In addition to poetry, art often brings comfort. (Artists don’t usually want to make anyone “comfortable,” which has a different connotation.)
One reason art brings comfort is that creativity generates surprises, and surprises may bring delight.
So although I’m still preoccupied with Boston, I’ll leave Boston for today and write about Cleveland.
Thank you, Mary Ann, for pointing to the Gwarlingo blog, which recently said of the art scene in Cleveland,”prepare to be surprised.”
Blogger Michelle Aldredge writes in part, “It is possible to experience the best of Cleveland culture entirely on foot. …
“According to Ann Craddock Albano, the director of The Sculpture Center in Cleveland, the 550-acre area that encompasses the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Cleveland Symphony, the Cleveland Institute of Art, the Cleveland Cinematheque, Cleveland Institute of Music, and numerous university and medical facilities is the most concentrated neighborhood of world-class cultural institutions in the country. …
“The latest jewel in the Circle’s crown is Farshid Moussavi’s new building for the Museum of Contemporary Art. MOCA is Moussavi’s first museum design, and also the first American project by the Iranian architect, whose firm, Farshid Moussavi Architecture, is based in London.
“A few blocks away from MOCA, at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management building, silver planes slice through red brick like paper in a windstorm. While Frank Gehry opted for flamboyance, Moussavi wisely chose a simpler, less ostentatious design for MOCA—one that is unique and engages the surrounding neighborhood.” More.
BTW, I wouldn’t mind hearing what other folks do for comfort.
Photo: Michelle Aldredge
The zigzagging stairwell is the most eye-catching feature inside the new MOCA Cleveland
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 
I cook to relax and soothe myself, and to wind down after a long work day. It’s nice to just putter around in the kitchen and then have something nice to eat with my family. First thing I do is turn on NPR, and sometimes pour a glass of wine. Thanks for mentioning the Cleveland art scene. I think the inner ring suburbs of Cleveland are a great place to live right now. We have lots of friends here who have come (or come back) from the coasts (like us) and completely agree. I’m working hard to let people in our little secret.
Thank you for saying how you cope. I often like chopping vegetables: it’s so different from what I do all day and rests the brain. Another friend finds that flowers comfort.