Impressions From Our Washington Adventure

Lindsay

The Cathedral was the biggest, most beautiful thing I have ever seen. 

I loved every single part of it. I loved the tapestries, the gargoyles, the cushions in the Children's Chapel, the statue of Jesus outside, and the way the stained glass windows lit up the room with different colors. 

The lit candles gave it all a nice, smoky smell.

Gabriel

The National Cathedral will keep inspiring people for decades to come. It is filled to the brim with great detail. 

The way they used the buttresses to support the roof and the vaulted ceilings to distribute the weight was fantastic. I love the architecture, and it has even impacted the way that I draw. I am now drawing vaulted ceilings and flying buttresses. 

I think God was their motivation, and look what they did. What if God was our motivation? What could we do better?

Phineas

The limestone carving was super duper cool. I wonder how long it took to actually finish the carving. I was thinking about how many people must have worked on it. How long did it take them? And what were their names?

                     Charlie M. 

In person it was easier to compare the styles of medieval and Renaissance artwork. You could also feel and see the energy from the painting in person. 

In the Cathedral, the different chapels made an impact on me, especially the chapel where you could pray for the people who donate their lives for their country, and for any loved ones who were suffering. You could light a candle for any of those people, and ask the people to pray for a particular person.

Sarah

I really liked the stained glass windows, how detailed they were and how they reflected on the pillars. I think they made the whole space feel more holy.

Zach

I noticed that each artist who painted the Virgin Mary seemed to have a different perspective on her personality, hence drawing her differently.

The Cathedral: The architecture. The details. The sheer bossity of it all.

Emma

Who gets to decide which frame to use for each painting? The artist? Or the person who paid the artist? Or the museum?

                 Darrah

The paintings have more texture in person. I also enjoyed seeing the frames. The frames make a cool shadow on the picture. 

There were many paintings with animals. Some of the animals were hidden with colors or shadows, and I think the artists did that to make you look closer.

Bowen and Nolan

Google Art Project would be even better if they could show the frames, because they are a big part of each painting.

Charlie H.

When I was inside the Cathedral I was surprised that I actually felt closer to god, because of the stained glass windows and how they shone different colors on the walls. And the stillness of everything.

Jake

In the National Gallery, I was really fond of one animal there, a small smiling King Charles Spaniel. It had an evil grin on its face, almost like it was plotting the end of the world. We may never know if the artist of that painting knew how the world would end, and he put all that knowledge into one little dog.

More Impressions To Come Tomorrow...