Provo

On Friday, Brian and I got to go to Provo to see an art show at The Covey Center. Brian was able to take off early from work, and Layne and Kris picked us up and we headed south. We made a quick stop in SLC to see Tom's new apartment and pick him up, then we continued on to Provo.

The show, titled Wabi-Sabi, included paintings created by Kristin Gulledge, Tom's girlfriend (and our new friend). I was intrigued by the show's name, and learned from the displayed explanation that, "Wabi-Sabi is a visual dialogue about the tension between determined tenacity and letting go of control. The term wabi-sabi is a Japanese world view for finding beauty and acceptance in the transient, imperfect, and incomplete." A concept that I'm not very good at practicing. I hate change, am a perfectionist that cannot leave any project undone or imperfect, and prefer to have everything in order and under control. It's something that I constantly try to work on--enjoying the moment, relaxing, and letting go. It's a balance, I haven't conquered yet.

Kristin was able to come by while we were there looking at her work. Art shows are so much more fun when you know the artist and get to hear the back story of the paintings. Kristin explained how the idea for her paintings was born, how she captured the model's poses, and chose the names for each piece. It was very interesting listening to her talk about her creation process, and the pieces became more meaningful after hearing what they meant to her, and the thoughts and feeling that went into creating them.  

She created a few pieces with Tom as the subject--the painting above on the far right, and the one below. They are really great likenesses of him. 

I liked that she also included some smaller paintings of succulents. I love succulents! This one below was my favorite of those. Her pieces were all wonderful, and we had a lovely time viewing them.

The show also included pieces from two other artists. I really loved these paintings of flowers done by Tyler Swain. They were so lifelike.

The paintings of the third artist, Holly Conger, were much more abstract than the work of the others. We enjoyed looking at them as well. Each artist's work had such a different style, and it was fascinating to see their contrasting interpretations on the theme of the show.

After the show, we walked the few blocks south to the new Provo City Center Temple. Boy is it gorgeous. I've only been to Provo twice before our visit on Friday, and hadn't ever seen the tabernacle. The brick on the building is beautiful...along with every other detail.

We enjoyed walking around the grounds, making a full circle of the temple. We kept discovering new, beautiful angles at which to view the building. Suffice it to say, I took a lot of pictures.

Layne and Kris both went to school at BYU, and Layne was in the BYU A Cappella Choir. They participated in/attended many choir performances and reunions at the Provo tabernacle. While Layne was in the choir, they even used the building as a recording studio. As we walked around the grounds, it was fun to hear them talk about their experiences there, and to see their excitement about it now being a temple.  

Sadly, we didn't get to tour the inside. I don't know if we'll be able to get tickets, since all the spots filled so quickly. They're going to open up more spots, but I don't know if we'll try for tickets. At the very least, we live close enough that we can go through a session sometime once it opens.

After a dinner at Red Robin, we bid Kristin farewell, and headed back to SLC where we dropped Tom off. Layne and Kris then took Brian and I back to our apartment, then continued on home to Idaho. We had such a fun day, spending time with family and getting to see some beautiful things.