Art Museum

Here's my Wednesday report. I took carpool this morning. Before we left, I discovered that that elusive "someone" had exploded butter in the microwave, which makes me want to strike a stern and swift judgement upon all my children. I vowed that I never want to buy butter again. I admit I was over reacting, but I really do hate it. This is what happened - I'm up before carpool, I'm making oatmeal and trying to clean off the counter, but I can't cause the dishcloth is all coated with grease, yuck. I wasn't sure why it was so greasy, but I try to rinse it off and I get it in a bowl to microwave it to get it clean, I go to the microwave and it is COVERED WITH BUTTER EVERYWHERE and so some kid was microwaving butter, which I tell them not to do, or someone was up past bedtime last night making a mug cake in the microwave. Grrr. As we are picking up carpool, we pick up Soph's friend and Sophi is looking at her weird, and I was like "What???" then I clued in "is she wearing my shoes?" Sophi borrows my adidas and I share them quite willingly everyday, but I thought that was super tacky to let her friend borrow them without asking me. "I thought you'd say no..." So then you just take it and do what you want?!?! Better to ask forgiveness than permission?!?! I was bugged... Kids are bugging me. I was kinda fuming on the ride to school but decided to save my lecture for later. But I did send Corey a voice message and complained about butter and girls always baking desserts, and kids being entitled and taking shoes, etc etc. When I'm back home, Corey says I can't swear off butter, and he thinks it's great that the girls like to cook and bake and then I got up and left to go outside to rake up pine needles before the garbage comes. K, I admit I probably a little too mad about this, but it didn't help that he was not letting me vent or sympathizing with me. My abrupt departure and a few tears caused him to come out and apologize and knelt down in front of me and kissed my feet. He asked for permission to reset the clock 10 minutes. K, your charm has humored me and made me laugh. We can reset the clock but we'll need to reset it 20 minutes. Then he agreed that yes, we should never buy butter again! And yes, these kids act so entitled!!! THANK YOU sweetheart, I feel heard. It reminded me of a Diary of a CEO thing I heard the other day in a reel (in this video at 1:27:22): SHUT UP, Listen. Corey is really great at doing this with the kids by the way. Not so much with me, but hopefully I can learn how to articulate myself and give feedback to help us improve. I hope he gives me honest feedback as to things I can do better. So again, ok, yeah, maybe I don't really want blue hair or to never buy butter again, but it helped after the clock reset that he humored me for a few minutes and let my frustrated feelings be heard. 

So, I was already kinda touchy emotionally after this morning. Then I had Parent Teacher Conferences this afternoon, and a relief Society activity tonight. Meeting at the church at 6. I told Corey to be back home at 6 so I go and he could be with the kids. I looked at life 360 at 5:45 and noticed that he was not on his way yet. I didn't say anything (I need to learn how to be direct) Then at 6:15 sent him a message that I was going to go to the activity and I'd just take Owen Daniel Peter and Katharine with me. He said he could take them, he just had been busy and hadn't left yet. Abi had the van at Lyceum. I was going to take Eliza's car and it would be fine, we'd all fit, I'd just have Owen ride shotgun. He insisted I not take them, and that I'd enjoy myself more without them. I'd enjoy myself more if I go, and if I don't go now I don't think I'll have time at the museum at all. But ok... he came home, took ODPK with him to Provo to see Mel's concert, and I left at 6:40 to go downtown to the activity. I parked, was at the museum at 7:15. Sigh. I found the young women group, there were not a lot of relief society sisters, just the RS sisters that are also YW leaders or have girls in YW. 

Well I'm glad I came to rep the RS, even if I was super late. Here are some of the pieces I liked. The Exhibit was called "Work and Wonder: 200 years of Latter-Day Saint Art". I loved the colors in this one (can't find the title of the piece...) but I remember that it represented Christ in Gethsemane (left panel) on the cross (right) and resurrection (center). 

Ok, I found it - this is called "Again, Glorified" (Atonement Triptych) by Paige Crosland Anderson . Loved the video of her explaining her work. So beautiful. I didn't really take time to look too deeply at the pieces, but I walked by and read the explanation of the ones that caught my attention. Other ones that I studied (and that you can google if you want) were:

Nicole Woodbury Preece - Within the Marrow of Our Bones, 2019. Porcelain ceramic, 8.5 x 8.5 x 4 inches. 

John Hafen (American, born Switzerland, 1856–1910), Garden of Eden, circa 1893. 

Wulf Barsch (American, born Germany, 1943), In the Valley of the Sun and the Moon: Snow Canyon, 2000. Oil on canvas, 71 1/2 x 54 inches.

They had some large screens that had quotes that really touched me. I was feeling it in my soul ~

"The influence of art is so powerful in shaping our lives for a higher appreciatoin of the creations of our God that we cannon afford to neglect an acquaintance with it....

...We should be as eager for its companionship as we are eager for chairs to sit upon or for food to sustain our lives. For it has as important a mission in shaping our character and in conducting our happiness as anything that we term necessities. - John Hafen

More quotes on display: 

Art can transmit a message of hope, light, and truth anchored in Jesus Christ, His glory, and His work for the eternal well-being of the whole human race...

...Art shows there is a greater purpose in life which transcends our daily worries, stresses, pleasures, and joys. Expression through art is one of the ways we can help bridge the divide. - Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Yes... I was feeling like my heart has been touched by hope and truth anchored in Christ on display here. "Latter-day Saints believe that God is a creator and that humans can emulate the divine through their own acts of creation. Joseph Smith noted that each individual and entity on earth is “the workmanship of [God’s] hands” with the divine design. Therefore, the Earth and its inhabitants are sacred and latter-day saint thought. This view of the divine landscape and constructed sacred space is manifested in Latter-day Saint, visual arts, as well." There is a greater purpose in life than my daily worries and stresses and busy-ness - butter messes and kids not asking permission... even transcends my joys and pleasures - life is more than a clean organized house. 

I want to fight to bridge the divide through art. I want to think bigger and beyond the day to day - I want to think celestial.

And so my heart was full, and then the museum was getting ready to close. It was still pretty busy but people were starting to file out. I was looking for the girls in our ward, and as I wandered around I turned to see these two Inkjet prints, titled Sky I/Sky II by Daniel Everett and I started to bawl. 

"In the European and American art tradition, artists such as John Constable, Caspar David Friedrich, Albert Bierstadt, and Harry Anderson produced evocative of cloudscapes to symbolize God’s infinite power. In such paintings, the sky serves as a canvas upon which the Master Creator paints. Everett's inkjet prints Sky I/Sky II, present two cloud studies that seek to capture the majesty of His creations. With this pairing, the artist invokes the Christian tradition of the diptych (or double panel) used in devotional altarpieces the artwork is stripped of any detail other than the clusters of dynamic clouds traveling across the heavenly sphere and other worldly hues of pink, blue, and lavender. The faint grid the edge of the canvas view that the human art can never compete with that of the divine."

Yeah, it made me cry. 

I found the girls. Lily saw that I had been crying and gave me a hug. I told her I was ok, just feeling touched by the spirit. We took a pic of the Young Women group outside of the museum. 

Sophi and Lily both wanted to ride home with their friends. That was ok with me, so I walked back to my car, and then I cried the whole way home as I listened to Seph Schlueter "Counting My Blessings" and "Running Back to You". I don't want to have a hard heart or to freak out about butter messes. God has been and is so good to me. My heart is full. Please Lord help me always have a grateful heart. I know you are good to me, help me to always see and remember your goodness. Maybe I can find someway to express these feelings through art someday.