbook Matisse is interesting, but the depth brought to a painting or sculpture in real life is beyond what you can interpret from a photograph.

I learned that art is not black or white, from the chair display on shelves to the shattering plates and glasses composing a chandelier, everything has its own place in a museum like MoMA. Floors and floors of artists who've pursued their dreams makes for an interesting day. It was also new for me to see all the different mediums artists work with. I saw Matisse sculpture, paintings, and drawings. The skill level is so high, and all of the creativity it takes to produce all of his artwork is beyond me. There were so many artists outside of Matisse that I really enjoyed today. I have always enjoyed Piet Mondrian, Rene Magritte, and today I added new favorites like contemporary artist Carol Bove. Seeing all of this art as it stands in real-time was very worthwhile.

2009-08-05T18:51:00.000-07:00

Visiting MOMA

2009-08-05T18:45:00.000-07:00

So far this class has been one of the most enjoyable ever! Its been great to travel to the different locations and then try to sketch. Its also been a really great crash course in speed drawing as often it seems that there just isn't enough time.

The visit to the MOMA today was fun. There is so much to see there and so many modern historical artworks. I of course love the 4th and 5th floors with the paintings and sculpture. Most of the artists one would associate with modern art are represented there. However, this time I made it to the 6th floor to see the Ron Arad exhibit which I adored! I have never enjoyed architecture/design like art all that much before however, possibly because I have been working with 2-D art all Summer I really enjoyed the dynamic freestanding work in this exhibit. Alot of his pieces were furniture or furniture based and many of them really prompted viewers to want to interact with them. Seriously, I cannot express how much I liked this show. I really wish we had been allowed to take photos.

I also made it by the In Situ exhibit and the Take the Stage exhibit which were part of the 3rd Floor Architecture and Design section. It was very interesting to compare the sketching and planning drawings to the scale models for the different architecture designs in In Situ. They had Frank Lloyd Wright's FallingWater house as well as Simon Unger's T-House and many others. The Take the Stage exhibit had alot of costume and stage design sketches which were very cool.

I think the artist who surprised me the most (other than of course Ron Arad whom I did not expect to be so awesome) was Pablo Picasso. I had always thought of him as a cubist/abstract type of artist and had never really been very interested. I'm learning to appreciate such art, but to being with it was not a favorite genre. However, upon visiting the MOMA I was able to see some of his more representational works along side his more famous peices such as Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.

Compared to his Boy Leading Horse

Maybe its shallow of me, but Picasso's cubist works mean more to me now that I know he 'could' do representational. Its always a little tempting to think "I could have done that, my pictures always come out flat and lopsided" when I look at works like Picasso's. However, if it was a conscious choice from an artist who has already proved he could do representational then it means something. It shows that the artist really was being innovative and not just mediocre. Not that anyone would call Picasso mediocre by any means.

Central Park and MoMA

2009-08-05T18:34:00.000-07:00

Catherine and Sarah on the Central Park Carousel. My camera died today so my pictures are limited....

Tomorrow- the Met!

day 3 having fun :)

2009-08-05T18:25:00.000-07:00

no rain today...we got lucky. today we started off at central park. i finally got one good drawing in. the park was so nice and i wish i could have stayed longer but in ny your always on the move! on the way out of cp fox news channel 5 interviewed me asking "do you chew gum?" "why do you chew gum?" i tried to answer as best i could but being put on the spot like that made me nervous! after a good hamburger near fifth we made way into moma. AMAZING and right up my alley.

moma consists of six stories. i saw lots of van gough, matisse and raol dufy. i would have loved to admire pollocks work but didn't have time. i noticed while doing a van gough master copy the painting itself was not as complex as i had invisioned. the thick lines and value were easy to imitate. i was surprised at how close i could come to the "starry night". i imagined "starry night to be much bigger and more regal than it was. crowds gather around the more famous piecesl like this one and rapidly snap photographs. people seemed surprised i was drawing in the museum...many took my photograph as a was working which made me a bit uncomfortable. at four thirty, catherine, emilie and myself walked to fifth avenue to delve into some shopping. after an hour on fifth we headed to loemans (discount designer clothing) on 14th street. on the way home i sat by a beautiful indian girl who held 3 exotic birds on her fingers. i tried to get a good photo in but the trains motion gave me lots of blurry pictures. got sushi after an unsuccessful shopping outing and im off to work on my sketch book. wish me luck!

xoxo

dora lee

MOMA

2009-08-05T14:18:00.000-07:00

Today, at the MOMA, I was looking forward to seeing some of the most famous paintings in the world. I have been to the MOMA before, but I was looking forward to seeing new exhibits and some familiar paintings. My favorite artist is Vincent Van Gogh, and a few of his most famous paintings hang here in New York. I love painting above all other forms of art, and I get to take my first painting class at Ole Miss this fall. I have grown up painting in a similar style to Van Gogh trying to imitate him as much as I can because I love his brush-strokes and colors he uses to compose his paintings. My high school art teacher told me once that his brush-strokes are often so thick that it appears that Van Gogh just globbed the paint right out of the tube. I had seen "Starry Night" before, but after seeing it again today, my perspective did not change much of it. I am always just in awe of the thousands of tiny, thick strokes Van Gogh uses. I also love how he depicts nature's beauty in what he sees. In "Starry Night," he takes a common, everyday landscape in the very early morning when the stars are still out and displays what his mind sees amazingly on the canvas. This was by far my favorite part of the MOMA, and every time I return to this museum, I will be standing in front of Van Gogh's painting for a long amount of time.

2009-08-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

hey everybody! today was such a great day in the city. i probably enjoyed today most of all because i love love love drawing organic shapes and objects as opposed to architecture. not sure why but i just do! the park by the river was so pretty minus the naked man, and the pizza was awesomeee... also, the botanical gardens were so beautiful. i hope my backyard looks like that someday. my drawings in the park were a bit challenging. i have been taking figure drawing classes this summer, so the transition from people to actual objects has been a struggle this week, but hopefully it will get better.

on another note, dani, erica, and i took some prrreeetttyy funny pictures in the gardens so i'm about to post them. oh and dani and i just got back from the incubus concert at radio city music hall. it was amazing:) i hope tomorrow is just as wonderful as the past few days have been.

goodnight everyone,

sarah j

My first time in the big apple!

2009-08-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

So, this is my very first time in New York City. Sarah J. and I had a rough start getting here, but things have finally started to turn around! I've always wanted to come to the city, and I jumped at the opportunity to take this drawing class. But, after spending some time both downtown and in Brooklyn Heights, it must be known that I favor Brooklyn! We walked down to the promenade area Sunday night, and the view of the city skyline was amazing! I've posted a picture that I took to show everybody! I love the sense of community that this area of Brooklyn offers. The cafe one block over on Henry offers scrumptious toasted bagels for breakfast, and they are fairly cheap. The convenience store across the street (it's something with a G, and I guess it could be considered a small grocery), is so nice and convenient. The employees are very helpful and friendly. I loved our Thai meal we shared Sunday night!

I have also enjoyed spending time in the Soho and Greenwich Village areas. Basically, I think midtown is too fast-paced for my anxious mind! :) But, my fascination with the whole area continues. I am excited to get to see more of the city and use my personal perspective to create art!

2009-08-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

And here goes for my second post!

This time, I have been reflecting on the pace of this city. Everything and everyone is constantly going, moving, working, exercising and just being plain weird. Most notably, the subway is always going. The subway is not only always moving but it transports the busy people everywhere too. It is like the heart of the people and the city. Most average people that live here use it everyday and for every reason -- work, school, shopping, whatever.

Also, as I was sitting on a rock in Central Park I watched runners and bikers. They were all going nonstop and at full throttle, which is only slightly slower than they walk on the sidewalks! One thing I have noticed about this town that is different from the South is the pace. Just like the runners in Central Park, it is like everything here is a race. Just as surely as you slow down to rest for a second, someone faster, younger and better passes you. People here have to keep up a constant pace to stay on top and every second there is someone else coming to knock them out and take their place. I have never experienced this at home. Sure, everyone wants to get ahead, but people in the South are not so obvious about it. The city seems cold sometimes, the people are not as warm as the ones I am used to.

I use to think that I wanted to live here, however now I am not as sure. I do not know if I could keep up the grueling pace and be the cut-throat witch that I would have to be to survive here. I guess that it is true that it only takes leaving to appreciate what you have at home!!

2009-08-04T18:58:00.001-07:00

Sorry!! I wrote on blog from Erica's laptop and it posted my journal entry as her!!

Catherine

Today was a great day in New York! After being here a few days, I feel like I am really getting into the swing of things. Yesterday, while wandering around the city I realized that there was something around me that I had never noticed. My intelligent insight was that art is everywhere. I never took the time to think until now that art is all around us. Art is everywhere.

In Grand Central Market we found a beautiful chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The people making their daily commutes did not give the beauty of this chandelier a second look. They were immune to it. However, a new and fresh eye walked into the market and saw absolute beauty in the middle of a very common place. I liked the fact that I could find beauty in an average everyday place like the grocery store. Even the tiles on the subway were pretty. These things did not wind up in their locations for no reason, someone put them there! That someone was an artist! These artists were hired to put art all over this city! -- The art is here and everywhere to better our environments, to make the hum drum of day to day just a little more bearable.

I began to realize that art is actually everywhere. I feel that there are many beautiful things that I have probably looked over, because I was de-sensitized to their presence. For example, I don't look at the buildings on campus or the grove and take the time to realize how wonderful they all are. I, like the New Yorkers who didn't even notice the glittering chandelier had become numb to beauty and art in my everyday life. I think that when I return home I need to take the time to revisit my own favorite places and savor the beauty there and not to take art for granted.

2009-08-04T18:44:00.000-07:00

day 2: brooklyntivities

2009-08-04T15:59:00.000-07:00

Today was a lot easier than yesterday because I knew how hot it was going to be so I was very much prepared. I definitely got some good drawing time in also. Two of my favorite drawings came from the park under the Brooklyn bridge. Grimaldi's was so good. Just what i wanted for lunch! The Botanical Garden was absolutely amazing. It was my favorite thing we did today. There was so much you could draw, but my favorite were the lily pads. It was nice to sit in the shade right next to the water and draw them.

I'm including 2 pics from today's adventures in Brooklyn. The first is my favorite tree I saw at the botanical gardens-a weeping willow. The second one is the view standing almost under the Brooklyn Bridge on our way to the park. I love being up close to something so large that you normally admire from a distance.

day 1 in the citay

2009-08-04T15:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great intro to the city. I'm so glad we got to do the boat tour. Although I now look like a lobster because I got so sunburned, it was nice to sit and be able to see so many things in just 2 hours. It also helped me get my bearings on where everything was located. I'm including 3 pictures from the boat tour. The first one is of an area just north of Downtown. I took a picture of this area because I really liked how it touches downtown, but the buildings are so different from the tall metal skyscrapers. There is something still "old new york" about the way that the are still tall, but are stone and brick, and have thoughtful detail. The second is of the Brooklyn Bridge with the Manhattan Bridge in the background. I like this picture because of the way the main support cables of the bridges cross each other in an X. The last one is of Sarah, Dani, and I with the Statue of Liberty.

After yesterday, i THINK I am getting the hang of the subway. When i look at a map, it seems so simple. But the second you take the map away from me, I have no idea what's going on. Hopefully by the end of the trip I can confidently and quickly navigate my way around.

8/4/09

2009-08-04T15:27:00.000-07:00

Met up with the class around 9:45 and then headed out to Fulton Ferry Park that is between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. I started drawing the Brooklyn Bridge and found it to be much more difficult than I expected. It was definitely nice to be able to slowdown and draw at a slower pace though. The park was a perfect place to find a shady spot and relax. We were even surprised with a little entertainment when an old man in a neon g-string graced us with his presence. Wish he had gotten there earlier, so we could have done some figure drawing... not! haha.

My view when drawing Brooklyn Bridge

Group at Grimaldi's for lunch

After the park we walked a few streets over to Grimaldi's Pizza. Yum!!! From there we were off to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. It's wonderful to have such a beautiful, natural place in the middle of such a fast-paced city. Even though I got lost several times, it was such a great experience. I really enjoyed the Scent Garden. I pretty much bathed myself in Lavender. The gardens, like the park, were a great place for more detailed drawings.

Monday-8/3/09

2009-08-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

Staten Island Ferry

LA-Represent!

Waiting in line for the boat tour

First day to see the city during the day after many layovers when flying in Sunday. Went to Pearl for art supplies... still can't comprehend how much "stuff" they had. From there we hopped on a boat on the Hudson River to check out the Statue of Liberty/neighborhood skylines. It was my first time drawing in the city, and I soon figured out that gesture drawings are a necessity. After the boat ride, we headed to the Museum of Natural History. Saw the space movie and then checked out the Culture Halls. I really enjoyed seeing so many different types of clothing, cookware, masks, etc. The artwork on the pieces was primitive and moving.

Afterward, went to dinner with friends at Dos Caminos in Manhattan and enjoyed some delicious guacamole. The City has so much to offer. It is as if there are several countries just thrown into one city. I guess that's why they call us the melting pot ha. Really exhausted after such a long day and immediately crashed after!

Day Three: Morning Drawing and Garden Afternoon

2009-08-04T14:42:00.000-07:00

Today, we began by going out to the Brooklyn Promenade and drawing for about an hour. The view of the support of the Brooklyn Bridge is what I drew, even though I have yet to finish. I will be going out there tomorrow morning and perhaps the next morning before class until I get it done. We then headed down to the park between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges which is half under construction. This park offers some amazing views, and while most of us drew the bridge, I decided to look across the river and draw these red-brick project towers with taller buildings behind them. It is a challenging work, and I am almost finished with it. After about two hours, we went to eat at Grimaldi's Pizza (correct spelling?). It was excellent and is supposed to be some of the best pizza in all of New York.

After lunch, we took the subway down to the Brooklyn Museum down in the heart of Brooklyn, and went to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens located behind the museum. Here, there is acre upon acre of some of the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen. I truly loved my afternoon here. After doing several sketches and working on my morning drawings for a while, I decided to just walk around and enjoy the beauty around me. Unfortunately, I ran out of battery on my camera, or I would have taken many more pictures. I hope I will always remember that place and I do hope to return someday, maybe even this week. From the Japanese Garden, to the many fields and native plants of New York, and to the houses hosting tropical and desert plants, these gardens were truly a great place to be.

Brooklyn Tuesday

2009-08-04T14:36:00.001-07:00

Drawing on the Promenade
Filming of a Jay Z commercial in DUMBO.
Fulton Street State Park
An amazing lunch
Drawing at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

Tomorrow- Central Park and MOMA

2009-08-04T14:36:00.000-07:00

day 2! TUESDAY.

i knew i'd die if i didn't wear shorts this time around!

my jaw dropped when i looked at the brooklyn bridge this morning at ten and was told that it would be a ideal subject to draw! i attempted. providence park provides wonderful views of both brooklyn bridge and manhattan bridge. lots of families eat and leisure in the park. we even saw a nude man sun bathing (lol)! for lunch we went to grimaldi's which was voted number one pizzeria in new york city. really good..i recommend it to anyone who will be visiting. My favorite part of the day was exploring brooklyn's botanic garden. i have never seen so many flowers in my life. the lily pads were a must to draw. i spent about an hour with them and then made my way to the rose garden. my best drawings so far have come from the botanic garden. i prefer this atmosphere to draw in rather than architecture aka bridges haha. by the end of the day i felt i was starting to get the hang of drawing again.

tonight i am tired! i think i will grab dinner in brooklyn with some of the girls. im having a really great time and im so thankful i have this opportunity!

xoxo

dora lee

My Evening and Night Adventure of Uptown New York all by myself.

2009-08-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

Day One, Evening and Night:

At the end of our first day, I separated from Emilie and Dora as they were going to meet some people to eat, I decided to go uptown to Times Square, 5th Avenue, and 34th Street to the Empire State Building. This all started around six o'clock, and I was out til about eleven thirty. I was on a mission to find some awesome Nike Air Force One high-top shoes, and found a Footlocker in Times Square. I went in to Footlocker, looked around, left, and walked all over Times Square.

I left Times Square, went to 5th Avenue, where all the giant department stores are located, and just walked up several blocks. I then went into the NBA store (I am a huge basketball and NBA fan). I didn't buy anything, but enjoyed it anyway. I then headed down like 53rd Street back to 7th Avenue to head back down to Times Square. On my way, I bought a chicken gyro from a street vendor, and it was quite possibly the best gyro I had ever had. I think I had sauce all over me while walking down the street because people were just staring at me. I then went back into Footlocker and purchased my desired pair of shoes. Not wanting to leave, I took more pictures and walked around Times Square a bit more. I then hopped on the Subway and took it to 34th Street. Here, I went to the Empire State Building. The wait was deceivingly long, for it took about 2 hours to get to the top, but the night-time view was spectacular! This was my second time on top of the building at night, and this time I had my camera.

I did not do any drawing or sketching on this adventure, but I enjoyed just experiencing New York and seeing just amazing sights. This concludes my night experience.

2009-08-04T14:13:00.000-07:00

new york city is so beautiful. on monday our day started at 9:30. After catching a train we marched our way into a six story art supply store. Overwhelmed was the feeling that rushed over me. Finally after forty five minutes of searching for certain supplies, i took the rickety elevator down to the first floor to meet our crew of ten. we took the train to the hudson river where we hopped on a boat. the ride took about 75 min. as we drew we listened to the tour guide navigate us around the island. i got several good pictures and 2 sketches. the was scorching our faces so i was happy to make my way to the museum of natural history. i was on my own and loving it. i stuck my headphones in, turned my i pod on and got my camera out. the dinosaurs were mesmerizing and i immediately pulled out my sketch book. the museum not only contained beautiful object; the buildings design itself was unforgettable.

after class emilie, wyatt and myself made made our way to greenwich village. we passed stores like james perse, intermix, cynthia rowley and marc jacobs. Ironically we ran into robert, katherine and dani on bleeker street. we headed home soon after..i was getting hungry! some friends with internships took me and emile out to a swanky mexican restaurant in manhattan. i was past due for a glass of wine and some spicy food. the guacamole was fabulous. the girls then took us to see a fabulous view of the skyline.

slept so well.

xoxo

dora lee

today there was a sex and the city casting call..wish i could have made it :(

2009-08-04T14:11:00.000-07:00

Day One: The boat ride!

Monday morning we took the Circle Line boat with several hundred other people in the nice hot sun down the Hudson River to the tip of Manhattan, around the Statue of Liberty, and up the east side a tiny bit before we turned back around. This was the second one of these boat rides I have taken up here in New York, so it brought back memories and revealed sights I had forgotten. The Statue of Liberty was amazing (the last time I rode the boat was in the evening) and was very clear and magnificent. Riding right alongside Manhattan just offers an amazing view of the city: downtown, midtown, and uptown.

I really love the architecture of New York: the new and old buildings and also the bridges. I love how the city is laid out also: the tall skyscrapers of downtown, the low skyline of midtown (except for Trump's new project), and the tall buildings of uptown, with the Empire State Building towering above the rest. On the cruise, I took lots of pictures, and sketched just a little. I found it hard to sketch while moving so fast past the buildings, however I did sketch the boat and the bottom of the Statue of Liberty from the part of the boat I sketched. That pretty much sums up my boat ride experience.

2009-08-04T05:46:00.000-07:00

I am not homesick at all!

After seeing so much of the city during class yesterday, Catherine and I walked around even more and, for the first time, I saw Grand Central Station, the Chrysler building, and Central Park. There's more but those were the big things. The market attached to Grand Central Station (Grand Central Market) was amazing. From a block away we were in awe of the chandelier tree in the entrance. When we figured out it was a "grocery store" we were floored. Then, we took the wrong train from Grand Central and ended up in Queens...

Everyone was really nice but I'll never make that mistake again if I can help it. Did you all know they're doing an open casting call for extras on the next Sex and the City in Jersey? I wish we would've known so we could go!

I've heard a lot about the botanical gardens (mostly from my airplane man Harry) and I am really excited about going. AND I am ready to see Brooklyn!! I will post pictures to go with this soon...