Temple of Heaven

In my high school art class, I painted a picture of this beautiful blue building.  It had three tiers, and each tier had intricate designs of red and green and gold.  I had first seen this building when I visited Disney World with my family.  It was part of the Chinese pavilion in the "world showcase" at Epcot Center.  I remember hating the inside of the building - they played what I had then considered to be an extremely boring movie of China - but I loved the facade, with its bright colors and unique shape.  I snapped a photo with tiny camera.  Several years later, when looking for inspiration for my painting class, I flipped through my photos and thought, yes, this is it.  My painting, copied from my earlier photograph, turned out quite nicely and hung in the display case of my school's library for a couple months. 

Then I went to China . . .

And visited the building.

You may think that I'm silly, but I was so thrilled to finally see it in person.  To see the actual building that was the inspiration, albeit twice removed, for a painting of which I was really proud. 

It's not actually the "temple of heaven" but one of the important buildings on the temple's grounds, but to me, it was heavenly.

(The Temple of Heaven, Beijing China, photographed May 2008)