Where ever I go I look for rugs. I always seem to find them. Last week I spent the week in Manhattan going to art galleries and eating pasta and going to shows.

I took a bus trip that leaves from my hometown twice a year and stayed in a great hotel close to Times Square. I went on my own, though I knew lots of people on the bus. A friend came down later in the week to join me for two days. It was great. 

The first night there I went to see Phantom of the Opera by myself. The following day I walked up to Moma and spent the afternoon.The Moma Design store across the street from the gallery was a lesson in beauty meets function. Each night at five I would meet the people on the bus for wine in the lobby. Then I would go to a restaurant on my own for dinner and meet them for a show. It was fun to have company some of the time but freedom to see what you needed to see.

Every day I would go to an art gallery or exhibit. I discovered so many artists that I had never heard of. It was like opening a present. I also found rugs. A block down the street from the hotel, Roy Lichtenstein, a famous American pop artist, a contemporary of Andy Warhol, had two huge rugs installed in the lobby.  Once I saw those I felt like I was in the right place somehow.

In Soho, there was a store selling antique Moroccan rugs.

I never saw a hooked rug, but everything around me made feel inspired to make more of them.

It was not easy to do those things all on my own but I felt I had to. In my writing here I am always challenging people to get out of their comfort zone. I needed to get out of mine to understand what that feels like. I challenged myself.

It is important to push yourself some. Mine was going to a city and exploring it on my own. I discovered that I was pretty comfortable going to crowded restaurants and sitting alone with my diner. I discovered that I could easily go to a show on my own. I always knew I was happy alone in museums.

I found some new artists and I am ordering books by them so that I can discover more about them. I am sure that seeing all of this will influence my work for a long time. 

By Sunday, after a week away I was lonely for my hook. Absence really des make the heart grow fonder....as if that was ever possible at all.

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