Date Night at the Remai Modern Art Gallery in Saskatoon
When I heard that our newly built Remai Modern Art Gallery, located in downtown Saskatoon, had a collection of Pablo Picasso's Paintings, I got so excited! Going to an Art Gallery is a great alternative to going to the movies because you can sit, reflect and talk to one another. I am pretty over date night at the movies. Finding the time to be together without the children, especially while homeschooling, can be a hard thing to manage with young children, but now that we have started doing this more often, we are feeling re-energized, and I am finding more inspiration in my life! Now that there is this beautiful Art Gallery to go to, date night just got a whole lot better! Let me share with our Date Night out to the Remai Modern Art Gallery + Shift Restaurant with you.
Ramai Modern Art Gallery + Shift Restaurant
This is my new favorite place to find a good boost of inspiration when it comes to teaching my kids because some days I can lose my focus, or I can have trouble seeing our end goals because I have stopped living life for myself along the way. But, taking time out for me, looking at beautiful, interesting art and eating yummy food is just the thing to do, and this evenings weather was perfect for the outdoor patio at the Shift Restaurant, inside the Art Gallery, so I’m glad to get out of the house and leave the pile of laundry behind me.
Shift Restaurant at the Ramai Modern Art Gallery
This time we tried the new restaurant at the museum called Shift, and we are very glad we did. It was very posh and so good. Let me take you through!
The staff was very friendly, knowledgeable and really made our night great. It was not over packed, or loud. We could sit and just enjoy ourselves. The light coming in from the huge wall of windows is so beautiful, even when you are sitting inside, you do not feel like you are indoors.
This was our gorgeous view of the South Saskatchewan River along the Meewasin Trail, River Landing, and the beautiful New Traffic Bridge. We were married at River Landing 9 years ago, and we cannot believe how time has passed so quickly and we always enjoy coming back here. There was hardly a breath of wind, unlike on our wedding day, and it was a lovely evening, sitting outside on the patio of Shift Restaurant.
Deciding what to order is always the fun part and because it was totally new to us and we really had no idea what there was for us to choose from. Sometimes I look ahead of time, but this time I did not have the time for that. We just ran out the door! So, the menu was very interesting. A huge range really, from vegetarian dishes, Asian inspired sauces, and unique pairings. In the end, I decided to go with the different twist on the Caesar Salad, the Cornish Hen for my main, and the Lemon Tart for dessert.
The salad was extremely delicious and I enjoyed the thinly sliced green apples, the sneaky addition of celery, and the beautiful slice of lemon
, it really was the softest lemon I have ever felt, and it was very good and so fresh. The topping of watercress was also a nice touch. They used horseradish instead of anchovies, for those with seafood allergies, and they omit the croutons for those with gluten sensitivities. I myself do love the anchovies and croutons in a Caesar salad so I was interested to see what this would be like without them. But, it was awesome! I was not sad at all that those ingredients were left out.
For my main dish, I was excited to see a beautifully roasted Cornish Hen, placed ever so perfectly on top of the tastiest broccolini I have had in a long time. With the side of a soft and creamy Potato Cake, that I lovingly mixed with the Romesco tomato sauce that was hiding underneath it all it really was a brilliant dish.
This meal was incredibly satisfying, having just the right amount of spice, meat, and vegetables, with a smooth sauce to mix it all together. I will definitely try to make a potato cake in the future. This was beautiful, and inspiring for a foodie like me.
The Lemon Tart was excellent and incredibly tart, creamy and just the right end for this meal. They use a hand torch to add the glow to the meringue and the meringue was just creamy and gooey almost like melted marshmallows. It was a hint on the too-sweet side for me, so I had to slowly enjoy this one. Which was not a bad thing. The atmosphere almost told me to slow down and enjoy myself.
Ramai Modern Art Gallery Here We Come, First Stop: Picasso!
Once dessert was all wrapped up, we were on our way to check out the Art! I had my eye on the Picasso, because I have been doing a lot of research on him lately, mainly for our new special curriculum that I am so excited about, and will be releasing as soon as it's all done! ? I'm trying to keep it a secret until the big Launch.
Seeing his amazing resist artwork, and learning more about how he made these pieces, with the young master printer Hidalgo Arnera, I was enjoying the story of how he originally was providing him with the drawings for the posters but soon took over the carving process, instead. That seemed like something he would do. He would learn the style by observing and then master it in his own way.
The Picasso's Gallery has a wonderful exhibit of his Linocuts and ceramic works. They were so interesting and I learned a lot of things that I did not know about Picassos Linocuts. The thing I really loved was that they looked so much like some of his other paintings, but in a totally different art medium. I love that he was able to learn new techniques, and still be true to his style of work.And then he had this ceramic hobby, which came before the linocuts, technically, and he was able to pick up yet another hands-on sculpting artform and make it his own. What I take from this, is that he really never stopped learning, and he was constantly creating, and learning from masters who were great at what they did.Not only were these jobs for him and he did it to sell, but because it was not the typical large-scale paintings or sculptures, which at the time he was known for doing, this was mostly looked at as a hobby, however now they are re-thinking that, and really seeing how brilliant this artist really was.
As we moved on, we saw a beautiful view of the South Saskatchewan River, and we sat to reflect upon things that are going on lately with the kids and such. It's a beautiful place to come and think. We enjoyed this place so much, that we purchased a membership, so we can come anytime we would like, for free, plus we get discounts on purchases in their gift shop, and at Shift Restaurant.
The next gallery we went to was to see the work of Jimmie Durham, entitled At the Center of the World. The art of Jimmie Durham is an acquired taste, but the more I have gone to see and read and experience his work, the more I enjoy it. In fact, I see a lot of humor and life in his work. He can find art in the simplest of things, and he tells stories in a very remarkable way.
Here are his practically identical Obsidian Glass chunks that he has chipped away at to be so beautiful and smooth in some places and rocky and earthy in the others. The one he left dark and original and the other he colored gold. Just so cool.What I find happens the most, is that his work makes me think and feel and I start to see art all around me. I am glad I was able to see his art and if you have not been to see it, or perhaps you have and maybe did not know how to take it, try it once more and really look at the possible childlike storytelling ability he has, and how he is interested in all sorts of ways to record his history, his life experiences and the history of what was happening around the world at the time.
This was the piece that got me laughing it loud in this quiet gallery. I felt as though, up until then, I wasn't really allowed to be loud. But it made it laugh and I began to see more of his humor. I mean, how funny is this one? ?I think we tend to think of art galleries as so serious, and to some degree yes. But then, for some reason, his work really brought out a lot of giggles in me, and I enjoyed it a lot.
This one was cute and a bit funny, because of course our world is full of tiny little things like this. But when you place them together and label them, it's really neat. It's a bit like treasure hunting and documentation and journaling your findings.It got me thinking about our homeschool art and how I can keep encouraging my kids to find art all around us and to keep telling stories.
Here are a few of my favorites from his "Petrified Things" collection, that consist of his rock findings that look just like food, but of course they have become "petrified" and this concept grows into a story about how this could have happened and it really did remind me of that childlike view that my kids would have on something they have come up with and I would write down for them. (We are in the Jot-it-down stage of the brave writer lifestyle). Seeing this artwork, in an art gallery, makes me want to continue to encourage my children to be creative, tell stories, and document their thoughts.
As we made our way downstairs, we went back down this really beautiful stairwell that has a brilliant neon light display. On our way up the stairs previously, it was not as brilliant, mainly because of the light. But now, it was amazing. That is what perspective is all about.
The shapes really are so unique. I loved how it reflexed on the glass behind us as well.
As we were walking down the stairs and into the light of the neon signs, the whole space was such a hue. It was magical.
It was a bit tricky to get the right exposure on my phone's camera, but you see how neat it was and how bright it was once we got into its light.
Then my husband couldn't help but play around with the cool chairs that are in the children's play area. For once we didn't have the kids around to play, so he tested it out for them.
I took a fun selfie at the end of our journey through the gallery, and then my phone couldn't take another picture. Definitely, need to unload some pictures soon!We had a great time out at the Remai Modern Art Gallery!Till next time,Breathe deeply and enjoy building your masterpiece with scissors and glue,~Alexandra