Denver Art Museum

 We took an adventure to the Denver Art Museum today!  The rain was horrific to drive in, but we made it in good time and beat the crowds!  Thanks to a recent generous gift to the museum, the DAM is free for children under the age of 18, so we were excited to cash in on that deal!  (Only 3 of us had been to the museum before, myself, Jordyn and Oriana, so it was a new experience for most of us)
We were also excited to see John DeAndrea's piece Linda, which has been in storage for 6 years and was out for a limited showing (2 months only).  Because of the materials she is made out of, she needs to be in a very climate controlled environment, so it was a treat to see her!

 The girls were a little surprised at first by the nudity...it didnt even occur to me to prepare them for that, but once they really started looking at her, they were very impressed with the details and how real she looked....goosebumps and all, and they sort of forgot that she was nude.

 She really is an amazing sculpture...and a favorite piece at the DAM.  When i used to volunteer there, people would ask about Linda all the time, "Where's Linda?", to which i would have to explain, "Linda isnt aging well and has to remain in a climate controlled environment most of the time".

 Of course, one of the reasons she was on display was to compliment a new exhibit by the artist of two new pieces, "Clothed Artist and Model"...

 and "Nude With Black Drape", which is a painted bronze and was gorgeous in person (sorry about the blurry photo).  The girls really enjoyed this special exhibit (at the end of the day, several girls chose Linda as their favorite piece in the museum), and we spent a lot of time here....then we were off to check out the contemporary gallery.

 Sandy Skoglund's Fox Games was a big hit with the girls, and they enjoyed walking through this very red installation!  This became a favorite to many of the girls too!

 The other favorite, was this doll house piece titled, "Night Hunter" by Stacey Steers.  You really have to see it in person to appreciate it. There are several rooms with mini screens playing a film by Stacey Steers, and there are all kinds of furniture, eggs, butterflies, and other symbolic things to rouse your curiosity.  Some kids thought it was a bit creepy, but that's what made it so fascinating!

 There was a cool kids craft by the Steers piece too, where the girls got to draw their own ideas inside of a doll house.  They came up with some creative things to draw, and had a lot of fun doing it.

 Then we were off to enjoy more art...

 This interactive room was a great place to get the wiggles out while also enjoying some art!

 The girls are being threatened by these giant knives!  :)

We were getting hungry so it was time for some lunch!  We had made reservations at the Pints Pub, and they had it all set up for us when we arrived!  We had the whole top floor to ourselves which was nice, so we all relaxed and enjoyed some wimpys and fries :)

 Then we walked back to the Denver Art Museum (which you can see in the background of this shot) and continued on our adventure!

 One of the great things about the DAM is the interactive stuff for children.  They really make this place kid friendly so that everyone has a good time!  They have costumes, seek and finds, places for the kids to write, draw and sculpt, and headsets for listening, you name it, they have it!  I love coming here, and i think the girls did too!

This was a neat watercolor piece titled "Branding Arrangement".  Be sure to click on it to see it on a larger scale.  After we enjoyed the western art, the girls hammed it up on a saddle, and made postcards with western stamps.

 Did i mention it was Dia de los Ninos....Childrens Day?!?  There were numerous performances of dancers from all cultures and they were amazing!  We stopped to enjoy some of the fun, but we wanted to see all that we could, so we headed to the top floor of the old building, and made our way down, floor by floor!  

We made it...and only an hour behind schedule, but what a blast!  The kids were tired, the parents were tired, but we all had a great time!  Thank you to all my volunteers for offering to chaperone and drive on such a terrible day (yes, the drive home was just as rainy and hideous as the drive there), but it was totally worth it!  I hope you all had a great time!