A Happy Birthday, A little further a long and Spring break. 3-27-09

First, Happy Birthday Tigger... My sweet Tigger is 7 today. He is getting special treats all day long and of course my other two greys are sharing. Second..This week is spring break. With the three kids home, my hubby and I have been playing Entertainment directors. You would think that at 16 and almost 14 (the twins) that sleep would be a good thing. No, my poor under privileged children are bored. We have taken them on day trips which have included hitting the mall and that has helped some. In the same breath, I need my own personal vacation! No art work has happened all week. Yesterday we hit the Field Museum in downtown Chicago. My oldest could earn extra credit in her Spanish class (which she is getting a D in) if she visited one of the special exhibits there. We decided it would be a great learning experience for everyone and hit a very special exhibit on the Aztec culture, called the Aztec World. The exhibit had many artifacts from Tenochtitlan and it's sister city of Tlatelolco. I have been to see the Pyramid of the Sun and Moon and the Avenue of the Dead. I was there in 1978 just as archaeologists discovered one of the most important finds ever...the Templo Major. Anyway, the exhibit takes the viewer through the entire history of the great Aztec empire, from its origins, to it's demise at the hands of the Spanish. We learned about daily life, warfare, the societal structure, and religion. One of the most interesting things for me was seeing what is currently going on down in Mexico City. The excavations of the Zocalo (the major plaza, if you will, located in the heart of Mexico City) are going on in earnest. It is amazing what they have unearthed there. And I would think this excavation is a bit tricky because the National Cathedral sits over this site. Regardless, to have discovered the major religious site of the Aztecs is incredible. I hope we can see more of the unearthed treasures from the Templo Major as they are discovered. I learned more about the Aztec at this little day trip than I did when I was at the actual sites back in 1978! I took this photo at the museum. I am not sure about copyright here but I place it on my blog for educational purposes only. Please do not use it. My gut feeling is that the Field Museum would not be too happy about that.

Third...Here is what little I did on my latest (last weekend). This is simply a roughed in drawing of the figure. The background will no doubt change quite a bit as the picture evolves. Facial features are lightly sketched in. I want these features to be delicate and innocent rather than over exaggerated as some of my portraits have. Not sure if I will be successful. The face does not have to be highly detailed just suggestive. The work looks really busy right now but that will for sure change. Kids will be back in school next week but alas, I have filled my 2 days off with errands!

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