A Visit To Detroit

It had been 25 months, almost to the day.  But I finally made a return journey to our nearest and dearest big city.  It seemed as if I'd never been away.  My main objective was to get to the Detroit Institute of Arts, and just poke around.  The museum was quiet, and I had a major touring exhibit virtually to myself (there were some guards).  By Her Hand:  Artemisia Gentileschi and Women Artists in Italy, 1500-1800 was the major exhibit currently showing, and visiting Tuesday at noon hour seemed to be the perfect time!  Organized by the DIA and the Wadsworth Atheneum, the exhibit was beautifully presented, as always at the DIA, and I learned a lot about women artists at the time.  They were out there, struggling to prove themselves equal to male artists, and if the exhibit is any indication, they often exceeded them.  Over 15 female artists were represented in paintings, prints, and other media, including a bizarre but appealing wax diorama.

 Later, in the permanent galleries, I frequently had entire wings to myself.  There were others around, and school groups would wander by from time to time, but if I simply stood where I was for a minute, I was soon all alone again.  If felt like visiting my private art collection!  I saw some newly acquired paintings, including an early Van Gogh, the museum's fifth by that artist.  There was an image of the self portrait, and a little explanation saying that it was currently at the Courthauld Gallery in London.  I wished I was there, too!  I had a beautiful salad at the cafe for my lunch, from one of the best salad bars I've every come across. Once I'd loaded my plate and had it weighed at the cashier station, it came to $4.35!

This odd little wax figure diorama was just one of the highlights for me of the Artemisia exhibit.  Note the two bunnies in the central area, far left.  The ducks in the pond were quite cute, too.

I was often alone in the galleries and hallways. 

It turned into the nicest Spring day so far this season, with sunshine all day and temps in the high 60s.  By contrast (and more normal) it is raining today, with some serious storms on the way tonight.  This is a view from the museum, looking towards Wayne State University. 

After leaving the museum I went to a new cafe in New Centre, north of the museum by several blocks.  Called Milwaukee Cafe (it's on Milwaukee Street), they had our favourite coffee (Anthology), and I was able to get a beautiful cup of coffee and sit outside on a quiet back street, as well as purchase a bag of Anthology beans.  It had been so long!  I plan on visiting monthly for now, so I will revisit in May.

Today I went to Kingsville with Deb.  I drove to my usual spot at Lakeside Park, and took off for a walk in the neighbourhood.  I got back to the car just as heavy rain arrived, and sat through two rainstorms reading my current novel, Black Sun, by Jack Williamson.  I spotted this snoring racoon on my walk!

Hopefully he slept through the rain in some comfort. 

Deb's most recent film is now complete and ready to be uploaded.  At least until she begins her next project, I might see her a bit more often.

Mapman Mike