I was really looking forward to the Mingei museum since they mentioned Shoji Hamada on the website, but there was no functional pottery there. The only exhibits were a Native American art exhibit on the first floor and African American quilts and Japanese waving cats on the second floor. While these were interesting, they were not what I expected to find.
After leaving the Mingei Museum, I went next door to the SDMA and was surprised to discover that it was San Diego residents day. Residents get in for free once a month and because of the crowds there is no photography or sketching allowed. The woman at the front desk was very nice and after I whined about it she said, "You can take pictures until you get caught.", with a smile. I did get a shot of the only Shoji Hamada piece on display. It was a nice tea bowl, but it was one of only about a dozen pieces of pottery in the whole museum. I guess I am spoiled by living in NC with such an emphasis on pottery.
Most of the exhibits were paintings from the last two centuries with a lot of dark, moody landscapes, portraits of eighteenth and nineteenth century people, and some Chinese landscapes. I did notice a couple of Monets which were considerably brighter than most of the work exhibited, but it wasn't what I was hoping for.
On the way back I got back on the outgoing bus by mistake and rode it to the end of the line. The bus driver and I had a great conversation about 70's bands during his ten-minute break and then I rode that bus all the way back to the City College stop. There I caught the Orange Line trolley back to the Gaslamp Quarter.
After walking back to the hotel I started getting ready to go the Gaslamp Quarter for supper.
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| The only Shoji Hamada piece. |
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| There large land snails were everywhere in the landscape. |
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| "Delicious Tamales" |
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| ... and it was. |
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| City College trolley stop. |
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