My Gentle Threads. . .: Metropolitan Museum Magic

Monday, April 4, 2011

Metropolitan Museum Magic

I absolutely adore this museum!

A few weeks ago I had the ultimate pleasure of being in NYC for four days. I was there for a vision conference and took a few extra days to see the city. I attend this conference every year, so NYC is like home to me. I love the magic of it all!! I wrote about this a few blog entries ago; but I wanted to take the time and talk about my visit to the Metropolitan Museum and what it meant to me. The greatest magic of all is when I get to visit the Met . . . it is truly life changing.

My absolute favorite stop from this years trip was visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It takes my breath away every time I visit there. I love the hustle bustle of so many people. I love just sitting on the steps outside and people watching; it is amazing to see so many people and so much action. Of course I couldn't get this shot of me without my precious hubby taking so many clicks on the camera! He is wonderful! We began by taking a beautiful and very long walk through Central Park and then walked under a tunnel leading directly to the Metropolitan Museum, it was truly majestic. My hubby planned it all and knew right where we were!

I could sit there all day!

From the moment you enter the museum you feel an overwhelming sense of anticipation for what you are about to see. They ask for a $20.00 donation to enter, but what you receive is far greater than that amount. Walking through wing after wing of incredible art history, you feel blessed that your eyes and your mind can take it all in. It must take amazing funds to preserve these works of art.

It wasn't until I finally reached the European Art Wing when I began to feel an incredible inner feeling of excitement and admiration. I so wanted to visit the other man in my life Claude Monet. I was not disappointed! Two full rooms of nothing but Monet paintings. I had goose bumps and even tears in my eyes as my sight was fixed upon my favorite Water Lilies. Why do I love his work so? It is as if he is present in the very room!

To be so very close and be able to almost reach out and touch works by Claude Monet filled my heart beyond measure. I have always loved his choice of colors. I believe that his later works in life he did struggle, his paintings were no longer as detailed as his beginning pieces. I could sympathize with him because he became almost blind near the end of his life and yet he wanted to continue to paint. Working in the medical field of eyes my whole life, I knew his vision was dimmed by cataracts, they probably didn't even know what that word meant in Monet's time. It can be described as trying to look out of a dirty window and never being able to see clearly. I imagine that frustrated Monet so.

What a wonderful Sunday afternoon it was, in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I love being an artist. It is a way of life for me now. I want to take in colors and shapes and visuals, I want to record sketches in my little sketch book that I carry with me. I want to photograph images in hopes of painting them, or be inspired by them later. If you ever have the chance to visit this incredible Museum, don't miss the chance. Give yourself plenty of time, you don't want to rush through it, it will change your heart forever.

Walking through one of the mighty halls in the Met I came across this beautiful fountain and of course I had to throw a penny in for a wish, (sorry I can't tell you or it won't come true). It also reminded me of the term a penny for your thoughts. Here are mine . . .

Life is beautiful, we have so much we can experience if we only look around us, time is a precious gift, peace is a state of mind, talent comes in many forms, beauty is in the eye of beholder, friends come and go, love will always continue. Breathe, experience, take time to slow down, forgive, love, see all that you can see, never walk away angry, see the good in all things and in all people, know that you are special and life is a gift given each and every day! Don't miss the opportunity to learn something new, rejoice.