On the spur of the moment this past weekend, we decided to check out the China Lights exhibit at the Boerner Botantial Gardens. Oh my. It was something.
First, it was super inspiring and beyond gorgeous. The lights were artistic and reflected the Chinese culture and also encouraged you to look beyond yourself to the beauty that exists in nature.
But it was also crowded. Like… overcrowded. So that was a negative.
However, in keeping my eyes on the ground to avoid stroller wheels and wheelchairs and other things that would trip me up in that crowded space, I found a $5 bill. LOL! So we bought sodas for the ride home with that. Proving once again that when there is negative, there is always something positive right around the corner.
The exhibit starts off with a beautiful display that welcomes you in. It makes you feel instantly transported to another world and even perhaps another time.
This multicolored yellow bridge helped move us further into the lights.
I had no idea how to dress, so I added layers and layers and layers! I even had a hat and gloves somewhere tucked on me. It turned out to be a pretty nice evening so I didn’t need any of that.
I loved the variety of colors, and especially liked that they kept your eye moving. There were lights and flowers above you and next to you and behind you, so you could fall into the illusion that you were in a different world. These are the types of events I most enjoy as an artist, because they help me discover ways to include these immersive elements in my own art in my own way.
I especially liked that this theme continued with every piece of the exhibit, from the colors to the movement to the subject matter.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the colors and lights for a long time afterward. I think I might have even dreamed of them later that night! I thought about the kind of art it might inspire me to do or the glass sculptures I might want to create. That is why art, all kinds of it, is so important. It inspires you to do new things.
One of my favorite parts of the night was a bridge with flowers and lanterns. The lanterns came first and made way for flowers overhead next. I liked that your eye was encouraged to travel with these light exhibits overhead. Most of the night we moved very slowly, even stopping at points, because of the crowd. But on that bridge I didn’t mind, the lights and atmosphere kept my soul filled up and happy.
