To New Orleans and Back

My mom, oldest sister, and I just recently vacationed to New Orleans to visit my middle sister.  Along the way we stopped in Tallahassee and Pensacola, FL, and Biloxi, MS.  Here are pictures from that visit.

Banana's Foster at Landry's Seafood, Pensacola, FL

Mom, me, and Lynn at Landry's Seafood

Soaking my feet in the Gulf at Pensacola Beach

Pensacola Beach

Mom and me soaking in the sun.

Biloxi, MS along Hwy 90

The George Ohr and Georgia O'Keefe Museum of Art 

We wanted to drive along the coast without feeling rushed, so we stopped in Tallahassee, FL to eat some lunch and I dragged everyone to Florida State's Museum of Fine Art and to their Ceramics facilities.  (I went there thinking that I had seen an exhibition at NCECA Tampa with their student work, but it was actually Florida Atlantic Univ., which is in Boca Raton...just a little distance from where we were.  So while it was interesting to see, it wasn't what I expected.)  Then we were on to Pensacola, where we spent the night.  Going through Biloxi, I discovered a fantastic treasure-The George Ohr and Georgia O'Keefe Museum of Art, https://www.georgeohr.org/Default.aspx  Unfortunately, it was too late for us to visit, but the architecture alone was amazing.

We finally arrived to New Orleans...

My first true beignet at the Cafe Du Monde.

Lake Pontrachain

Lake Pontrachain

Me being excited about liquor at Target.

A morning jog along a levee.

A morning jog along a levee with Lake Pontrachain in the background.

My middle sister at our second visit to Cafe Du Monde.

The French Market in the French Quarter.

The Presbytere.

The Cabildo.

New Orleans was a great experience.  I feel like I will need to go back to fully experience it all because it is such a diverse city...perhaps a Mardi Gras trip needs to be arranged?!?  :)  There was so much to see and do that there was no way we could get it all accomplished in the short time we were there.  There was also the fact that they were still recovering from Isaac.  Power was out in parts of the town, but these people are so resilient that there were city workers cleaning up the streets on Labor Day.  Things started to get up and running by the time we were about to leave (another regret was not getting to see the New Orleans Museum of Art, but they didn't have electricity).

I knew that since I was this close, that I had to visit LSU and check out their graduate facilities.  We day tripped to Baton Rouge, and I was honestly expecting more culture and charm from the city (much like I experience in New Orleans), but it was strictly a business district downtown.  We did go see their Louisiana Museum of Science and Art (kinda disappointing), but their Old State Capitol Building was incredible.

Old State Capitol Building, Baton Rouge, LA

Then we went to Louisiana State University's Ceramic Department.  It was spacious yet slightly dilapidated (seeing as I'm used to SCAD's renovations and aesthetic). Ceramics clearly dominated the Fine Arts building, which was unusual for me to see (AND exhilarating).  Their kiln room was packed with a variety of kilns (think huge room with at most 4-5ft of space between each).  Overall, it was interesting to see, but gah, it was HOT. The sticky, damp heat that you can't escape in the shade and that makes it hard to breathe.  That was the dominating factor that made me decide that I am pretty sure (89% at least) that I would not be attending LSU for grad school.  It may seem superficial, but the entire environment of the campus didn't seem to promote my creative spirit (including the heat).

Heading back home was quicker than it was going because I needed to get back and work in my studio.  Another post will soon follow!