My boy and King Tut

We had such a good time yesterday at the King Tut Exhibit at LaCMA. DS#1 & I got the only tickets available to us ... 8am - and headed out early. It was definitely the primo time to go - there were no lines and very little waiting to read and see the (mostly) tiny exhibits. As we left, we passed the entrance line 100 yards long, 6 people deep - not including the folks snaking throught the outdoor tent. We were in at 8:30 - only because we sauntered in at our leisure, and saw our fill, leaving at 10:30. It was a lot to take in, but very special. And it was special time with my boy. It really made an impression on him... though later on was much more exciting. One of the first exhibits was/is a wooden mannequin used for ceremonial purposes - perhaps to hang robes and jewelry on between times... it's "lifesize", so it's the size of a 9 yo boy. Just DS' size. I think Tut was lucky to have lived as long as he did in that atmosphere - religious upheaval and restoration, serious inbreeding, and power struggles...

We left the exhibit... narrowly escaping the gift store - which you MUST pass through to exit and just screams all that is wrong with consumerism. We headed east through thte LaBrae Tarpits and ate at IHOP. I indulged his every silliness and loved (and cherish) every minute of this kid and his imagination.

The best part, however,... we went back to LaCMA and caught the Tim Hawkinson exhibit. It was INCREDIBLE! He's (TH) a bit out there for most people, but ds was ON FIRE with discovery. It was positively magic to see him take it all in and I could just see the wheels turning. The exhibit is on loan from the Whitney, if that gives you any clue as to how deep and funkalicious his work is... Of course, he'd probably puke if he heard his work described as funkalicious, but then he'd MAKE SOMETHING out of it. DS kept saying, "When I'm 21, I going to..." to which I kept telling him, "Why wait? You DON'T HAVE TO WAIT" Do Art - be Art - build Art - If you want to do it, do it!!!"

My Love. It goes too fast.

He spent all afternoon drawing, with my heart expanding with happiness. Why do I cry when I paint?