the safety of pencils

I played hooky yesterday.

I was here at the shop for a total of one hour before my mom called to let me know that she was taking my dad and my grandmother to see the Georgia O'Keeffe/Arthur Dove collection at The Clark before the run ended. No brainer, right? Yes, yes, call me irresponsible and a bad business owner, but what would you have done? I'm not making excuses for myself here because I had a wonderful time, and I just need a day away from the shop every now and then. It was worth every second. The collection was sweet although a bit small, and I was re-introduced to Arthur Dove in a way that's much more meaningful than thumbing through his work in a textbook.

Whenever I venture into a museum or a gallery, I take a notebook and a pen with me and jot down notes, titles, sometimes a sketch or two...whatever. I find myself flipping through these same notebooks years later only to find these little blurbs. Sometimes they don't make sense, but sometimes they bring back pleasant memories and provide me with the opportunity to look up some of the art referenced in my notes. It's nice to rediscover treasures you may have forgotten about. I'm amazed at some of the things I've seen in my lifetime and have since totally forgotten about. This may sound like a great idea and all, but it actually works out to be a terrible pain in the ass and I don't know why I even bother, really. People will knock you over while trying to look over your shoulder to see what you're writing. Security gives you the hairy eyeball. Not fun.

Anyway, I had my little moleskine notebook with me this time around and a rather Lurchey-looking guard quite loudly confronted me about my pen. I was lectured on the fact that pens are not allowed in The Clark and he proceeded to hand me a pencil. Seriously. Too much damage can be done with a pen, apparently, but a pencil, well, safe as kittens. I still don't get it, but I find it funny that such a big scene was made out of my ball point pen. Precisely the reason why I don't venture into The Clark very often. It's a beautiful place that provides the opportunities to see priceless works of art for a nominal fee, but I feel like I'm being stalked while I'm wandering through the galleries.

Nevertheless, it was a great day. The trees in the Berkshires are changing color already, some of them already fully dressed in a brilliant scarlet shade, some of them already dropping leaves to the ground. Such a weird year we're having. Still, the trees were my favorite part of the entire trip, and the birches on the grounds of The Clark were breathtaking.

Oh, and P.S. the O'Keeffe/Dove exhibit is up through the 7th of this month. Get there fast and be sure to arm yourselves only with the safety of pencils!