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Adventures in New York, Part Two

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When I first heard the term "jet lag" years ago, I had never been on a plane and I had also recently finished watching "West Side Story," so in my head, I'm picturing dance-fighting gangsters with leg problems. The flight to New York wasn't bad; only four hours. But I was so exhausted every night of the National Sculpture Society Celebration conference that I would crash on my soft bed with giant pillows and dream until morning. Mike would wake up energized and ready to go each morning, and I would drag myself out of that comfy bed and pray that breakfast would make me feel just as energized.

Carnegie Hall, kiddie-corner from Park Central Hotel.
Yay breakfast! Friday morning we found a cute coffee shop that served giant muffins, creamy oatmeal, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. The best part? It was right next to the hotel (which is also kiddie-corner from Carnegie Hall. Awesome!). After scarfing down this deliciousness I did feel better, and I followed Mike back down to the ballroom for the second day of the conference. At first, I was skeptical that this would be interesting. Or that I would be able to stay awake at all. Imagine my surprise when I was fascinated through the panels, that I found the booths informative, and that I took time to admire the demonstrations. Fascinated! 

Michelangelo's David
At the very beginning they held a short meeting, which was followed by a panel about abstraction in realism. I had heard Mike talk briefly about this before, about how Michelangelo had changed his figures, somewhat distorting reality, in order to make them more interesting and beautiful. These artistic choices and licenses taken by sculptors add or take away tension, drama, and intrigue. One of the panelists also discussed the golden mean, along with several other rectangles, and the geometry that is consistently used and found in art. As a left-brained by-stander, here was a subject I could understand. And, the best yet, we heard from a man who spoke about the language we use with art, about the power of words. My English-major self woke up and buzzed with excitement. Everyone had relevant and vital information to share. 

One of the awesome big rocks in Central Park
Before lunch we went for a walk in Central Park. Did I mention before that it was hot? And muggy? Ugh. Anyway, we rejected the street vendor food and decided to get lunch back at the hotel again. Park Central Hotel, by the way, has this great little market in the front that sells pretty good food. I had a roast-vegetable vegetarian sandwich, and it was so good! 

Sculptors at work at the Sculpture Celebration Conference 2017
Back in the Ballroom, four seasoned professionals were sketching models in clay. It's fun to watch people work when you know they've been doing it for a long time. It's like they've learned all these tricks to make their work easier/better/more fun. The second panel included four more artists who talked about their careers, including pivotal points, mistakes they'd made, and advice for professional sculptors. They all had fascinating stories, from becoming airline pilots to working on farms before they were able to focus solely on their sculpture.

More sculptors at work, National Sculpture Society Conference 2017
We had a nice break from 4 to 6:30, during which I took a short nap and then ironed clothes before I could try and make my hair look decent. By the way, I am from a dry climate, so this New York humidity turned my hair into a wavy, frizzy mess. I had hair glossing polish with me, but it didn't seem to be enough. After fruitlessly trying to straighten previously mentioned hair, Mike and I went back down to the lounge where we met more fascinating people, including more board members, family associated with the National Sculpture Society, and - probably obviously - sculptors. People came from all over, from Maryland to California, from Montana to Texas. After "mingling" for an hour, we were sent back to the ballroom, which had transformed into a lovely dining experience. I loaded my plate with things like arugula blue-cheese salad, steak, roasted potatoes, and these delightful fruit and cream tarts with strawberries or kiwis. 

Enjoying Dinner
And the rest of the story, the awards presentation and the Central Park Zoo on Sunday, will be relived in "Adventures in New York, Part Three." Coming Soon!



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