Picasso and Me: The Hakone Open-air Museum

In the summer of 1994 I had just finished my first year of college. I had taken some Japanese language courses, and I was able to go to Japan with some of the friends I made in those classes. While staying near Yokohama, one of my Japanese friend's mom took us to The Hakone Open-air Museum - and wow, what an experience that was! It was this awesome museum that introduced me to one of my all time favorite artists: Pablo Picasso. I have never been very talented when it comes to drawing or painting, although I love to admire other people's art. Growing up in a small, rural town in the American Southwest meant that I didn't have a lot of exposure to the works of famous artists. And even though I had been to some mediocre museums in my life, it wasn't until my trip to Hakone that I first experienced real art by famous artists. Of course I had heard of Picasso, but I couldn't tell you anything about him or his art. I remember seeing some of his pieces for the first time, and being…