Adventures with Sarah: Wichita Art Museum

Meet my best friend, Sarah Graham. I introduced her on the blog a while back, but she's been absent on here for way too long. That's why a new series called 'Adventures with Sarah' was created: to document all of the crazy adventures we have together over the next year and a half before graduation. A goal of mine has been to blog more lifestyle pieces, and AWS is going to be a stepping stone in that direction.

Last week, our art classes took a field trip to visit several museums. I have never been a talented artist, but decided to try painting this year and step outside of my comfort zone. While doing so, I dragged Sarah along with me. Learning to draw together has been challenging interesting and really helped develop Sarah and I's friendship. We've been able to laugh together as well as support and encourage one another, all while discussing The Bachelor with our teacher, Mrs. Savage. We loaded our big yellow school bus and started our day!

Our first stop was to visit the Karg Art Glass Gallery in Kechi.

We were able to observe the men working in the shop and watch them make several pieces. They were very patient with our group and made it look so effortless! While they work with the glass, it must be heated between 1000º-2000º.

Afterwards, we browsed around the shop. I ended up purchasing a cute little deer figurine, because let's face it-- I can't resist miniature woodland creatures ;)

We hit the road again and continued on to Wichita where we visited the Wichita Art Museum. It was my first time visiting and I fell in love! We only had an hour to walk through which proved to be very little time in the massive gallery. My group toured the Gordon Parks and Freedom Now exhibits, which were both centered around the Civil Rights Movement. It was here that I learned the first sit-in actually took place in Wichita, but isn't as widely recognized because it wasn't covered by the press. Gordon Parks was a highly-renowned African-American photographer for LIFE Magazine who's mission was to shine a light on the way blacks were being treated. He once said this:

"I saw that the camera could be used as a weapon against poverty, against racism - against all sorts of social wrongs. I knew at one point I had to have a camera." -Gordon Parks

We also toured through the museum's collection they have on display year round. This glass sculpture, created by Dale Chihuly, hangs as the center of attention in the heart of the museum. It weighs as much as an SUV!

Soon after saying our goodbyes, we went out for lunch. If you didn't text Chipotle last week and get your free burrito, you definitely missed out. Sarah and I's go-to spot is usually Panera, but we decided to switch it up a bit.

We concluded our day by visiting the Scholastic Art Awards Exhibit at the Wichita Center for the Arts. Several of our classmates had pieces featured here as well! It was inspiring to see some of the gorgeous artwork people our age were creating. Here are a few of my favorites:

'All Organic' by Isabella Rausch, El Dorado

'Lyin' In A Pink Room' by Cassie Miller, El Dorado

'Ballerina's Melody' by Isabella Terrill, Maize

And of course, we couldn't resist the temptation of stopping by Cold Stone Creamery on the way home! Sarah gets Oreo Overload, and I get Cake Batter with Heath Bar and extra caramel. We're such regulars and creatures of habit that we know what we want before we step through the door, haha!

Soon, it was back to the real world. We got back to school just in time to get our English assignment and make up a math quiz.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a happy Wednesday, and check back soon for more Adventures with Sarah :)

His Biblical Beauty,

Paige