evolution of angela: my dc adventure

national zoo, washington dc

one thing i'm guilty of is not following through with going to places and events. i mark them in my calendar with intention but usually mark it out later because i didn't go for one reason or another. well, i should say excuse. but this time, i made myself do it and i took a day trip to washington d.c. i found out art o mat was having their 15th anniversary there so i decided to go. here's the link to their website:
http://www.artomat.org/home.html
i submitted something to them almost 10 years ago. it was graciously declined. i realize now i didn't do very good selling myself. i sent them samples of rothko type pieces or should i say blocks of color. i didn't add anything to it. a concept was missing. i should have created some form of experience or emotion or something, anything. i simply painted boring mini paintings. i didn't even consider the packaging. sometimes the packaging is better than what's inside. they have so many artists now. i love love love the old cigarette machines. i meant to ask if the creator, clark whittington was there, i probably stood right next to him and didn't know it. oh well. the next one will be in 5 years. maybe i will see him then.

so below are some of my favorite residents of the zoo.

lonely octopus

cute little critters

didn't realize how ginormous these things can get. they walk like it hurts to move

the star of the zoo; sorry, forgot to find out who this was. mei xiang or tian tian?

a hot saturday afternoon is probably not the best time to go to the national zoo. we got to do a lot of walking so by the time we got to the smithsonian, i was a sweaty mess. they held the swap meet in the american art museum. of all the places at the national mall, that is the one i just visited last year. so i didn't spend too much time there. i did see the video game exhibit. it's amazing how video games have evolved in the last 3 decades. and i got to play the biggest pac man ever!

once we left the museum, we went up a few blocks to ping pong dim sum. whenever visiting d.c. i have to either go to ping pong or to pret a manger, or both :) oh how i love to eat good food.

yesterday was a great day. i got to spend it with my girls, well 2 out of 3 of them. we ended up shopping at ikea, which was about 30 min away. before heading home, we ate yummy bbq at famous daves. i've already searched for local art events & they are marked in my calendar. no more excuses. i have fun meeting with other artists and seeing the people who show interest in them.