Daytrip

Since my sister's wedding is coming up, I haven't had much time for myself and art. Paintbrushes and charcoal had to be stored away so that futons could be rolled out for out of town guests. All free time was now dedicated to decorations and desserts.

But right before the sudden rush, I spent a whole day completely immersed in drawing and me-time.

The morning was pleasantly slow as I headed to the museum, taking Marta so I wouldn't have to think about anything while I traveled. An empty head is a luxury nowadays.

The short walk from the station to the entrance was a nice wake-up call, the air brisk and misty. I got my ticket and sketch pass, using my member pass for the last time since it was expiring the next day. It reminded me that exactly a year ago I had been coming here regularly not only for school but just to waste time after classes.

The Da Vinci exhibit was breath-taking. It was composed mostly of his drawings and some sculptures based on them. Being close enough to see the glint of the impression the stylus made on the paper me realize very suddenly that this was real thing. I'd be lying if I said I didn't almost cry.

Afterwards I went around my usual haunts, seeing which pieces had changed or moved. But my favorite place was always in front of the Medea statue. She has a very comfy leather seat placed just-so in front of her so that I can kick up my feet and draw her for hours, as she looks down in apparent disapproval.


The lined paper is because, in my morning daze, I forgot a proper sketchbook so I made do with my work notebook. So now she sits alongside a list of what cake slices and brownies to put out for the following Saturday.

But still, for being terribly rusty, I enjoyed re-learning drawing through her. I opted for not using my mp3 player so I could hear the museum. Once before, I was rewarded with the lovely singing voice of one of the museum employees. She sang a lullaby I can't remember the words to, but still recall the feeling. This time though, it was the rise and fall of conversation of the visiting grade schools. Highschoolers and elementary students. There would be a general hum that slowly built into an almost deafening crescendo, then suddenly quieted as the "shush"es of adults intervened. Rinse and repeat.

I hope that once everything is settled, I can have another lazy outing like this. It's good for the soul.