The winter solstice has come and gone and days are gradually getting longer but those of us who live in the North realize that although the journey towards spring has begun, in reality winter has just started to take hold. Today we woke up to -25 degree wind chills in Nebraska.
Our warmth, for the next few months, will be found inside our homes, and looking more deeply, from within our hearts.
Warmth in the hope that the birth of Jesus has just brought into our lives.
Warmth in the communities we belong to.
Or perhaps simply the warmth that comes from within when we happen upon something that makes us smile.
Public art is one of those things for me. The majority of our population won’t voluntarily walk through the doors of an art museum but when a city invests its resources in bringing art out of those buildings and into the public domain it exposes the public to something that might change them. Or at least cause them to see the world a bit differently.
I happened upon the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park in Des Moines, Iowa this past weekend and fell in love. The panoramic awareness pavilion is an interactive piece by Olafur Elisasson, one that requires the observer to walk inside to truly experience the entire scope of the sculpture. Standing water and muck at the entrance made it difficult navigate and I almost settled on just viewing it from the outside but my curiosity got the better of me and I was amply rewarded for the mud that ended up on my shoes.
This piece changed with each step I took within its walls as the light, air and space shifted around me. This is what I encountered on the warm end of the color spectrum:
I would be remiss if I didn’t leave you with other images from the area:
May you also, in the midst of your winter, find things that keep you warm!
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