Yesterday, I went to the Palm Springs Art Museum with a friend. It was spur of the moment, but we both had a great time. We specifically went to see the Wayne Thiebaud 70 year retrospective. Thiebaud has always been one of my favorite painters. This was the first time I had ever gotten to see one of his paintings in person. As expected, they are so much more impressive in person, and I was not disappointed in the show. His handling of paint, and his mastery of color are certainly two of the reasons to love this California painter. I am so glad I got to see the show! In addition to the retrospective of Thiebaud, there was also a show of Mapplethorpe's portraits. Wonderful! Even though we have lived here for over a year, this was my first visit to the Palm Springs Art Museum. Now that I have been there, and seen what a great facility it is, I am confident I will be back. Palm Springs is only about a half hour drive from Joshua Tree.
While I am blogging about sources of inspiration, I have been putting off telling you about an exciting event from over a week ago. I love sweaters, especially cashmere ones. I tend to be cold-blooded, and cashmere is perfect for me, since it is really warm and soft. Once I have a cashmere sweater, I will wear it until it is frayed and holey. Well, I found out about an artist who makes teddy bears out of old wool sweaters through my blogging friend, Melissa, over at Pugnotes. (It is actually Melissa's twin sister, Melanie.) So I sent her my old sweater, with the desire for my beloved sweater to be given a second chance on life as a teddy bear. Much to my surprise and delight, Melanie made a bear for me out of my sweater, and mailed it to me!!! The day I received my bear, I had other errands to run. My bear rode around in the car with me, propped up on the dash. Every time I looked at him, I smiled. He is wonderful! Thank you, Melanie, for my bear! If you are interested in seeing more bears created by Melanie, you can visit her etsy shop here. What a wonderful new form my sweater has taken, all thanks to Melanie.
