Nature of Light -- Take 2

 Stacy reached out to me asking me if I wanted to go to Nature of Light at the Paine Art Center with her family. I asked the hubby if he wanted to go even though it wasn't really his thing. He agreed. After a dinner at 1890, we headed to the Paine Art Center.

The is the second installment of Nature of Light an immersive installment of art and light that is both inside and outside of the Paine Art Center. It runs from August 1 to October 26 and tickets are $30/adults for both inside and outside. Parking is always an adventure at the Paine as the lot is not very good. We snagged  a spot in the lot but Stacy parked a few blocks away. 

Our time was 7:10. They are pretty good at getting you in on time. If you have the combo ticket, you start inside. We did the inside and outside option this year. 

Inside only the main floor of the mansion was part of the exhibit. The volunteer gave us instructions and said not to spin the sculpture in the main room or you will get dizzy. Even the gentle spinning of the prism was too much for the hubby. 

Each room featured a different prism. They all left pretty designs in the room they were in. 

After we finished the inside portion, we headed outside and followed the designed route around the mansion. It was more organized this year than it was first time. 

It was all pretty much the same but still quite fun. Even the hubby had fun.

The only downside was you had to watch the light show to continue to the second half of it. We were able to catch the tail end of it so we could join the crowd to the other side. Stacy watched the entire 7 minute show. 

The designs in the second half were great. It was full of color.

The night was chilly but it was still a nice evening. If you get a chance, check out Nature of Light if comes to location near you. 

Closing Exhibit at The Trout

 The Trout Museum of Art is moving from it's current location at the Houdini Plaza down the road near Lawrence University. Since they plan to open in the new location in October, they had to close the current location in order to pack everything up and move it down the road. They had a closing exhibit, free to the public. 

Since it was free, I wanted to go and I convinced Danielle to come with me. 

The final exhibit was called A Creative Place. It is, according the Trout Website "With a range of mediums, styles, and themes, this exhibition explores how local artists have responded to distinct cultural and environmental influences."

The exhibit was mainly paintings. A lot of them were boring -- small town America paintings. They are just not my type of art.

My favorite was the one that reminded me of Red from Shawshank Redemption. 

The random black circle was odd. I could do that.

The random cows were also a favorite even if the background was unusual.

I did like the statues even if they were completely random.

I kind of felt of place. It was full of artsy people most of them dressed up. We definitely were not dressed up. We browsed the exhibit navigating around people just chatting. I guess I am not cut out to rub elbows with art people. I will stick to baseball games.

I can't wait for the new museum to open. Stay tuned for another post later this year about the new Trout. 

6026. Go to the John Michael Kohler Art Preserve in Sheboygan

 Andrea always said we should go to the Kohler Art Preserve on one of our adventures. Since it was a while since I made a trip to Sheboygan, I decided it was time to have some shenanigans with Andrea. The Art Preserve was going to the main adventure.

The John Michael Kohler Art Preserve, not to be confused with the John Michael Kohler Art Center, is located on the western edge of Sheboygan. It is open Tuesday-Sunday starting at 9 am each day. It stays open late on Thursdays otherwise it closes by 5 during the week and 4 on weekends. Admission is free and there is plenty of parking.

The Art Preserve was built to house the Art Centers collection of artists' works. It is an experimental design space. On the second and third floors you can see where and how they store this collection. 

Since I like sculptures and 3D pieces, this was my kind of art museum. There were a lot of sculptures and other 3D pieces. Some of it quite interesting.

This house was actually in Sheboygan and was moved to this building to help preserve it. It is covered in sparkles, bits of paper, and bits of shininess.  It is actually really cool. I am glad they were able to preserve it. Andrea was very happy to see it. 

When in Sheboygan, one must check out the bathrooms. These did not disappoint and were also works of art. 

The elevator was large enough to lay down in or spin. It even had seating in it. 

The walk through display with all the hanging displays was another highlight. The artist used foil and wine to make stunning displays that reflect light.

The Art Preserve is quite stunning and definitely work checking out even if you just go to check out the bathrooms. It is 3 floors of unique art creations. It is definitely a hidden gem. 

The Nature of Light Fun

 When Stacy text me and asked if I wanted to go to Nature of Light Exhibit at the Paine Art Center and Garden, I didn't even hesitate. However between COVID and our vacation, the fun had to wait a week. I missed book club to make this work.

The Nature of Light: An Exploration After Dark is a indoor and outdoor exhibit at the Paine that runs through October. Tickets are $16/$20 an adult depending on the day of the week for the outside exhibit only or $21/$27 for both inside and outside exhibits. Since we went before September 9th, we got preview admission rates and it was only $8 for the outside which we did or $14 for the inside and outside exhibit. Reservations are required which made it a bit more difficult to fit in once COVID struck Stacy's house since there needed availability and we just got lucky there was a spot open before the preview ended.

Nature of Light is an exhibit HYBYCOZO Sculptures that are light up with various lights. It is very interactive. You can gently spin the sculptures to cast the lights around. 

Some you can walk in.

There are 36 sculptures places throughout the gardens. You can go through the gardens how many times you like as the darker it gets, the brighter the lights become. We managed to go through once and if the kids didn't need to go to school the next day, we might have gone around again.

The kids really enjoyed it. 

It is a spectacular display of lights that is fun for the whole family. It takes about an hour to go through the exhibit. The timed entry really does help control the people. If you can snag some tickets before it ends, do it. It is definitely worth checking out.