So, this is by far one of the biggest and most important things that’s happened since i’ve been out of commission here on the blog, so I’m here now, unbelievably excited to be back in the saddle to share this experience with you!
In May one of my photo pieces was entered into one of the local annual shows that were sponsored by RMCAD every year. The Congressional Art Show is a show put on in 400 of the 437 Congressional Districts in the U.S. I’d been featured in this show before, and I took it as a very high honor then. This show is displayed in order to produce one winning piece from every Congressional District, and the winning piece from each district continues on to be hung in the Cannon Tunnel of our nation’s Capitol Building, in Washington D.C.. This year’s show was as talent filled as ever, and I can say that without a doubt it is an INCREDIBLE honor that I say that my piece took first place in the show! I was shocked as ever that a piece that was rejected from this year’s District Show was not only accepted, but took first in the Congressional showcase.
- the winning pieces, “The Colour & The Shape”
Once I arrived at the gallery showcase, I was introduced to my Congressman, Mr. Ed Perlmutter who personally congratulated me, and told me how excited he was to have me visiting him….VISITING?! Part of the deal with my winnings was that Southwest sponsored the major showcase in D.C., and they would fly me and a guest (my mom, who else?!) out for a visit to see the display in the Capitol!
My mom and I boarded a Southwest flight Wednesday, June 16th to embark on an amazing 5-day adventure into a District I would fall unbelievably in love with. Here’s a small photo-journalism piece on my adventure into the District of Columbia.
When we landed there was nothing to see from my window out onto the runway strips at BWI than clouds and rain. But as soon as our MARC train reached it’s final destination at Union Station, D.C. my day got that much brighter. My mom and I managed to find our way around the Metro system and make it to Capitol Hill and the Capitol Building. It was great for us to get to know our way around the small bit of the district that we would be spending our day tomorrow on/around (for the reception). Not to mention I was complimented during afterwork rush hour by the Metro on my “I ❤ The LRA” Invisible Children shirt!! As goofy as it sounds, having someone recognize my shirt and say something about it on Capitol Hill where all of our nation’s laws are put into action just weeks after Mr. Obama himself signed the Northern Ugandan Recovery Act meant the WORLD to me. It was easily one of the biggest highlights of my entire trip!
The reception was insane….to say the least. I have never seen such an unorganized major event like that before….nor have i ever seen ~1000 people try to squeeze in the smallest hallway EVER! After a long awaited breakfast eaten on a staircase, and a seminar for the winning students about the benefits of art in your future, we were off to take a group photo (which took about an hour and a half) and then were led away in groups to meet with our congressmen/women.
This fandango began around 8:30 that morning, and we were only being hustled off to the Canon Building to meet with our Congresspeople around 1:30pm! Mr. Perlmutter was still in a house session when we arrived, so we were then taken down to the Canon Tunnel to see my piece hanging with the rest of the display. What an amazing collection of art there is hanging down in that tunnel this year! I am SO incredibly honored to see my piece hanging alongside such amazing art pieces; I spent what felt like hours down in the tunnel viewing all of the pieces, and i’d like to offer my most sincere congratulations to all of the other winners, what an outstanding and impressive group of artists!
The rest of the trip was just like any other tourists adventures…. Mr. Perlmutter’s office was incredibly helpful in setting up arrangements for us to visit other places, but for the most part, it was pretty straightforward as a trip to D.C. We saw the White House, we went to Arlington, I fell in LOVE with Chinatown and it’s supply of my favorite hometown treat, Chipotle!!! (which was perfectly timed to meet and beat my homesickness setting in).
We spent an entire day on the Mall walking up and down, enjoying seeing everything Americana. I can’t begin to divulge how much I truly love the District. I admit, much to many people’s disdain, that I love love love the National Treasure films! I’ve always found history incredibly interesting, but I was never good at memorizing dates and names when everyone is a Chalres, Henry, or Francis….just ask my AP European History teacher.
so this photo's kind of illegal...you're not supposed to take photos of the reading room, and well, here one is! Courtesy of my always trusty Blackberry.
National Treasure was so interesting and fun for me to watch, I got to learn about history in a super interesting way, and actually memorized a lot of the facts they use in the film. Being in a city full of history and National Heritage was unbelievable…I never knew I knew so much about our nation until I went on all the tours and found all the facts whizzing through my head! Being in the same places that I saw in the film (i.e. the Library of Congress, where I got goosebumps looking into the reading room) and realizing that they were so full of history was a very amazing experience….I’m so impressed at how much history is in a 10mi radius! I’ve never had so much fun, and I can’t wait to go back again! Here are a few of my more “tourist-y” photos, I hope you still enjoy them!
The Girl at The Rock Show 
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