Art Appreciation Time!!!

It was just over 7 years ago when I moved to New York City. A single girl, full of ambition, ready to change the world - but not sure how.  This city's is a beautiful, enigmatic and intoxicating place, but it's not always easy to live here. Sometimes I'd get swallowed up in the "busy" pace of life - just trying to keep my head above water and losing focus of who I was and what I felt my life was suppose to be. I had two places I would ecape to in order to regroup.

One was St. Patrick's Cathedral.
 I'd savor the somberness while sitting alone in a creaky pew. Sometimes I'd listen to the organist practice for an upcoming mass, sometimes I'd over hear whispered conversations of tourists taking pictures in the back. I'd sit and think, read and sometimes doze off.

But there was something about the vastness of those ornate ceilings, the artistry in those stain glass windows and the hushed murmers of fervent prayers all around that helped me remember who I was.

The other place was the Met (the Metropolitan Museum of Art).  I still haven't exhausted that place and I've visited over a dozen times. My problem is during one of my first visits, I met her.  And every subsequent visit, I make it a point to see her again.  

No matter how determined I am to check out a different exhibit, I always find myself wandering - like there's a homing device in my brain - towards European Paintings and then towards gallery #800.  And there she is - larger than life, in breathtaking scale:

This is Jules Bastien-Lepage's famous "Joan of Arc" and man oh man, the internet does not do her justice.  She's magnificent. From her smooth forehead to her dirty toes.

Even without direct eye contact, just looking at her reminds me to shake off petty things that can consume my life, to take chances, to dare to dream. Something about her crystal clear figure in the midst of impressionistic images whispers to me "Remember who you are. Don't get lost in the noise."

If you're ever in the City, she is absolutely worth a visit. Just let me know, I'd be happy to introduce you.