Author: Lisa Hoffman, curator of education
Water-Cooler Repertoire
Posted on March 31, 2021
Water-cooler talk is socially distanced and topics limited to those that can be shared with projected voices along hallways and across office thresholds. With much of “typical” life on pause, conversation about pets provides common ground, different daily tales, humor, and an opportunity to truly help one another through advice and suggestions. I think I can safely say shared pet stories have enhanced our mental health and camaraderie.
A Piece of the Puzzle
Posted on February 03, 2021
I recently hunted in my jewelry box for a unique jigsaw puzzle piece, designed and decorated by my daughter when she was 7 years old. At the time, the thousand-piece puzzle under construction in the family room actually contained only 999 pieces, courtesy of our basset hound’s surreptitiousness. My compassionate daughter remedied the situation with her carefully crafted cardboard surrogate, which completed the puzzle and restored the dog’s good standing.
Transported by Light
Posted on December 23, 2020
It was the light and atmosphere. I knew it. I’d experienced it. I missed it.
Know me for longer than two minutes and you’ll quickly learn that I once lived along the front range of the Rocky Mountains. The three years I spent in Colorado were some of the best of my life. Many Midwesterners flocked there at the time. My theory on the mass transplantation was that Wisconsinites appreciate the four seasons but prefer Colorado’s milder version of each.
Treasures Redefined
Posted on November 25, 2020
For a daily mini-escape, I stream and watch past episodes of Antiques Roadshow – the U.K. version. In its forty-one seasons, the British show’s format is the same as the U.S. version. People bring objects, seeking an expert’s appraisal, a discussion of provenance or history of ownership, and estimated auction value. Participants vary, from treasure hunters trawling secondhand stores for the once-in-a-lifetime find to individuals inheriting an antique of which they know little or those with cherished memories.
Something to Talk About
Posted on October 28, 2020
Finding benign, lighthearted topics of conversation isn’t easy these days. There is much to talk about, but most is heavy and disheartening. I didn’t realize how much small talk – or at least the Midwestern variety – relies on shared experience or daily social interaction.
Autumn Absurdities
Posted on September 16, 2020
I like the word “absurd” and mental images it conjures – ridiculous, silly, incongruous . . . like a duck on a bike. Birds in Art artist David Milton agrees. He chose his painting’s subject – the 1950s tin toy – at the start of the coronavirus quarantine as a metaphor for the absurdity of the situation we are experiencing.
Out the Door
Posted on August 05, 2020
The evergreen I recall from childhood extended to the heavens, and courage was measured by letting go while hanging from a limb eight feet above the ground. The creek meandered – burbling over rocks, exposing imaginary quicksand, nourishing buttercups, and refreshing various wildlife. Milkweed fed Monarch butterflies and provided endless fascination. The rock pile invited both creation and parent-sanctioned destruction.
Impermanence
Posted on June 24, 2020
Viewing the summer exhibition, celebrating indigenous art of India, I hark back several decades to undergraduate religious studies courses. Though once well-versed in tenets, truths, sacred texts, and iconography, I now only retain oversimplifications of Western and Eastern philosophy and world religions. Dinner conversation with my young adult children is all the proof I need that nimble, nuanced, discourse will atrophy if not exercised. Their arguments are elegant and substantial; mine have morphed into easy-breezy recollections.
Extended Distractions
Posted on May 06, 2020
Working from home while many “safer-at-home” orders remain in effect, I employ a coping strategy suggested by many mental health specialists – distraction. I imagine art I wish to experience in person in a gallery and think especially of the Woodson Art Museum’s collection.
Bear Necessities
Posted on April 22, 2020
My neighborhood – also home to other Woodson Art Museum staff – is engaged in a “Teddy Bear Hunt.” Inspired by Michael Rosen’s children’s book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, neighbors display child-friendly items for viewing by children during walks.
