walking rino: street art with theo


I’ve got two little wildlings, Otis and Theo. We spend a lot of quality time together as a group, but it’s incredibly rare that I get to have one-on-one time with either one of them. So the other day, upon realizing that Otis had class and Theo’s school was closed, I decided to take Theo on a special adventure-- just the two of us. I toyed with the idea of journeying up to the mountains for a hike near Kenosha Pass, but then decided it would be fun to stay in the city and put on our explorer caps since we have plans to see fall foliage for the next three weekends…


Of course I had to seize the moment and catch up on some overdue appointments too, so before we took off on our local adventure, I took Theo to the doctor for a wellness check-up. In hindsight that might not have been the best way to start off our special day, for it was temporarily marred by the 4-year-old vaccination schedule. But eventually he stopped crying, and the experience led us to have an interesting conversation about viruses. It also helped us choose our word of the day: “antibodies.”


As a reward for displaying courage and good behavior (all things considered), I treated Theo to a chocolate croissant. He was amazed by its construction and started yelling, “There’s a real live chocolate bar right in the very middle of my treat? It’s real live!! Isn’t that amazing, mommy?” Oh that Theo. He’s got “a million sweet tooths” and is truly a little boy after my own heart. Not wanting to leave the coffee shop without something savory, I grabbed two spinach empandas before we set out in the direction of the RiNo Arts District…








Now I’ve blogged about the ever-changing RiNo before. It’s a neighborhood that houses some of Denver’s best restaurants, bars and coffee shops. It’s also the epicenter of the city’s best street art, and there’s lots of it. The new murals are spectacularly detailed and there brand new pieces thanks to #COCrush15 which took place last weekend. Some of my RiNo favorites include works from artists Mariano Padillo, Jaime Molina, Mike Martinez, Hollis & Lana, David Shillinglaw, Scott Albrecht, Hyland Mather, Mike Graves, Blaine Fontana, Robin Munro, Sandra Fettingis, Jake Mertens, Lolo YS, Jeremy Burns and Max Kauffman*…just to name a few.  

(*As I was about to enter Max’s art house I noticed that Theo was starting to get sleepy, so I’ll be back to check it out next week.)

I’ve always been a big fan of street art, but it wasn’t until my friend Risa and I had a conversation about its larger importance that I fully began to understand how beneficial and inspirational it is. You see, I’ve always appreciated street murals from a beautification angle; they provide design, color, and art to a wall that would normally be vacant or plastered with tacky advertisements.

But street art also holds a second (more important) purpose. Namely, it makes art accessible to everyone: to parents with work schedules that are incompatible with museum hours; to children who don’t have easy access to art or transportation; to neighborhoods that are often underserved when it comes to public investments. In short, street art can inspire a creative force in almost anyone, regardless of income.

It also makes for a really great one-on-one adventure….

Enjoy!
xx,
Batya







 












 

For more info, check out this column and this column by Lindsey Bartlett.

Overheard Theoisms:
“Those guys have coffee bean heads. That’s silly, so very silly.”
“…and then these octopuses were fighting bad guys- the Storm Troopers- before they were beamed back up to space. Yes, that’s what it’s about…”
“Hey, why is that man walking a fish with a dog’s leash? That’s hilarious.”
“Mommy, do you think we can keep a pet giraffe in our garage?”
“I’m going to show them my sword of justice. Then they will know I’m a superhero.”
“These leaves look pretty, but they’re not real. At least they don’t look real to me.”
“Torchic (Pokemon doll) told me this was the best tour ever. Hey, Torchic sounds like tour.”
“Is this where the natural gas comes from? I want to see it.”
“That silly monkey is playing games with me. He’s a funny guy.”
"Please can I go in here? (Closed Populist garden) I promise not to trespass."

at the denver botanic gardens: corpse flower + butterfield + everything else



Late this afternoon, upon hearing the corpse flower was beginning to bloom, I dropped everything and ran over to the Botanic Gardens. I mean that literally. I dropped my magazine on the floor and ran down the street, made a right turn, and headed in the direction of the garden’s main gate. The live stream had been running on my computer screen all day, but I wanted to see this in person. It’s not everyday you get to view an Amorphophallus titanium bloom! The event is a rare occurrence and annually only about 5-10 plants bloom in captivity worldwide. I’m not sure how frequently they bloom in nature, but the plant’s native habitat in Sumatra (Indonesia) is being destroyed at a record pace, so I’m sure blooms in the wild are down in number. 


This particular event will mark the first bloom in Denver and the Rocky Mountain states, which is pretty exciting if you live here and giant blooming plants are your thing. Oh, and the plant will release an odor (really, a stench) that smells like a rotting corpse for approximately 48 hours in order to attract its pollinators (the carrion beetle), so there’s that too…

Anyway, about 10 minutes after leaving my home I was standing in front of the giant plant (see below). It was so exciting, as I've been watching it grow in size over the past few weeks. But it became clear that the unraveling at the pinnacle had stopped and the grand finale would be saved for another evening. Not wanting to waste an opportunity to check out the garden's Deborah Butterfield exhibit in its entirety, I walked around in search of her beautiful cast bronze horse sculptures. They are installed throughout the gardens, posed in various positions and against a range of natural backdrops. And they are gorgeous!

I hope you enjoy these photos! I enjoyed taking them with my new camera, which was an early birthday gift from husband (about 5 months ahead of the really big day since my old camera just broke). I’m still trying to figure out all the bells and whistles, but I think I’m off to a good start!

xx,
B

Click here for a live stream of the corpse flower bloom at the DBG.
And here for additional information, courtesy of National Geographic.































 


mark mothersbaugh's myopia at the MCA

Attending a parochial preparatory school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan during my teenage years probably wasn’t the best thing for me. But in a renewed effort to find the positive in things, I’ll admit that I got a great education even if the school wasn’t the right fit. Another advantage in spending so much time around 78th Street was the exposure I had to art. The Frick, the Met, the Guggenheim and the MoMA were all walking distance from my high school. Upon dismissal (or let’s be honest, when I occasionally skipped out on gym class- sorry mom) I would head over to one of the nearby museums. I loved art and there was a lot of it.

I’ve been trying to increase Otis and Theo’s exposure to art and music. I have memories of coloring and painting at a young age, and I began playing piano when I was 6…so I just a few months older than Otis is now. I don’t have many regrets in life, but I wish I had stuck with piano, which ended when my teenage attitude got in the way of practicing. I also wish I kept making art.

My high school art teacher encouraged me to pursue creative endeavors so I immersed myself in painting, sculpture and art history. I never thought I would make a career of it, but art was an outlet that gave me a lot of satisfaction, and quite frankly, a lot of joy.

I wasn’t the best artist in my school, but my teacher thought highly of my creative output and she encouraged me take the Advanced Placement Art during my senior year. I worked tirelessly on my portfolio and was happy with the final product. That is, until the grades came back and I scored a 1. In case you’re not familiar with AP scoring, that’s the bottom of the barrel.

Being an impressionable teenager, I found myself demoralized. I stopped painting and using clay completely. The work I had been so proud of, well, I thought it was awful after that score came in. But now at 38, armed with the benefit of self-confidence and perspective, I could kick myself for thinking such a thing. Why did I let an anonymous judge derail an activity that made me happy?

Over the long Thanksgiving weekend I took the boys to see

 Myopia, Mark Mothersbaugh’s new exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art here in Denver

. It was awesome; we all loved it. It’s hard to capture the right words that could express what it was about Mothersbaugh’s artwork that reignited my desire to paint and be more creative, but it did. I’m so glad we got to see it…

Here’s to creative endeavors that enrich your life, being inspired and not letting silly numbers get in the way of the things you love. 

Enjoy your weekend,

xx,

Batya

friday favorites: hexagons



I'm not sure if it's because I'm the daughter of two mathematicians, or because I'm fascinated by honeycombs, but my obsession with hexagons (the coolest geometric shape) is at an all time high! Here are some of my favorite hex designs. Enjoy your weekend and I'll see you next week!
xo,
Batya
HEXAGONS 
1. Hex Spora by Light + Ladder
2. Grid Set by Valvanera Arrieta via Design Milk
3. Grid Set by Valvanera Arrieta via Design Milk
4. Half Hex from Dwell Tile Pattern by Heath Ceramics
5. Low Hex Stool by Sixinch for Studio Stegers
6. Gold Hexagon Bracelet by Sarah Loertscher 
7. Hyve System by Herbst Produkt 
8. Glitz Medium Round Plates by dbO Home via Cooking Light 
9. Modular Hexagons by Form Us With Love via Apartment Therapy
10. Hexagon No. 1 Print by Martin Isaac for Society6
11. Dechirer Hexagon Tiles by Patricia Urquiola for Mutina via Stone Source
12. Kaleido Trays by Clara von Zweigbergk for HAY via ArchiLovers (available at DWR)

Thank you to Carly Loman, my colleague at DLD PR, for helping me put this collage together! 

museum of contemporary art, denver (instagram)


...oh you know, just an ordinary Wednesday at the museum with my boys!
If you live in Denver and haven't been to the MCA, go! If you're planning a visit to the mile high city, put this cultural space on your itinerary. You can check out the contemporary art and then grab a bite at the café. And in the summertime, the rooftop is a perfect place to get a drink and watch the sunset. It's also worth noting that David Adjaye is the architect of this museum. Have I mentioned how much I love this city? 
For more information on exhibits and special events contact MCA Denver:
1485 Delgany St
Denver, CO 80202
303 298 7554
Tuesday—Thursday NOON-7PM
Friday NOON-9PM
Saturday & Sunday 10AM-5PM
Instagram: @mcadenver1485