More Impressions from Washington DC

Channing

The National Gallery of Art is a time capsule. Painters worked for years and years on the paintings inside the walls of the building. 

The paintings were the painters' children, the things they worked the hardest on and the things that gave them joy and hope in their most difficult times.  

It’s interesting to me that we were close enough to feel the love and joy and time that went into each painting. The gallery was filled with passion. 

The thing that made the largest impact on me was how much the painters loved what they did. Some people might see the artwork and think "Why? Why spend time on these paintings?" 

But to me the gallery was all answers. The gallery showed me that if I do what I love and what makes me feel alive, there is no way I will not be appreciated, and no way I will be forgotten.

Hudson

I felt small in comparison to the Cathedral. Our tour guide pointed out a life size portrait of Jesus in the middle of a stained glass window. It was six feet tall, and I thought it looked like it was about two feet tall!

Photograph by Sofia

Hunter

I liked how the same subject, from different artists, looked different. It gave me an idea of how things could be thought of in different ways.

Julia

I enjoyed learning about the architecture of the pillars and the bell tower, since I want to be an architect when I am older. I loved the Cathedral so much I even asked my parents if we could go to one of their Sunday church services, and they said that we should!

Ellie

Majestic creatures, unknown saints, colorful rosettes about silent powerful stories cover the entire Cathedral. 

Stories left hidden beneath the walls of thick stone. 

Boss stones being watched, leaving forgotten secrets of the past behind to figure out.

Noelle

When you see how much detail the masons put into carving the stone, you're amazed ... and it would be really cool if the National Cathedral had a workshop to learn about carving stone.

Maya G.

As we continued our journey through this monstrous cathedral, I noticed that it was not an overwhelming huge, it was a welcoming huge, and it wasn’t a cold and dark place, it was a warm shelter away from the brisk wind.

Mary Holland

I loved the feeling in the Cathedral that so many important and well-known people had been there. It felt like I was part of something bigger than myself.

What a fun trip!! 

Thank you to all the chaperones for your awesome help and to the students for your enthusiasm and curiosity!