Art That Sticks: Artist Jeremy Tubbs created his ArtPrize entry using five types of duct tape on panel.

My daughters and I made a beeline for the opening night of ArtPrize 2011 after school today. They were excited to rush home to pack sack dinners and head downtown. I was excited, too, and actually took the time to put on a dress and cute shoes before our excursion. Thankfully, I had had a “get real” moment before we left and swapped the cute shoes for a pair of running shoes. I’m sorry, folks. I just can’t be uncomfortable in the name of fashion- even when art is involved.

So, we all looked mismatched and authentic as we made our way through some of the Westside venues. We’re still working on moving around gallery spaces in a calm circular pattern as my children seem to be naturally inclined to move about in rapid and unpredictable zig zag patterns while shouting, “Hey, look at this!”

"Rain" is a beautiful kinetic sculpture by Lynda Cole.

For the most part, the girls were great and I respect their enthusiasm. They actually enjoy going to see art with me. I LOVE that. And now that they’re 5 and 7, we’re starting to have some very interesting conversations about the art we see.

Toys Elevated to Fine Art: "Yellow!" by Nathan Sawaya depicts a man made of Legos tearing open his chest as thousands of toy bricks spill out from it.

I’ll be posting more photos from our family ArtPrize excursions throughout the next two weeks, so stay tuned. All the photos in this post are of pieces we saw on the 3rd floor of the Grand Rapids Public Museum.