A few weeks ago I had a chance to see an amazing interactive sculpture on display during the Free State Festival in Lawrence, KS. Titled simply, “CLOUD,” this piece is the work of Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garrett.The sculpture was on display for just one week and required dark conditions to be fully appreciated. I was lucky enough to be there on the final evening of the installation.Initially I spent time simply examining the piece and trying to capture it from various angles. I wanted the full “cloud” view and also the chance to see some of the details up close. After a time, though, I started to focus on the crowd and their smiles of wonder as they interacted with the piece.You see, the “rain” coming out of the cloud was actually a collection of chains that could be pulled to turn lights in the cloud off and on. People of all ages were having a blast pulling the chains to see the resulting changes in the sculpture.The smiles of joy were wonderful to see. I have to believe that the artists would be smiling, too, to see the happiness this brought to the crowd.Have you encountered a piece of art recently that made you smile? I’d love to know about it!

~Leslie