Places to Go - Wonderful Interactive Artwork at the Artisphere (Arlington, VA)

A few weeks ago I brought the kids to the Artisphere to see some of their new exhibits. As always, there was only one other group of visitors in the building. As F summarized the situation, "mom, this place is so awesome, I can't understand why nobody ever goes here." Nor can I F, nor can I.

First off, Elsabe Dixon, the artist in residence through 2015, who works with silk worms. An incredibly friendly Dixon let my kids carry a silkworm by its wings and (even better) bring home a cocoon. Plus, her work is a joy to take in, as the space feels like part studio and part habitat. Dixon mentioned that as part of her her current project she plans on building an even more interactive exhibit in the Artisphere, so keep checking in.



After visiting with Dixon, we started to make our way to the galleries upstairs, but as soon as the kids found the lounge's Yogibo chairs, we needed to break for "chill" time. Have you ever tried one of these? They mold to your body like a comfy sweater. Really, sort of amazing. Now everyone in our family wants their own.

While we relaxed, we checked out a slideshow of Yassine El Mansouri's observation photos. Each photograph features an ariel view of a person surrounded on the floor by all the clothing he/she owns, leading us to various discussions about how much floorspace we would each need to take a similar photo. [T, not very much; whereas P requires a football field for all of her clothing (not really, but almost)].



Eventually, we made it upstairs, where T quickly discovered Dustin Carlson's gas pump sculpture. I'm not sure Carlson meant his work to be interactive, so I told T not to touch the pump, but not before I snapped a quick (adorable) photo of the experience.



In the museum's main gallery, the Think With Your Hands exhibit showcases several shadow box collages by various artists. A small sun/circle symbol resides next to several of the works, for these you can either borrow an ipad from the Artisphere or download an app and the work will in some way become interactive.

While this sounds like a cool idea in theory, most of the artworks' ipad interactions just link up photos of the artist's sketchbook or other works, which I felt distracted somewhat from the actual works on display. But my kids love an ipad, so they found the experience "awesome".

Finally, we meandered to the movie studio, where Kadavre Exquis's "what is dead may never die" played on a continuous loop. The video seemed rather random, making it fun to watch with a group of kids under 10. Since none of us really "got" it, we all had different theories about what it was about (T remains convinced that the videoplayer broke, thus explaining why the images made no sense to him).

All in all we only spent about an hour at the Artisphere (it is a rather small museum/gallery). But it was a really good, fun hour.

The FREE Artisphere is only open:

Wednesday-Friday from 4:00 to 11:00 p.m
Saturday: Noon – 11:00 p.m.
Sunday: Noon – 5:00 p.m.

Parking is free with validation, making it an easy in and out destination. Plus, it is fun. And relatively kid-friendly. Perfect for Thanksgiving weekend. Click here for more information.

Also, if you're looking for kid-friendly museum ideas this winter, don't forget that Smithsonian's Early Education Center offers some wonderful classes for the 6 and under crowd, click here to learn more.

Things to Do - Cherish This Day & Random Links

Sometimes you simply NEED to spend an hour or so in a room full of mylar balloons (the pics are from Arlington Artisphere's exhibit of Warhol's Silver Clouds, which have since moved on). Now click on over to Cherish the Day to see what everyone else has been up to.

RANDOM LINKS:

* The Kids Euro Festival is currently in full swing. Two months of awesome free events. Click here to see the schedule. And click here to read our review from last year.

* Before they pass away. Gorgeous photos of indigenous tribes. "In 2009, I planned to become a guest of 31 secluded and visually unique tribes. I wanted to witness their time-honoured traditions, join in their rituals and discover how the rest of the world is threatening to change their way of life forever. Most importantly, I wanted to create an ambitious aesthetic photographic document that would stand the test of time. A body of work that would be an irreplaceable ethnographic record of a fast disappearing world."

* The brilliant mind of Kevin van Aelst.

* I'm loving NPR's map of the most famous book set in every state.

* Bruce Wrighton’s Binghamton.

* Photos of Banksy in NYC.

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!

Places to Go - Family Day Open House for the Artisphere's 2nd Anniversary Weekend

On Sunday, we decided to spend the very rainy afternoon at Arlington Artisphere's free family open house (I love events where the words "free" and "family" coincide). Upon arriving at the festival, we ran out front to watch a juggler on stilts, which immediately piqued the interest of all my children. While the juggler didn't put on a performance per se, the children loved just talking with him. P, in particular, lit up when he said he liked the blue streak in her hair.



Once we entered the building, Jennifer Stephens (aka "the Bubble Faerie") mesmerized us all. Honestly, this may be one of the most impressive, yet random circus-type acts I've ever witnessed. The faerie dips her hands in the bubble solution, blows gently and creates several different floating wonders - sometimes she makes bubbles inside bubbles, other times she goes for size or quantity. It's all sort of amazing. I wonder if she does birthday parties.



Eventually we meandered upstairs to check out the Artisphere's newest installation - Beyond the Parking Lot: The Change and Re-Assessment of Our Modern Landscape. If you haven't visited the Artisphere yet, this exhibit is more than enough reason to hurry up and get there - miniature landscapes, a huge bending painting, a video piece, etc. - both the art and the display rival anything you'd see at a major museum. So wonderful to have such an amazing space in my own neighborhood.



We didn't have as much time to linger in the Parking Lot exhibit as I would have liked because F was so so excited for mural painting (or should I say "MURAL PAINTING!!"?) in the education lab. Upon arrival, each child chose their favorite paint colors from a huge rainbow of offerings and received a giant paint brush to go with his/her palette. The presentation was fabulous - the gift of color itself seemed better than any toy one could offer.

F and P set in right away decorating corners of the mural. Unfortunately, even a corner was hard to come by as the wooden mural was SMALL - cool but way too small for any real collective art to occur. Actually, the whole room was rather small - especially when you add in ACRYLIC PAINT and tons of children. Most parents tried to rally, but eventually the majority of us older folk clung to the walls, scared of the permanence of the rainbow of colors attacking everything around us.



Eventually, we made it to the black box theater to check out Emma Jaster's "Suitcase Story" performance piece. Again, the space was small for the crowd - additional chairs needed to be obtained, whereas those of us sitting on the floor were asked to squish closer and closer together. Regarding the "play" itself, at moments Jaster soared - connecting with the audience through gesture and mime, P especially loved when the paper feet became a fluttering butterfly. And F couldn't stop smiling when the paper heart bridges into the audience and Jaster had us all chorus into the sounds of a choo choo train. But all in all, the piece was a little too long and ambiguous for such a young audience - 45 minutes sitting on the floor with a toddler in your lap makes for some long viewing. Two, approximately, 10 year old girls sitting in front of us probably summed it up best - the girl asked her friend "do you like this?" and her friend replied "I don't know." "Well, then do you want to leave?" "I don't know that either."

After the Suitcase Story ended, my mom and the kids watched David London's Wandering Wonders Act as I headed upstairs to pick up the children's artwork. By this time the crowd had picked up somewhat and the art room had become claustrophobic (plus, it saddened me somewhat to see that F's hard work on the mural had already been covered up by a new group of children's paintings, as there was not enough room for everybody's contribution to remain).

Unfortunately, we never had a chance to visit the dome theatre where WSC Avent Bard was conducting free theatrical workshops. Hopefully next year.

All in all, we had a good time at this free event, but it would have been nice if the kids themselves had more room and space to create. Tables, chairs, and couches fill the lobby - had these these tables been full of art supplies, I think the staff itself would have been impressed with what our kids could come up with - maybe an entire wall of children's thoughts, ideas and inspirations. Now that would really be something.

Places to Go - Three Great Art Experiences for Kids - Pirates of Penzance, A Family Sculpture Making Class, and Portrait Making

1. Family Sculpture Classes at the Artisphere

On Sunday afternoon, F and I headed over to Arlington's Artisphere for a family sculpture making class. F loves art, so I assumed she'd love creating with me, but when we arrived the instructors announced we would be working with wire, Calder-style. "I hate wire", F stated. Ugh. So she tried, then she cried. Luckily Peter Krsko (one of our instructors) SAVED THE DAY. He looked at her drawing, he listened to her ideas, and he helped her sculpt her vision. She smiled, she laughed, she added more details, and, finally, she proclaimed herself "an artist." Success!!

If you're interested, another class takes place on Sunday, July 29th, tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for kids. Children over 2 years of age are invited to attend, but personally I'd recommend the class for kids aged 4 and up. Toddlers with wire could be a little iffy ("you'll poke your eye out!"). Click here for more information.

The Artisphere also offers a Plushie Design class for children and families on August 19th and September 9th. I'm hoping to attend, as both the girls would LOVE to design their own stuffed animal.

F's Review (Age 6.5) - At first, I was pretty bad but then I started getting the hang of it. And I really started liking it. The teachers were really nice. After the class we walked around [the Artisphere] and I really liked looking at the sculptures.



2. Create a Portrait at the Artisphere - FREE!!!

After our art class, F and I wandered around the Artisphere for awhile. Have you been yet? This place is AMAZING!! Sort of like a small, non-intimidating, somewhat interactive art museum (with lots of comfy chairs). We checked out wonderful sculptures and video art, then we headed to the mezz gallery where an interactive/display project is ongoing until August 18th. In the exhibit, the artist, Kevin Krapf, invites visitors to use a double-sided table to create simultaneous portraits with friends. Visitors can then hang up their art for display. The artist will select some of the drawings as inspiration for his paintings. Art supplies and paper are provided. I think kids would love this project. So if you've been looking for an opportunity to check out the Artisphere, this is it!!

Further, a nature area/bridge is accessible through the building - a great way to view the Rosslyn skyline while checking out some beautiful flowers.

The Artisphere is open:
Wed-Fri 4 pm - 11 pm
Saturday noon - 11 pm
Sunday noon - 5 pm.

Free parking is available after 5 pm and all day on weekends. SO GO!!!



3. Encore Theater's Production of The Pirates of Penzance

On Friday night, the girls and I attended Encore's production of the Pirates of Penzance at Thomas Jefferson Theater. Usually Encore's productions feature a cast composed entirely of child actors. This play was a little different in that adults and children both appeared on stage and the two lead roles were played by seasoned stage actors.

Regarding production quality, I cannot say enough good things - the singing and dancing was superb, nothing "amateur" about it. As were the costumes and sets (especially the boat that actually moves!). A grand spectacle. My only (minor) complaint being that the acoustics of TJ's theater are not the best (it was often hard to understand the lyrics).

Regarding the play itself, I know it is currently trendy to revive these old plays (the original production premiered in 1879). And I know I seem like a PC stick-in-the-mud but they just seem so sexist and dated. The first act of the play involves the main character yelling at his nurse for not being pretty enough, yes it's somewhat funny, but not necessarily child-friendly. Though F did whisper to me "I hate mean boys who only care if a girl is pretty, they'll never be happy because they ignore the important stuff, like love." Luckily, the play includes some modern updates - in particular a HYSTERICAL scene in which the captain laments on modern day politics (the play is worth seeing for this scene alone, I wish I could you-tube it).

Regarding the rest of the plot, the theater recommends the play for children 6 and over and I'd take their recommendation seriously. The whole leap year debacle (the pirate is indentured until his 21st birthday, but since he was born on leap year, that won't happen until he's pretty old) completely went over P's head (I tried to explain it in whispers, but wasn't quite successful).

Anyways, if you can get over hang ups about sexism that passed for comedy in the nineteenth century, the production itself is absolutely beautiful and well worth the price of admission. A gem.

The show runs through next weekend at the following times:

Thursday, July 26 8 pm
Friday, July 27 8 pm
Saturday, July 28 2 pm and 8 pm
Sunday, July 29th 2 pm

Tickets are $10 for children and $15 for adults. Click here for additional information.

F's Review (Age 6.5) - I liked the play because it was jolly and it told you about the old-fashioned days and ways. I also liked it because the Captain was funny. I really liked the scenery and costumes. And I loved the singing and dancing. I didn't like that the characters didn't come out in costume after the play.

P's Review (Age 5.5) - I liked that the girls in the play were brave and wore pretty dresses. I didn't like that the main pirate was mean to his maid and only cared about how people looked. I liked the costumes. I also thought the main character really should have understood how his birthday worked.