Earlier this month, as Woodson Art Museum staff readied two new exhibitions featuring French graphic arts and children’s book illustrations, I was touched by how the stories of three beloved animals came together for me. One is about a co-worker’s new puppy who scampered away for one harrowing day, and the other two creatures are referenced in the exhibitions. All three animal tales share aspects of successful networking, advertising, and happy endings.
Puppy Tales & Advertising Adventures
Posted on March 18, 2020
It’s Master Time
Posted on March 11, 2020Master Time? Yes. Time to announce the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum’s 2020 Birds in Art Master Artist.
In tandem with the 2020 exhibition, the Woodson Art Museum will honor Timothy David Mayhew with the Master Wildlife Artist Medal.
The Helping Hands Behind Origami Success
Posted on March 04, 2020Throughout three origami exhibitions that concluded March 1, the Woodson Art Museum welcomed more than 1,100 students during class visits. Before closing – or folding – the book on origami and turning to upcoming exhibitions being installed this week., I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the efforts of the Museum’s volunteer docents who guided students during the past twelve weeks.
Masterful Motivation for Parents
Posted on February 26, 2020For a cabin-fever-busting family outing, visit Art Park this week. Origami is a fun thing to do at home, too, if snowy weather requires hunkering down indoors.
Upcoming exhibitions feature a flair for France and delightful children’s book illustrations. Colorful French posters and illustrations by award-winning author and artist Melissa Sweet will grace the galleries, beginning March 7, and will offer spring-fever remedies galore.
Celebrating Student Art
Posted on February 19, 2020It seems like it was yesterday when I visited the Woodson Art Museum to interview for a summer position as a gardener. It was April 12, 1979, and part of the interview included a Museum tour. One stop was an unfinished room in the lower level filled with colorful artwork and a staff member placing the works in groups. These artworks, it was quickly explained, comprised the Student Art Exhibition, an annual recognition and display of the creative classroom work of area students; the exhibition had just concluded. Cool.
One short year later, I was part of the team organizing and installing the exhibition. To ensure the exhibition’s viability, we’ve made major changes and minor tweaks over the past forty-three years but the goal remains to honor the region’s talented art teachers and students.
Celebrating Papermaking
Posted on February 12, 2020Paper looms large at the Woodson Art Museum. Both the Museum and the community have their roots in the lumber industry. Current exhibitions celebrate origami artists – magicians who work their wonders with paper.
Somewhere Over the Snowblow
Posted on February 05, 2020Wait a second, did I hear that correctly? Is that the sound of paradise calling?
Hot Diggity
Posted on January 29, 2020A recent trip to New York City with curator of collections Jane Weinke had us uptown, downtown, and all around the city.
We started at the expanded and recently re-opened Museum of Modern Art and we wrapped up at the New York Historical Society. In between, we took in The Metropolitan, Museum of Arts and Design, Jewish Museum, and the AKC Museum of the Dog. There’s a museum devoted to dogs, you ask. That question is answered with a resounding “yes, indeed.”
Wu-Lang Clan
Posted on January 22, 2020I can’t resist a good opportunity for a pun. Iconic and revolutionary hip-hop artists, the Wu-Tang Clan shaped their genre and used the written word to write and re-shape the legacy of East-Coast rap. I’m a fan of artists Jiangmei Wu and Robert J. Lang (hence “Wu-Lang Clan”), both featured in Above the Fold and both visiting the Woodson Art Museum and kicking off 2020 in innovative and grand style.
Making Fleeting Magic
Posted on January 15, 2020This weekend, January 18-19, the Woodson Art Museum hosts origami artist Jiangmei Wu and snow sculptors as they work wonders with paper and snow. These artists’ transformations are magical. Whether you visit to marvel at their results or satisfy your curiosity about the artists’ tools and techniques, inspiration and insights are in store.
