I’ve got
two little wildlings, Otis and Theo. We spend a lot of quality time together as
a group, but it’s incredibly rare that I get to have one-on-one time with either
one of them. So the other day, upon realizing that Otis had class and Theo’s
school was closed, I decided to take Theo on a special adventure-- just the two
of us. I toyed with the idea of journeying up to the mountains for a hike near
Kenosha Pass, but then decided it would be fun to stay in the city and put on our
explorer caps since we have plans to see fall foliage for the next three
weekends…
Of course I had to seize the moment and catch
up on some overdue appointments too, so before we took off on our local
adventure, I took Theo to the doctor for a wellness check-up. In hindsight that
might not have been the best way to start off our special day, for it was
temporarily marred by the 4-year-old vaccination schedule. But eventually he stopped crying, and the experience led us to have an interesting conversation
about viruses. It also helped us choose our word of the day: “antibodies.”
As a
reward for displaying courage and good behavior (all things considered), I treated
Theo to a chocolate croissant. He was amazed by its construction and started
yelling, “There’s a real live chocolate bar right in the very middle of my
treat? It’s real live!! Isn’t that amazing, mommy?” Oh that Theo. He’s got “a
million sweet tooths” and is truly a little boy after my own heart. Not wanting
to leave the coffee shop without something savory, I grabbed two spinach empandas before we set out in the direction of the RiNo Arts District…
Now I’ve blogged about the ever-changing
RiNo before. It’s a neighborhood that houses some of Denver’s
best restaurants, bars and coffee shops. It’s also the epicenter of the city’s
best street art, and there’s lots of it. The new murals are spectacularly
detailed and there brand new pieces thanks to #COCrush15 which took place last
weekend. Some of my RiNo favorites include works from artists Mariano Padillo,
Jaime Molina, Mike Martinez, Hollis & Lana, David Shillinglaw, Scott
Albrecht, Hyland Mather, Mike Graves, Blaine Fontana, Robin Munro, Sandra Fettingis,
Jake Mertens, Lolo YS, Jeremy Burns and Max Kauffman*…just to name a few.
(*As I was about to enter Max’s art house I
noticed that Theo was starting to get sleepy, so I’ll be back to check it out next week.)
I’ve
always been a big fan of street art, but it wasn’t until my friend Risa and I
had a conversation about its larger importance that I fully began to understand
how beneficial and inspirational it is. You see, I’ve always appreciated street
murals from a beautification angle; they provide design, color, and art to a
wall that would normally be vacant or plastered with tacky advertisements.
But
street art also holds a second (more important) purpose. Namely, it makes art
accessible to everyone: to parents with work schedules that are incompatible
with museum hours; to children who don’t have easy access to art or transportation;
to neighborhoods that are often underserved when it comes to public
investments. In short, street art can inspire a creative force in almost
anyone, regardless of income.
It also makes for a really great one-on-one
adventure….
Enjoy!
xx,
Batya
For more
info, check out this column and this column by Lindsey Bartlett.
Overheard
Theoisms:
“Those
guys have coffee bean heads. That’s silly, so very silly.”
“…and
then these octopuses were fighting bad guys- the Storm Troopers- before they
were beamed back up to space. Yes, that’s what it’s about…”
“Hey,
why is that man walking a fish with a dog’s leash? That’s hilarious.”
“Mommy,
do you think we can keep a pet giraffe in our garage?”
“I’m
going to show them my sword of justice. Then they will know I’m a superhero.”
“These leaves
look pretty, but they’re not real. At least they don’t look real to me.”
“Torchic
(Pokemon doll) told me this was the best tour ever. Hey, Torchic sounds like tour.”
“Is this
where the natural gas comes from? I want to see it.”
“That
silly monkey is playing games with me. He’s a funny guy.”
"Please can I go in here? (Closed Populist garden) I promise not to trespass."
