Word Processing Exhibit

This morning after doing my weekly grocery shopping, I packed up Virginia and we headed out to The Gallery in downtown Concord. First off I hate finding parking in downtown Concord. First I was going to park in the very back of What a Burger's parking lot until a employee told me the owner would tow my car in a heart beat. So I was like great thanks for the heads up. Luckily I spotted a free two hour parking on the side of the gallery. So I quickly got Virginia and the stroller back into the car and made my move to the other parking space.

Inside view of the main hallway of the gallery

This was my first visit to The Gallery and also my first time taking Virginia with me to a art gallery. I was super excited about both. I have not been to an art exhibit in over 2 years or so. The last time I was able to go to an art museum was back on my honeymoon with Reiggin. I was a little worried if Virginia would enjoy the trip and if she would behave in the gallery. I did keep her in her stroller so she wouldn't touch any of the artwork.

Huge tree right outside of the Gallery that I loved.

The Gallery building itself was a piece of artwork. I loved the exterior of the building and all the features. I did end up carrying Virginia in her stroller up the stairs to the front door. I am sure there was a easier method to getting inside with a stroller. Today was the first day of the Word Processing exhibit. Virginia and I actually were the first visitors to walk though the exhibit.

I loved how the gallery also had a scavenger hunt set up for little kids and older kids. The little kids had a sheet with 12 small boxes of images that they had to find in the gallery. The older kids sheet had 24 words that they had to find in the exhibit. I thought this was a creative way to include kids in the exhibit.

Virginia surprised me and was very well behaved though the whole exhibit. She even pointed out her favorite pieces in each room when I asked her which one was her favorite. She was super cute, I would ask which one is your favorite and she would stick her finger up to her lip and take a second to look around. And then point to her choice. I would ask is this your favorite out of all of them and she would shake her head yes. Leah Palmer Preiss pieces tended to be her favorite out of all of them. I believe the bright colors and animated creatures were what caught her eyes. I have to agree with Virginia that Leah Palmer Preiss pieces were the ones that I found myself drawn to as well. They were very detailed and involved and humerous. One piece entitled Victor's Victim almost went unnoticed by us but I happened to almost run over it with my stroller as we were making a second walk though. It is a piece of artwork on a mouse trap. I loved the placement of the piece and how heartfelt the image of the mouse holding cheese was on this mouse trap.

My next favorite piece were all the Art quilts by Ann Harwell. The quilts were breathtaking and I found myself just standing in front of them for long streches of time trying to see how the small details that she put into the pieces. I can't imagine how long it must take her to create these quilts. I also gained more joy after visiting her website to read the back stories of each quilt.

Kelly Thiel's ceramic pieces were my next favorite. She had a few ceramic bird images that caught my eye. Just the earth tones and details she put into her pieces were beautiful. The texture and female figures were heartwarming and showed so much emotion. I would love to have one of her pieces fill a spot in my house one day. Three examples of her art are below.

Warren Hicks was one of my last favorites. His pieces were painted on pieces of wood. They were so alive and vibrant with colors. The colors and movement he created in his pieces were amazing. Virginia was also fond of his pieces and pointed to some I believe she would love to have hanging in her room.

Overall the exhibit was a big hit with Virginia and I and I am looking forward to going back on February 3rd for their artist talk on the exhibit. I look forward to hearing the artists viewpoint on why and how they created their pieces. So I would highly recommend anyone in the area to make a point to go visit the Gallery and the Word Processing exhibit.

As I get permission from the artist to post pictures of their pieces I will put their photos up. So keep an eye out for that to come. You know me I am just not patient and I am ready to post my blog post :-)