art on the brain

No big nola adventures so far this week, but I've finally uploaded more of my nola pics on my tour guide facebook page.  I have a lot more albums I want to create, so it's an ongoing project, but this allows my facebook "friends", especially those that aren't in nola, to see my hometown through my eyes.  So, friend me & check them out!  http://www.facebook.com/nola.leah

In other news, I've got tour guide continuing ed tomorrow at NOMA & the Besthoff sculpture garden...I can't wait!  These are two of my favorite places in the city, the sculpture garden is probably my favorite outdoor spot in town!  It's beautifully landscaped, an amazing collection of sculptures, lagoons cut through the garden, multiple paths allow you to wander around seeing something different every time.  What I love is seeing the same pieces from multiple different perspectives.  A sculpture looks quite different from across a lagoon than it does up close.  The colors & textures that contrast with the natural landscape create a feast for your eyes.  A visit to the garden is a truly interactive experience, you don't feel so much like a spectator, but more like a participant.  Even most New Orleanians don't realize what an impressive collection NOMA has, so if you haven't been recently, take an afternoon & do it!  There's a brilliant Rodin, The Age of Bronze (which created a whole lotta scandal when first exhibited at the 1877 Salon in Paris), that greets you in the Great Hall as you enter the museum.  We have Picasso, Miro, Degas, Modigliani, Magritte, Monet, Giacometti, Braque, Cassat, Chagall, & many more.  Plus a great collection of local artists' work.  There's also a really impressive Asian Art collection, thanks to the Gitter Yelen collection (lots of great Japanese Edo period work) & one of the best & most comprehensive Oceanic Art collections in the country.  The space is open & inviting.  And, don't forget about Where Y'Art on Friday nights.  The museum is open free to the public on Wednesdays, so we won't need to flash our tour guide licenses tomorrow.  The garden is always free & open during regular museum hours.  We don't need to schedule a special docent or other guide for tomorrow b/c I'll be our group's guide!  I have a BA in art history, I interned at NOMA while I was a student at UNO (working on a teacher workshop manual for a Japanese painting exhibit), & I just led 2 tour groups through the museum & garden for the AIA convention back in May.  I'm thrilled to share a place that's so near & dear to my heart with the rest of my tour guide friends, some of them have never been...I couldn't believe that, so I told them that we had to remedy that asap!!

After the museum, on to lunch at one of my favorite charming little bistros in town, Cafe Degas.  We're taking advantage of their online coupon...see, it's not just jews that like a good deal.

So, I'll have more to report tomorrow after the museum & a classy French lunch on Esplanade Ave.