Art in Houston

One of the really cool things the girls have gotten to do here in Houston is participate in a weekly Art class for homeschoolers. I thought it would be a good way to meet some friends and maybe even expose these children to a little culture! :) Some of the museums in the Downtown Museum District are even free on Thursdays, so we visited The Museum of Fine Arts, too.

Turns out, my kids could expose me to a little culture. Check this junk out:

A Claude Monet painting. At one point during our tour, Maddy says,
"Mom, if you see visible brush strokes, it's Impressionism."
So, like a good homeschooling mom, I looked a Meghan and said, "Is that true?" 

I don't know what this was, but Maddy wanted a picture.

I don't know if you can see the teeny little brush strokes, but it was magnificent.

OK, so a bunch of years ago, I remember my friend, Allison, describing the tingling she felt in her fingertips when looking at the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. She was dying to touch it. I had no idea what she was talking about until I really felt the urge to touch this painting. And I'm sure it wasn't nearly as intense a desire as hers! I didn't touch it, there was this Asian lady ready to go Ninja on me if I got within 12 inches. 
I really wished Allison was there. This appreciation was a new experience for me. I know, you're judging. I'm okay with it.

It was also a great experience to see and discuss the MANY paintings of Jesus's birth, life, and death. My girls and I discussed how the arts express the most personal of feelings of the artist. In this painting above, the man in the top right is believed to be a self-portrait of the artist, depicting how he took part in Jesus's mocking and death. This was simultaneously painful and mesmerizing to me. To make my friend, Joe, proud, I went into a whole thing about how the Art Community really needs Christians to share their talents for the glory of God. :) They weren't nearly as inspired as I was. I made a mental note to assign some Francis Schaeffer reading.

And again, Maddy recognized this as a Frida Kahlo self-portrait,  of which there are many.
I had never heard of this woman! 

There are no photos, but we had "fun" conversation about all the Greek and Roman sculptures. Naked as the day they were born.  I tried to prepare the girls before we went in to the exhibit, but you can't really prepare a 9 and 11 year old for a 9 foot-tall naked guy with flowers on his head.  

  

It was hilarious (on the inside) to watch my kids work through this mess in their mind. "Mom, they couldn't find a leaf to cover their junk up?" "Oh, my word. Mom. Really, that is his penis right out there." "Good gracious. So inappropriate."

We had all the teaching moments about worshipping false gods, like the god of sex, as Paul speaks about and the fact that, in some cases, the artwork was in appreciation for our Creator. That helped a little, but they wanted to move quickly.

  

Here's some highlights of Art Class. It was so great!

While studying Monet and listening to some inspiring,
mood invoking music, the girls made their own Monets. 

The girls painted flower pots. I LOVE this one that Meghan made.

Their sweet teacher, Gigi. 

An early Happy Mother's Day present for me!
Maddy's little flower pot was fab!

They were bummed to have the class end!

Awesome.

What a good life.