Baltimore beauty

We flew down to Baltimore last week for a delicious dose of our daughter and a shot in the arm of spring. We picked her up at Maryland Institute College of Art and caught up at Tapas Teatro. Our gregarious server, Seth, made us feel welcome and ready to roll.

The magnolias are in bloom there!

We make the Paper Moon Diner a regular stop, for the milkshakes and the ambiance of over-the-top assemblage. A tribe of sculptures protects the premises, adorned with cutlery, creamers, and coins. I sketched one of them after we got home.

Next we went in search of Joyce Scott’s show, Still Happening in 2018.

I drew her portrait during my Black History Month project.

Joyce is a Baltimore native and MICA alum. When Daisy first saw her work during freshman year, she wanted to learn more. It took us awhile to find the Goya Contemporary Gallery but was so worth it.

Her work raises many issues, layered with meaning and symbolism, and is often beaded and featuring blown glass.

The complexity of her craft is mind-boggling. She weaves an infinite story.

We headed back to the MICA campus, where sculpture is everywhere. This precarious sphere atop the Fox Building is by Allyn Massey, who Daisy happened to meet at a recent Bread and Puppet Theater show. Baltimore’s art community runs deep through MICA.

As a junior double major in Interdisciplinary Sculpture and Humanistic Studies, Daisy spends much of her time in the Station building.

MICA is legendary for re-purposing historical buildings. This really was a train station!

We hung out in the figure sculpture room while she documented a clay bust she’d sculpted.

Last year, Daisy was a model in her roommate’s line called Space Ballet. And we missed it:(

Designer Ellie MacInnes in bottom row, center, with her 2017 collection, Space Ballet.

We vowed not to miss this year’s 25th Annual Benefit Fashion Show. What a fantastic production!!!

Our great seats were among an enthusiastic crowd of MICA students and family. This was not your typical runway show. Student models performed narratives from drag to drama to playful romps.

I’ve been drawing some of my favorite pieces. This one is from AJ Oehm and Courtney Banh’s collaboration called Catamaran.

All the pieces fluttered in breezes blasting from fans brought on stage.

I tried to capture the furling fabric in this sketch.

The outdoor wear shimmered in bright colors.

I loved this collection, Pinball Machine, by Chaahat Thakker. Each piece was both playful and could literally be played.

I totally fell for Diana Eusebio’s collection, DE Colores. The pieces are flavored by her Peruvian and Dominican heritage, and honor the traditions of Latin American textiles with contemporary details.

All of this work is outside of class. Kudos to all the designers and models and volunteers!

The next day we headed to DC, following Daisy’s lead. Just another day at the White House. Besides multiple protests, there was also a March for Science, a cherry blossom festival, and the Emancipation Day March.

We saw No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man at the Renwick Gallery. It’s a small peek into the cult of Burning Man, an annual gathering of makers in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.

Sculptures, vehicles, badges, jewelry, and costumes tell the history of a creative phenomenon that now draws 70,000.

One gallery is a temporary temple.

There’s much to drink in. Read more here about the 16 artists. Everyone seemed to enjoy the breathing Shrumen Lumen by Foldhaus.

With our eyeballs crossed, we headed over to the National Portrait Gallery. Seeing MICA alum Amy Sherald’s portrait of Michelle Obama was quite moving. Sublime shero!

The line was even longer in the President’s gallery. Look how the painting by Kehinde Wiley glows!

We lingered for awhile in so many galleries, finally emerging to simply people and pigeon watch for a spell before heading back to Baltimore for dinner at the City Cafe.

Sunday was raining. Daisy needed to work on her finals. Marty and I visited Bazaar, a “curious gift shop” that sells skulls, shells, specimens, taxidermy, and various oddities. Perfect for souvenirs. We saw Isle of Dogs at the venerable Charles Theater. Five stars.

At dinner, we gathered at Cosima, at Mill No. 1.

It’s a delicious treat to see what Executive Chef Donna Crivello has on the menu. She and Marty were design colleagues at the Boston Globe, back in the day. My RISD chum, David Hicks, and his partner, Marty Signore, joined us for a complete mangia fest.

Before leaving town on Monday, we peeked into the MFA in Illustration Practice program.

Program Director Whitney Sherman gave us a tour and we caught up over lunch nearby. Always fun to see studio spaces cluttered with ideas and hear tales about MICA life.

Baltimore, you charm us every time!