March 17, 2011

Two days ago, Danielle sent me an email consisting of nothing more than ‘let’s meet at 2:30 tomorrow at this address’. After finding the address on Google maps and using the street view to look around the area, I was stumped. The address I was given, according to Google maps, was nothing but some grass and a nice view of the ocean. So I emailed her back asking what we were doing and she replied “inspiration”. I was a bit perplexed, but knew Danielle had something exciting in store for me. After checking how much time Google estimated my trip would take, I decided to add and extra 20 minutes onto the time in order to insure I would arrive on time or even hopefully early.

On Wednesday I left right on schedule and even felt a little proud that I had prepared myself enough to be able to casually and unstressfully walk out the door. As I cruised down the freeway I noticed a flashing sign ahead that said something along the lines of ‘accident on West 580. 2 lanes closed. use some other freeway”. I quickly thought that the sign must be about the other freeway ahead because luck wouldn’t be so cruel. Well, the sign should have read “Lindsey! Transfer to hovercraft immediately!” because within 30 seconds I had come to a compete stop on the freeway. As the minutes flew by, I sat in my car desperately wishing I could fly (really, that’s what I thought about for 20 minutes). As I watched the tourists in front of me get out of their cars and start posing for pictures in the middle of the freeway, I realized I could no longer convince myself that being on time was still an option, so I called Danielle and told her I would be about 15 minutes late. She told me she understood and that I should call her when I got there, but I knew I had once again proven I was not reliable when it came to timing. For almost half an hour I sat in my car going no more that 5 miles per hour. I blamed myself over and over again and thought about how I could have avoided once again being late. I guess I should check traffic conditions next time. It seems I’m learning a bit slower than I should...

At about 3pm I drove up to a huge beautiful building and noticed Danielle’s car parked in front. I called Danielle and she told me to walk in and meet her downstairs. I still had no clue what I was even doing there! As I approached the building however, a large sign reading Pulp Fashion caught my attention and I smiled at the photo of a beautiful dress just below the words. I would later learn that I had just arrived at the Legion of Honor Museum where world renowned artist Isabelle de Borchgrave was displaying her work for the first time in the U.S. I met with Danielle downstairs and, although she was not openly irritated by my lateness, I could feel her disappointment. As we walked into the exhibit, she began to tell me exactly what we were looking at and I was astonished to find out that this artist recreated significant pieces of fashion all out of PAPER. Yes, paper. This woman has dedicated the last 15 years to the recreation of 60+ famous pieces of fashion, from the dresses of the Medici woman and Marie Antoinette to more modern pieces designed by Ralph Lauren and Coco Chanel. Standing in the presence of such work I was amazed, overwhelmed, and almost a bit peeved that someone would create such masterpieces out of something so simple, and flammable, as paper. I stood there, studying every detail with Danielle, discussing how she might have made each piece. One certainly feels small when looking at such great work as these:

            As we rounded the final corner of the exhibit, Danielle told me that she would have to leave immediately and could not stay to talk because my lateness had put her behind schedule. As I thanked her and said goodbye, I felt horrible for being so late, but seeing as I could not change the past, I continued to look over the exhibit without her. I realized I had never been to a museum by myself, never been able to look through an exhibit at my own pace, or simply slip into the creative mind that the silent viewing of art allows. I was old enough to not have museum staff cringing at my every childish move and as I walked upstairs and out into the entrance courtyard, I truly felt like an adult. I was alone, but completely comfortable. Although I was only in San Francisco, I felt I could be in any country in the world, exploring its beauty on my own and discovering who I truly was. When I got into my car I didn’t want to go home. I thought seriously about driving around the city and looking for a nice café to eat at and maybe even finding another beautiful place to take pictures. And yet I knew I had homework that needed to be done and a mother that would be waiting for my arrival. I know there is a vast and great world that I will someday be able to explore, but I also know that it is necessary that I finish my education and live the life that is expected of me. I realize that I may not get to do everything I wish to do in life, but I hope there is a middle road that will satisfy my adventurous nature but not lead me too far from the path of expectancy.

Some pictures I took of the inspiring scenery