Today was a full day in sunny Seattle--full of sunshine and arts experiences! We began our day at Caffe Ladro where we sipped house crafted chai, Venetians (mochas with orange zest), and various other espresso drinks, all handcrafted by Christian's son--a reminder that our Overlake world is very small indeed! We then wandered over to the Seattle Art Museum where we were treated to a tour of Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic, a touring exhibit from the Brooklyn Museum. One of the SAM docent educators taught us that Kehinde Wiley selects people from the streets of Brooklyn to be his subjects, painting them with a likeness to famous portraits. Their poses are based on historical paintings of society women by Jacques-Louis David, Thomas Gainsborough, and John Singer Sargent, among others, and all have strikingly vivid backgrounds that look like ornate wallpaper. The dresses featured on the models are handmade by Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy, who was specifically commissioned by Kehinde Wiley for this series of paintings. The resulting paintings in An Economy of Grace are a celebration of black women and culture. Here is a link to a video on the making of An Economy of Grace:
http://www.pbs.org/video/2365311240/
After touring the SAM, we headed to the food court at Westlake where we ran into the Athletics and Community group--again, small world-- as we sampled teriyaki, chow mein, falafel, French fries, and, of course, Auntie Anne's Pretzels. While our morning fed our souls, our afternoon fed our stomachs, and we followed lunch with a Tom Douglas cooking class at the Hot Stove Society in the Andra Hotel. Chef Bridgette Charters taught us how to make fettuccini pasta from scratch which we tossed with a lovely alfredo sauce seasoned with lemon zest, parsley, and parmesan. During our cooking class, we learned the efficient way to slice an onion using the squaring method, the importance of adding salt to pasta water, and the technique of twirling pasta with tongs for proper plating. As we walked out into the brilliant sunshine and beautiful nearly 70 degree March weather, our bellies, hearts, and minds were full from our day of arts experiences.
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