Pay As You Wish

13th- century Japansese hanging scroll, Mandala of Both Worlds

It’s a rainy Tuesday afternoon: I’m in between meetings, in between careers, heck, I have a feeling I’m about to be in between boyfriends pretty soon (oy). So what’s a girl to do but, daydream. My mother got back from Tokyo yesterday and I have yet to make it off the island (Long Island, that is) all summer: well, with the exception of occasionally hopping, skipping and jumping over to that other island. You may have heard of it: Manhattan. And unlike my mom, I don’t have to fish out my passport when I want to immerse myself in the Japanese experience or hit Chinatown, which is literally a hop, skip and a jump away from Little Italy.

How convenient for me. So today, I let my fingers do the walking over to one of my favorite Manhattan haunts, The Met Museum, which is open to all art lovers, poor and wealthy alike: due to their “pay as you wish” policy, which is awesome and ideal for the starving (and often hungry) artist. Anyway, the lesson of the day: there is a light at the end of that dark tunnel of the inter-web! I found my weekend plans. Even though I have a subscription to the New York Times weekender, I managed to miss this shining gem: there is a beautiful Japanese Mandala exhibit running at the Met through November 29th. Luvs! I’m already planning an art filled day around it, complete with sketching strangers on the subway. So if you happen to be riding the 1, 2 or 3 train and you see a pair of large, dark brown eyes peeking out behind a Strathmore sketch pad, be unafraid. I come in peace. And don’t forget to smile.

Namasté