Monday, February 6, 2012

The Oklahoma Aquarium Offers Family Fun













Recently two of my daughters and I were able to visit the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks, Oklahoma for the first time. What an amazing place not so far from home. I've heard great things about the aquarium but never took the time to visit. It is a public, non-profit aquarium just minutes from Tulsa devoted to their mission "Conservation Through Education."

We had a great time and I would love to share a few photos from our visit. Who would have known that such an amazing aquarium existed in land-locked Oklahoma? If you are near Jenks, Oklahoma or visiting the Tulsa area, I suggest you stop in for at least a few hours and see what you've been missing. My girls had a great time and I'm sure we'll be back.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Pondering Thomas Eakins' The Gross Clinic






Thomas Eakins painted The Gross Clinic which is considered to be my many the greatest 19th-century American painting. This was such a controversial representation during 1876 and yet today when viewers gaze upon it, seems like a dated non-sterile surgical procedure in front of students.

I'm very compelled with this image ~ wondering what was going on in Eakins mind at the time of his painting and if he worried about how it would be received? I wonder how many other people at this time "got" his work? Do you think you would have GASPED in SHOCK if you were living at this time when viewing this work? Do you think you would have been compelled to step closer for a more in-depth look or run away with disgust? Hmmmm... Just pondering.




Thomas Eakins-the artist has been deceased for more than 70 years, therefore no copyright laws have been abused or broken.