#30Americans @joslynartmuseum Nick Cave's #soundsuits #art

Are you familiar to Nick Cave's work? It's pretty cool. I watched a documentary on him, on Amazon.

At Joslyn Art Museum they showed some of his work at a special show:

At the end of the show they had a craft for families:

I thought it was going to be really crafty, but then what I saw what they were doing with our crafts I was interested.

We were given a felt square, lots of foam pieces, and glitter glue.

Mine didn't turn out as good as Isaak's. I went with fall type colors.

Isaak went very 3D! The people up front really liked his!

What were we doing? We were part of a Soundsuit.

I wish I could have seen the mannequin fully covered!

It would be fun to make a Soundsuit for Halloween, but people may not know what it is. 

Have you seen Nick Cave's Soundsuits anywhere?

Random Tid Bits

1. Mica's going through yet another transitional time with growing up. He forgets about 4 snack bowls in his room (thankfully they were all empty). He has no interest in doing any extras. He's in Quiz Bowl - that's plenty in his mind. Gawd forbid he hang out with his cousins for a board game night and pizza, sign up for camps for the summer, or a special academy (Zoo or Health) that his school offers next year.
   
   He gets embarrassed by me at his school now. I've always been his cuddle person, and I'm goofy. Maybe he thinks I'm going to cuddle up with him in the cafeteria? Possibly he thinks I'm going to say something that puts him on the spot. I don't know what's going on in his head. Growing pains are hard!





2. We keep having storage units going up in Omaha. They have Biblical quotes that are demeaning, and they have the ugliest logo. Do you have this storage unit where you live? They are popping up all over. 





3. I knew it was supposed to snow on Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, but didn't know it was going to come down so hard. It snowed 5". We got a call that Mica got yet another snow day. Parking lots are actually smaller because there's no room for snow. 





4. I'm a bit obsessed about True Crimes lately. I think I've watched or listened to every video on Chris Watts. I like Tori Hartman's channel. I just listen to it, while I'm working on other things. I think that Watts case has hit me hard because it makes me realize that Travis thinks I'm nuts when I start going on and on about certain cases. 


5. Travis' chair design got accepting to this:




A mock up! Now he has to make the real thing!




Now he's ultra busy. He really doesn't want to hear about my interest in the Chris Watts case.

#30Americans @joslynartmuseum #art

My family went to a show this weekend at Joslyn Art Museum called 30 Americans. The museum is free to enter, but their special exhibits do cost money. They happened to have a special free weekend for the show. The show is up until May.

It's interesting...I gravitate to what looks good with color, pattern, texture, a focal point... My husband gravitates to what means more. If I think the piece isn't very aesthetically pleasing I don't even read the description.

Sorry about the glare, but I love the patterns and colors of these two!

A different artist, but still full of pattern and color!

The next piece is aesthetically pleasing, and gigantic!

Detail:

Out of the box thinking Soundsuits by Nick Cave!

These next ones have a lot of cool visual texture. It looks like a map, or cracks in the ground.

Detail:

Another Detail:

The next two are super organic - made of wood and fibers:

These are the images I couldn't get into. Do you ever feel this way about art? I think art is like music. Some pieces you like, some you don't. Same goes with food. Think of all the egg eaters out there...some people like them scrambled, some hard boiled, some soft boiled, some over easy, some poached and well you get the point. Certain pieces you can't get into. I try so hard to be open minded, but there are some pieces that either A) Don't make me feel anything, or B) Break the rules of art, and it their breaking the rules doesn't work.

The first one has a horrible composition. I hate how that bottom guy is chopped off.

The second one has a great message, but just lacks a focal point.

The last one was cool that it was a visual story, but looks like vinyl stickers on a wall, and not high end museum art to me.

Artist's in the Show:

Nina Chanel Abney (b. 1982, Chicago, IL); John Bankston (b. 1963, Benton Harbor, Ml); Jean-Michel Basquiat (b. 1960, Brooklyn, NY; d. 1988, New York, NY); Mark Bradford (b. 1961, Los Angeles, CA); Nick Cave (b. 1959, Jefferson City, MO); Robert Colescott (b. 1925, Oakland, CA; d. 2009, Tucson, AZ); Noah Davis (b. 1983, Seattle, WA; d. 2015, Los Angeles, CA); Leonardo Drew (b. 1961, Tallahassee, FL); Renée Green (b. 1959, Cleveland, OH); David Hammons (b. 1943, Springfield, IL); Barkley L. Hendricks (b. 1945, Philadelphia, PA; d. 2017, New London, CT); Rashid Johnson (b. 1977, Chicago, IL); Glenn Ligon (b. 1960, Bronx, NY); Kalup Linzy (b. 1977, Stuckey, FL); Kerry James Marshall (b. 1955, Birmingham, AL); Rodney McMillian (b. 1969, Columbia, SC); Wangechi Mutu (b. 1972, Nairobi, Kenya); Pope.L (b. 1955, Newark, NJ); Rozeal (b. 1966, Washington, D.C.); Gary Simmons (b. 1964, New York, NY); Xaviera Simmons (b. 1974, New York, NY); Lorna Simpson (b. 1960, Brooklyn, NY); Shinique Smith (b. 1971, Baltimore, MD); Henry Taylor (b. 1958, Oxnard, CA); Hank Willis Thomas (b. 1976, Plainfield, NJ); Mickalene Thomas (b. 1971, Camden, NJ); Kara Walker (b. 1969, Stockton, CA); Carrie Mae Weems (b. 1953, Portland, OR); Kehinde Wiley (b. 1977, Los Angeles, CA); Purvis Young (b. 1943, Miami, FL; d. 2010, Miami, FL).

The Oregon Trail #game @GoliathGamesUS Review

We've had many snow days this year. We refused to let our boys play video games and watch movies all day, every day.

Instead they typed up stories for a writing contest that the library puts on every year, and played board games. 

One fun pick: The Oregon Trail Game.

It took us two trial runs before we understood the game totally. Once we got it, it was so easy! 

The video on Pressman's site made it easier to set up and understand.

Game Pieces:

• 1 Game Board

• 48 Trail Tiles
• 32 Coins

• 1 Die

• 1 Hunting Stand
• Cards: 25 Hunting, 56 Calamities, 8 Wagon Upgrades, 8 Market Pieces

• 50 Small Supplies: 12 Pistols, 10 Compasses, 10 Medicine, 40 Meat

• 20 Large Supplies: 4 Shotguns, 6 Wagon Parts, 6 Winter Clothes, 4 Hitchhikers

• Player Pieces: 4 Wagons, 4 Boards, 4 Purple Family Members, 4 Yellow Family Members, 4 Red Family Members, 4 Blue Family Members

• Complete Instructions and Game Cards

Game Description:
 It's a survival game.

It’s 1844: You and your family have joined a wagon train in Independence, MO that is about to head to Willamette Valley to find your fortune in the West! Players will place tiles to discover the trails, rivers, forts, and towns ahead of them that they will move through to this new land. This scenic journey would almost be perfect… if it wasn’t for the disease, drowning, rattlesnakes and other hazards that will plague you along the way. You’ll need to hunt for food to avoid starvation, and with limited wagon space, you may need to choose between supplies and family members to keep moving along the trail. Until, eventually, you find yourself safe, in Willamette Valley. Relive your fond memories of one of the world’s most beloved computer games as you race your friends to victory in “The Oregon Trail: Journey to Willamette Valley.”

Players:

This game is for 2 to 4 players. It's for ages 14 and up, although Isaak is 10 1/2, and seemed to grasp the game.

Set Up:
  Mica watched the video, and set the game up. There are a lot of pieces. I can certainly understand why it's for ages 14 and up.

I had Dad join the boys to play a third game. Mica likes to make up rules, or change them to fit his best interest.

The look on Isaak's face says it all. Mica kept changing the rules to the game.

I stopped playing to make dinner. They are so funny to listen to!

Isaak: Aunt Angie would have died in the beginning of the game! There’s no room, for vegetarians.

Travis: You mean there’s no cannibalism? Back in the day they ate people when they were desperate!

Mica: Broke Out in Song, “Feed my family! I got some brothers and sisters with me!”

The card in the front of each player tells you the steps, so you don't forget anything. It's important to follow the steps. That's what we had problems with, with Mica. He forgot to do certain things, and wanted to go back to do them. We already had trial runs, so he knew how to play. Even though Isaak's younger he followed the rules pretty well. He did get sad when his people didn't get fed because he was out of money. That's kind of how the game works though. 

Overall it was fun! It wasn't a short, or long game. It did seem long because we played it 3 times. They got one game played in the time it took me to make dinner, and serve it. Probably about an hour. I did hear a lot of laughing. It was nostalgic for me. I used to play the game in grade school, on the computer. Travis never played it. He had a limited childhood. Ha!

Where to get it? 

Pick up this game at Target for $39.99.

Have you played any version of The Oregon Trail? 

Disclaimer: Pressmen sent me this game to help with this review. They in no way influenced what I wrote, or my opinions.

WW: $5 {Linky}

This may just look like a torn up piece of paper. It is. What you don't see is that there is a $5 bill taped to the bottom of it. 

Finder's Keepers Losers Weepers

I put it there to see how long it would take one of my family members to pick it up. 

My guess was that Isaak the 10 year old would pick it up first. 

Day 1, 2, 3 and 4 went by. The paper still existed. I even moved it out away from the sink. I was beginning to think no one would pick it up. 

I kept the trash empty, so that no one would throw it out on accident. 

Right as I was about to go to bed Travis said, "What is the fu@* is this?" He got out of the shower, and it stuck to his foot. He didn't even see it. Someone on facebook said, "It doesn't count if he didn't see it to pick it up." Well perhaps, but it was found at that time. 

When I told Isaak the next day he was so annoyed. He's like, "I saw that paper, and should have picked it up! I knew you were sweeping, so I left it be." 

Mica's always in his own world, so I wouldn't think he'd pick it up. 

The idea wasn't totally an original one. I did find it online. I figured why not give it a go? It was fun.