Exploring Georgia O'Keeffe

For those who are unaware, we are part of a classical education based program called Classical Conversations.  It's something we use in addition to our Montessori base as a compliment.  As part of our CC cycle, we are studying American artists.  Recently, we studied the work of Georgia O'Keeffe.

The children each worked on an art project at our community meeting.  In William's class, they observed flowers and painted them; reminiscent of the floral work O'Keeffe is known for.

Here is his finished project.

But the fun didn't stop there.  An art museum within driving distance was showcasing some of her work and our fabulous leadership planned a field trip.

To be perfectly honest, the thought of taking my clan to an art museum made me a little nervous.  Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how accommodating the staff was.  We brought a large group with a majority of the children being on the younger end of the spectrum.

The lobby was filled with art designed to be realized by the public.  In other words, there was supplies and an example picture.  It was up to us to recreate it.  Everyone gave it a try.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take any photos inside the exhibit.  As you can imagine, the works were closely guarded.  I did take one lovely shot of before we entered.  The photography of  Georgia O'Keeffe throughout the exhibit was breathtaking.

We were paired with a fantastic guide who went into great detail with the older children.  I was curious to see Elora's reaction since she's my self-professed artist.  The results did not disappoint.  She stayed deeply engaged for the entire tour; asking many questions.  What surprised me the most was the reaction of the little guy.  He wanted to get up close to everything which wasn't an appropriate behavior.  It was tricky.  He was hysterical at points because he so desperately wanted to see everything.  I was limited in indulging him and he didn't understand why.  There were a few moments where I was able to hold him so he could get a satisfying look.  He would tell me about the colors he saw and other details he liked.  Neither of us are used to that type of power struggle so it was, um, interesting.  But we made it and I'm thankful we had the opportunity.  :-)

The exhibit we saw is touring so if you have an opportunity to visit it on another stop, I highly recommend it.


After our official tour, we were taken to a family friendly area.  

Everyone certainly had their creative juices flowing.  There was a lot of art happening.

We learned about Robert Indiana.  The boys each created something inspired by his work.  Can you tell who made what?

Elora had her portrait recreated with dots, a style called Pointillism.

And if there's one thing I loved about the museum, it's that every last detail was beautiful in some way.

This structure spread several floors.

Even the corridor to the parking garage was a display.

I do hope to go back sooner than later.  I'll probably wait a few more years before I take the littlest into a highly guarded exhibit but there were plenty of other things we could explore there.