Every year near the end of summer school, my Creative Writing class spends the morning at the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA). Today was that day.

Some years back while taking a Modern Art course there through a partnership they have with UTD (where I’m getting my PhD), I met Sharisse Butler. She has a master’s in Theological Aesthetics, and she also happens to be Manager of Visitor Studies and Evaluation at the DMA.

Sharisse put together a wonderful tour for us consisting of nine pieces that had us thinking about the use of space in art. We use space in writing, too. For example, rather than saying, “Meanwhile, back at the ranch,” we might simply drop down to a new paragraph and then add an extra line of space. Years can pass in two lines. Writing meets visual art.

A highlight today: seeing the DMA’s sole Monet painting, "Water Lilies." I had never noticed that the perspective seems to be drawn from the point of view of someone having fallen in the water. I didn’t even know the DMA had a Monet. We also spent time looking at " Mountain Landscape with Approaching Storm," which I love so much that a copy hangs in my office at DTS. Sharisse had no way of knowing she had selected one of my favorites.

After our tour the students had some free time to work on a writing assignment, so I slipped in to see the exhibit, “Coastlines: Images of Land and Sea,” which is at the DMA till August 22.

Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, I love a coast. Blue/green/water satisfies me like a bottle to a hungry baby. The exhibit featured works from visual artists of the modern period (1850-now) and included media such as paintings, photos, and paper, incorporating works from the DMA’s repertoire as well as other local collections.

Interestingly enough, though, my favorites were not blue/green but a series of black and white photos by Hiroshi Sugimoto.

If you live in Dallas, set aside a few hours to catch the exhibit and meander. If you have kids, they will love the hands-on Creative Connections center complete with busts made of soap and of chocolate. Grown-ups love it, too. With all the exhibits from which to choose, the Center is where every one of my students ended up.