The whole time I lived in New Britain, I never managed to visit the New Britain Museum of American Art because I could not find it. Everyone I asked told me it looked like a regular house, which of course, makes something blend in well with the neighborhood. Until last night, I really had not been back to New Britain for several years. This time, when we drove down Lexington Street, the museum was obvious. A large, modern addition to the building was opened in 2006. Sculptures are visible from the street. Parking is plentiful.

I came for the shoes, but was equally impressed by the pencils.

Dalton M. Ghetti and Jennifer Maestre both used pencils as their art objects. While Maestre’s works are more immediately striking, Ghetti’s are more intricate, once one stops to take a close look. Ghetti — a Bridgeport resident — carved tiny figures out of graphite, using razorblades and needles. Among the creations– letters of the alphabet, a boot, and a chain. These items are in the Meticulous Masterpieces exhibit and will be there until August 29.

The Ruthie Davis Shoes: Couture, Futuristic Design display closes on June 20. This is a room filled with nuts and bolts, mirrors, spikes, and neon — all on shoes. It would have been better if touching were allowed. Some of the shoes looked like they weighed ten pounds, and I wanted to feel their weight for myself. There were also shoes on display which had been worn by Beyoncé and Alicia Keys.

I had no real expectation for this museum, mostly because I still thought it was set up in a small house, so I was happily surprised by the amount and variety of art. The quality of contemporary art has been hit-or-miss with me recently. Mostly miss. I’ve tired of art that exists to shock or be weird or is so pretentious that the artist’s snide-sense-of-entitlement oozes from the “work.” There were one or two of those types of art here, but this was not the majority, by far. Even works that I did not find attractive, I was able to appreciate as being art and having required skill and effort.

Last night’s event was a Museum After Dark party, which seemed to have a steep admission price…until I realized that the $15 for non-members covered museum admission, food, and an open soda/wine/beer bar. Compare that to certain other art events that charge $10 and do not include beverages of any sort. The food was the basic hummus, pita, cheese, cracker, cookie arrangement, but the quality was better than average. The soda was local. A lot of people were actually dancing to a mix that was not half bad, even though the dj could have done more with the old school and less with the contemporary electronica at some points. The amount of Michael Jackson and Madonna mixed in made up for that.

Something that the NBMAA did well, that other area museums might want to take note of, is have well-mannered security guards. There was a woman in a sparkly hat who was on top of her game, but was not remotely rude or intimidating. She spoke to us about camera use, but was jovial and understanding when we explained we just wanted a picture of the bench and not the artwork. I saw another guard ask a woman if she was taking pictures of art with her camera (she was texting, in front of the artwork, which should be an offense somehow) and then walk away immediately when she said what she was doing. I have been in museums where the security is so uptight that they are quick to accuse guests of doing something wrong, and really have this way of making visitors feel uncomfortable and under constant surveillance. That the NBMAA guards smiled was refreshing.

I’ll be back, but maybe for the less expensive First Friday event.