Torpedo gallery

One of the other things we did in D.C. was seeing the Torpedo Factory. Way bsck in the day, the building used to make torpedoes. Nowadays, however, it’s part art gallery, part artists studio.

On the whole, the artists were very talented. My favorite sculpture was this wood piece with the funny mushroom heads.

Sadly, I don’t have the artist’s name. I havehotos of the names on doors, but I don’t remember who’s name went with which art. It’s really bad of me, I know. I’ll have to be more diligent about that next time.

Chris really liked this piece.

I would have gotten it for him had it been remotely in my price range. This piece was $3,000. I looked for smaller pieces and found a few tiles. The artist wanted $400+ for a 8″x8″ tile. Chris didn’t like the tile that much. So we left it at that.

I also really liked this painting.

Also out of my price range! I did, however find an artist that sold her paintings as post cards and note cards, so Chris bought a couple of those for me. They were close-ups of flowers. I think that artists should have products that are affordable. If no one saw your work, how can the appreciate them?

There were quite a few fabric artists, which I don’t get. They just seemed like they either dyed silk or were clothing designers. None of them seemed particularly high fashion or artsy. One looked like Suzie Homemaker, and yet another one looked like they were crafting items via tutorials on YouTube. They weren’t weaving great tapestries of landscapes or even creating clothes that represent the beauty/love/hate/ugliness in the world. They were just boring. And some of the jewelry designers looked like they just stuck precious gems onto settings.

I don’t know if I just expect more out of artists, or maybe I’m jaded. But none of the jewelers or the fabric artists wowed me. And maybe those genres of art just aren’t my thing, I wonder how much of the art they sell.

The factory also offers art classes at relatively affordable prices. I would definitely take them if I lived close enough. I definitely suggest a visit if you’re in the area. Admission is free. Not alll the artists were in residence, so you couldn’t see what they offered close up. But all the studios have windows, so you can at least see what they’re about and come back if they interested you. It’s a nice way of spending a lazy day.

And I leave you with another sculpture. Maybe I just like the big heads.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Crossposted to Samantha Ling, Dreamwidth and Livejournal

It’s a small world

I bought a iPad game called small world. It’s based off a board game that was highly rated. Though I haven’t played the board game, from what I can tell, the iPad version is like the board game except with bugs. Some abilities didn’t count towards the conquering of other races.

The iPad version only allows two players whereas the board game does four, but that’s not an issue for us. I mainly bought the game so we’d have something to do while we were waiting around for something or other.

Well, Chris is enjoying the game immensely and wants to play the game even while we’re not waiting for something or other. So I’m wondering if any of you have any suggestions for games similar to this game, preferably on the iPad. Or just any suggestion for 2 player games on or off the iPad. We have several board games for 3 or more, but there’s currently justChris and me, so two player games are what we’re looking for. Thanks!

Crossposted to Samantha Ling, Dreamwidth and Livejournal