I went to the Cantor Museum at Stanford a couple of weeks ago. Much of the current exhibits is modern or abstract art, which as usual I found largely ugly, unaffecting, or both. They have a lot of gems, though, and a whole bunch of Rodin sculptures, including twenty set outside in some pathways (further including the massive Gates of Hell, which I saw details of inside the building and was startled to find in its taller-than-me entirety outside). I never got Rodin before; previously, my primary thought about Rodin had been "lumpy". The first thing I saw in the room of smaller Rodin pieces, though, was The Age of Bronze (apparently Rodin didn't go in much for useful names, so don't read too much into it), his first famous sculpture. It breathes, like a sculpture by Michelangelo; not just an imitation or a description of life, but a life itself somehow. Rodin gave the sculptures passion...created them as static incarnations of passion. They convey feeling as any human being does.

I knew there had to be more there than "lumpy".

More jewelry work tonight--adventures in wire wrapping. Not that I'm doing it right, but the results aren't ugly, except for one ring which is nasty and I will cut it off and fuse a new one in. I'm using 28-gauge wire, which I don't recommend: an inch of wrapping almost exceeds my attention span. *smile*