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Bloggers Night Out in University Circle

Blog Date
Author(s)
Julie Smith
Stuart O. Smith, Jr.
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Cleveland
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University Circle
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Cleveland Museum of Art
moCa
Cleveland History Center

Although it is a very busy time of the year, and we had visited the Cleveland Museum of Art (@ClevelandArt) and University Circle (@InTheCircle) recently, when we heard about the Ohio Blogging Association's (@OHBlogging) University Circle Holiday Night Out, we knew we had to make the time for this special night. We know that we will remember this fun evening for a long time!

Bloggers Tour - Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse

Bloggers Tour - Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse
Enlarge Image

On Wednesday, December 16, 2015, the evening started with meeting up with all the bloggers in the beautiful new Ames Family Atrium, and enjoying food from the Cleveland Museum of Art's Provenance Café. The patio-style seating, surrounded by planters, provides the feeling of eating outdoors even in the middle of winter.

Since we are members of the Cleveland Museum of Art, we had attended the Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse exhibition twice already (see more details below). We enjoyed seeing it again with the Ohio Blogging Association members and a museum docent.

We highly recommend the museum's docent talks. They add a higher level of understanding to the exhibition. We found that it is best to have a docent-led tour, and then go back to see the exhibition again. From the docent, we learned how Monet had gardeners dust the water lilies to make the view more artistic. Our docent also told us the origin of the term "impressionism."

The exhibition has been so popular, drawing people from all over the country, that the museum has extended its hours through January 5, 2016. Here is the ticket pricing information:

This exhibition provides a rare opportunity to see Monet's three Water Lilies paintings displayed together as the artist intended.

As we were preparing this blog post, we received a direct message from @InTheCircle on Twitter recommending the press release, The Cleveland Museum of Art presents: Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse.

@InTheCircle also confirmed the year the three paintings were last shown together in Cleveland:

Hi Stuart! Yes, it is indeed a rare occurrence. The last time they were exhibited in Cleveland was actually 1980...

As shown from left to right, the three paintings are owned by museums in Cleveland, St. Louis, and Kansas City (@ClevelandArt - @STLArtMuseum - @nelson_atkins).

Monet’s Water Lilies three panels photo from The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art​
Monet’s Water Lilies three panels photo from
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (@nelson_atkins)

 

Cleveland Museum of Art's Water Lilies (Agapanthus), c.1915-1926​
Cleveland Museum of Art's Water Lilies (Agapanthus), c.1915-1926

 

Cleveland Museum of Art's Water Lilies (Agapanthus), c.1915-1926 is one of the must-see pieces that Julie always seeks out when visiting the museum, so it was very special to her to see the three paintings together. Stuart's preference was more for some of the other Monet paintings and other artists' portrait paintings. If you enjoy paintings, particularly of gardens, we think there is a nice variety for you to enjoy.

Wade Oval Winter - Ice Skating

Julie & Stuart Wade Oval Ice Skating
Enlarge Image

We come to University Circle (@InTheCircle) often, year-round, and in the winter have enjoyed watching people ice skate on the Wade Oval ice rink. In all the times we have enjoyed this experience, we have never taken the time to skate ourselves.

It took this Ohio Blogging Association (@OHBlogging) event to finally get us on the ice, and let us tell you that it is even more fun to be on the ice than just watching.

 

Be sure to visit the Wade Oval Winter web page for all the details on extended holiday hours, Santa skating, hockey, movie nights, figure skating demos, and more. Plus, see the Cleveland Foundation (@CleveFoundation) centennial gift listing for free admission to The Rink at Wade Oval on Dec. 26, 2015, from noon to 7 p.m.

Here are the pricing details and special promotional discounts from the web page, but we recommend seeing the entire Wade Oval Winter web page for updates and additional offers.

Open November 27 until March 6 (weather permitting)
$2 to skate, $3 skate rentals
Student Discount | $1 to skate, $2 skate rentals.

After you're finished skating, show your Rink wristband for special promotions all season long:
- Cleveland Botanical Garden: $2 off admission (includes Glow from November 27-January 3)
- Cleveland Museum of Natural History: $2 off admission
- Cleveland History Center: $2 off admission and 2 free rides on the Euclid Beach Carousel
- The Cleveland Orchestra: 10% off at The Orchestra Store (If you misplace your Rink wristband download the PDF flyer on the right-hand side of the page.)

Tweets & Retweets

Here are photos and related tweets from the bloggers night out in University Circle. Please retweet those that you would like to share with others. Thank you.

Fun Bloggers & Hosts!

We were joined that evening by these fellow bloggers and their spouses:

A big thank-you to Alicia Hansen (@AliciaMHansen) for organizing the evening.

Thanks also to our hosts, Lisa Sands (@Lisasands1), Director of Marketing and Communications at University Circle Inc.; and Chris Moore, Digital Communications Manager at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

What Others Have to Say

Here are other blog posts about this fun evening:

Plus, here are videos about the Monet and Matisse exhibition:

 

Our first visits to Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse

Prior to the bloggers night out, we saw the exhibition on November 7, 2015, for Julie's birthday, and enjoyed the exhibition so much that we came back to see it again on Sunday, November 8, 2015. We highly recommend visiting the exhibition over two days.

While viewing these tweets, please note the following:

November 7, 2015
November 8, 2015
After November 8, 2015

Holiday CircleFest

We also want to use this opportunity to thank all the museums we visited during the University Circle (@InTheCircle) Holiday CircleFest on December 4th, 2015. (To see more also see our Cleveland Holiday CircleFest 2013 blog post.)

If you visit the Western Reserve Historical Society (@CleStartsHere), be sure to tell "Carousel George" (@CarouselGeorge) that Julie & Stuart say hello.

Related Blog Posts

We have attended many official and informal events with Ohio Blogging Association members. It is a great group to be associated with to learn about what is happening in our community. Here are our blog posts about some of the official events that we attended:

 

Learn more about some of our visits to University Circle institutions, including the Cleveland Museum of Art and many others, by reading these blog posts:

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Disclosure: Ohio Blogging Association members received $18 Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse tickets, but since we are members of the Cleveland Museum of Art we were already entitled to the exhibition tickets. We received free admission and skate rental (normally $2 to skate, $3 skate rentals) from University Circle, Inc., which we really enjoyed -- thank you!