Paradise Lost and Gathering Storm

I love being in close proximity to the arts.  It's one of the main reasons I choose to live where I do.  Walking distance to plays, galleries and museums.  There's always something going on, it's just a matter of figuring out what to do.  What to do.

On Friday, I attended Intiman Theatre's production of Paradise Lost.  I absolutely loved it.  The cast was wonderful.  The set design was interesting.  The walls were translucent and ephemeral.  To me, showing the illusive nature of the structures we live in.  Perhaps it's what happens within those walls, and not the walls themselves that matter.

For a script written in 1935, its themes hold strong to today's audience.  History repeats itself and humans do as humans do.  The run time of two and a half hours flew by.  I highly recommend checking it out. 

On Saturday, I had the wonderful opportunity of hearing my neighbor, Wendy Simons, on her 4th tour as a docent at the Seattle Art Museum.  She is currently giving tours of the African and Aboriginal sections of the permanent collection.  We got there a little late, so only saw the Australian art - and honestly, that was enough to take in.

I was really struck by Lin Onus' Gathering Storm.  Wendy spoke about his time observing eucalyptus groves in the Barmah Forest.  In a culture that overuses cliché words related to the environment, she spoke of the possible intention of sustaining the dreaming.  The dreaming is a fascinating view of creation.  It was a nice twist on environmentalism that resonated with me.

It's a blessing to be surrounded by creative people.  I've been to SAM many times, but hearing Wendy talk about art with such passion helped me connect with what I was seeing.  I'm excited to go back and glean more insight from her at the museum.  Looking forward to Warhol and Picasso.