At the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, standards of excellence are not abstract. They are the principles that guide the Museum’s operations, commitment to professionalism, and programming day in and day out.

The Woodson Art Museum’s current exhibition, Rarely Seen: Photographs of the Extraordinary offers large photographs of unusual and exotic scenes from around the world. I enjoy walking through the galleries, seeing visitors leaning in to study the details within the photographs or intently reading labels to learn more about the location or subject. I wonder how many of our visitors are adventurers, seeking out rare and exotic locations during their travels. Are they studying the photographs hoping to find inspiration for their next trip?

On Monday, March 19, twenty-three first-year students from the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Central Wisconsin campus visited the Woodson Art Museum. Their visit marks the school’s second annual trip to the Museum, which aims to hone students’ observational and communication skills using artwork on view as a launching pad for critical thinking and conversation.

My mild case of spring fever is morphing into wanderlust. Visits to the Woodson Art Museum – always admission free – offer virtual vacations this spring. The National Geographic exhibition, Rarely Seen: Photographs of the Extraordinary, features astonishing moments, events, and natural wonders from throughout the world. Meander through galleries, and send your imagination soaring – just the virtual-travel ticket for wanderlust.

With the single click of a mouse last Thursday morning, March 8, the Woodson Art Museum proudly and joyfully shared the news that pastel artist Cindy House would be honored as the 2018 Birds in Art Master Artist.

My family and co-workers will attest that I have periods of clumsiness. Sometimes the incidents are resolved with a bandage and other times, not. After a recent ice-related fall, several doctors and X-rays, a removable brace, two fiberglass casts, and restrictions to not lift anything heavier than a toothbrush, I’m on the mend.

Nellie is sophisticated, older, and receives private, in-home lessons. Mike and Molly are a bonded pair displaced by Hurricane Harvey. Ellie Mae’s pedigree is a smidge dubious (a further explanation follows), and Piper is a bounding, Tennessee ball of energy. Puppies . . . plenty of puppies. Our staff of fewer than twenty-five is currently raising five dogs, each younger than one year.

Emerging from what seems like a long winter, I’m always happy to get back into nature to pursue my favorite pastime – birdwatching. The Great Backyard Bird Count was last weekend, and I’m happy to report that our winter bird population is vibrant and healthy. In fact, we’ve seen a robust return of common redpolls and pine siskins, whose numbers were very low last year.

Valentine’s Day is one of my two favorite holidays. No surprise, the other is Thanksgiving. Love and food. These holidays are hard to beat. I take an expansive and inclusive approach to Valentine’s Day, perhaps more like a kindness day — to others and to ones’s self — and a reminder that love takes many forms. We regularly see aspects of love and kindness on full display — yes, pun intended — at the Woodson Art Museum.

I met printmaker Sherrie York late Sunday evening at the Central Wisconsin Airport where she arrived after a harrowing day of travel to begin a two-week printmaking residency, which kicked off early Monday morning. During her residency, Sherrie and I will work with over 150 area students, first onsite at the Woodson Art Museum and then again in their classrooms.