Last Ohio Post (for this round)

It was a good thing I packed warm clothing so I could enjoy going for walks and checking out the neighborhood.

It was cold, but I did not feel any calling to go out on the ice.

I loved visiting my old friend at the library

and going with Dad to visit old friends at the art museum.
I also love the sweater and hat Mom knit for him.

It was hard to say goodbye.

Museums

Two friends shared about a museum website, Every Museum of Greater Los Angeles. In one weekend I went to two of them and then added one more the next weekend.

Up first was a museum inside the Redlands post office.

Makes me want to get a post box!

Do you miss these little boxes?

They are so uncommon that the postbox building in Denver is now called the cash register building! Or maybe it was the cash register building first, because who knows what those are, too.

I shared this photo with my mail carrier and she said she wished they still dressed like this!

The next day D and I went to a museum listed as one of LA's best new architecture projects. It was our first visit to Chapman University's Hilbert Museum of California Art so I can't say anything about the old space, but the new space was fabulous.

This picture was taken from the train depot, right across the parking lot.

A Millard Sheets mosaic was rescued from a bank.
He is the same artist featured on many buildings close to home.
See old posts here and here.

Not only were the buildings of interest, we liked a lot of the art inside, too.

Erin Hanson, Sunset Lace

Open Impressionism is a new style of painting developed by American artist Erin Hanson. The style is characterized by short, impasto brush strokes that are applied without layering, creating a mosaic or stained-glass appearance to the paintings. The paintings are created with a limited palette of colors, applied without blending or mixing upon the canvas, which adds a dimension of texture to each brush stroke. Inspired by classic impressionism, pointillism, and post-impressionism, Erin Hanson continues the tradition of impressionism into the modern day with her colorful and vivacious landscape paintings.

Ralph Hulett, People skating underneath the green bridge
This was part of a special exhibit of Christmas cards designed by Hulett.

I would definitely come back, and maybe even take the train.

I did not take a single picture of our last museum visit, a Phil Dike exhibit at the Claremont Lewis Museum of Art.

You could watch this video of Phil Dike's son talking about growing up in a fantasy land of artists.

I have a picture of the museum from a couple years ago.

This picture shows the banners on the floor before the opening of the show.

Regardless of the documentation, we enjoyed the art work tremendously and were surprised by the the variety. It was good to get there before the show ended.

Delayed Celebration

Our mini figures celebrated our anniversary by getting helmets, bicycles, and a trailer.

The human celebration was saved for a day when the air was cooler and clearer. We decided to take a day trip to Riverside.

We visited 

The Cheech

which is a Chicano Art and Culture museum in the old library.

We also visited the new library,

including the Friends of the Library bookstore.

Sticking with the book theme, we were happy to support the local independent bookstore. 

I am sorry you can't read the little poems, which were entertaining.

I was so glad our friend recommended Tio's Tacos for lunch because unique is hardly a way to describe it. Here is what Atlas Obscura says.

Martin Sanchez, the owner and artist, has been expanding and maintaining the property for a decade. The courtyard features old appliances re-purposed as decorations, bicycles cemented straight into the ground, and fountains constructed from scrap metal and glass. The perimeters are adorned with spectacular statues fabricated from chicken wire and stuffed with bottle caps, children’s dolls, utensils, and just about everything else you can think of.

We also learned that there is a school for the deaf in town and the city was hosting the 25th Deaf Festival.

It was like other festivals with the emergency response people there and people from different organizations. The difference was that everyone was signing. 

We saw a mural with sign language.

And plenty of books 

We did not come across a good ice cream place so we stopped closer to home.

Here's to many more anniversary celebrations.🥰

Local Art

As a child I visited our local art museum, which had a juried art show with pieces by local artists. There were five categories and there were modest prizes, too. I have fond memories of this show and it brought out people who might not otherwise go to the museum.

The art museum here had a similar event, although anyone was allowed to exhibit art as long as it was deemed family-friendly, it could hang from one nail on the wall, and it was no more than 30" in any direction.

I dropped off a piece of A.'s art,
chosen because it was already in a frame.

I liked getting a sneak preview.

The variety was fantastic.

"Rubbing of Manhole Cover, Pomona College", 2017

The turnout was fantastic, too.

I hope it becomes an annual event.

Just Another Day

The day started with a bike ride. Sometimes I just visit little libraries in different neighborhoods.

I tidied up this free pile so everyone could see the book spines.
I found lots of good books for my little library.

I don't usually stop at garage sales but this house was up a long driveway so I was happy to take a look. Plus, I could see the toy car and thought there might be other good toys, too. I overheard that they are downsizing to a 2300-square-foot house.

I stopped at two different stores to get a hair trimmer, dishwasher tabs, and fresh fruit.

In the afternoon we went to a new exhibit at the local ceramic art museum. We were lucky to meet the curator and learn a bit more.

I didn't know a lot about architectural pottery.

My favorite part was the miniature room with miniature replicas of pieces in the exhibit.

We went back to an older exhibit. I had seen this piece in January at the opening, but it was still good to have the do-not-touch sign because I still wanted to touch it! I want to know if it is really porcelain or if my eyes are playing a trick on me.

In the late afternoon we went to campus

but got there a bit early to see the first-year students walk through the gate.

A bit later we were right on time

to see the students line up,

to see the parents ready to capture the moment,

and to see a physics student join the fun as Cecil.

I teared up only a little bit!

We finished the day with dinner out and then dessert with the extended family.