Favourite Mug!

This is my favourite mug (except when I have just got in exhausted from photographing a wedding, then my pint mug is hands-down my favourite!)

Art aficionados may recognise the picture on the front of the mug as being the woman from the painting 'American Gothic' which is my all time favourite painting of all time! Mr M and I have been lucky enough to see the original version of this painting in the Art Institute of Chicago (which, indeed is where this mug is from).

Many people believe the woman in the painting is the farmer's wife, (the farmer is round the other side of the mug, if you're not familiar with the painting :-)) but according to the information that was next to the painting in the art gallery, she is actually the farmer's daughter and the farmer's famously worried expression is due to him fretting that his daughter was getting too old to marry off!

Funny story about the Art Institute of Chicago.. Mr M and I were lucky enough to make a quick jaunt over to Chicago last winter, thanks to some air miles I needed to use up and some dear friends giving us the loan of a flat they had in the city. We had no real plans for our break other than to chill out away from the PCs for a week and take in the Art Institute.

On passing through border security at Chicago airport, Mr M was quizzed as to his business in Chicago. When Mr M - in his dazed, jet-lagged and unshaven state said he had come to visit the Art Institute - the security guard completely refused to believe that we would fly all the way to the US, just to go to an Art Gallery! ..but we're artists daaarrrrling! That's what we do!

Anyway - took some serious negotiation on our part to persuade the security guard not to deport us!

At this moment in time, my favourite mug contains my favourite beverage, tea! ..My last brew before bed :-)