They Dew-ed It

In the introduction to our blog (above), we invite you to come along with us as we muse, inform, riff, and offer observations on day-to-day happenings at Franklin and 12th Street.

Birthdays are one of those “happenings.” Usually birthday celebrations at the Woodson Art Museum are low-key. A box of donuts, a bag or two of red licorice, M & Ms, homemade cookies (Jane Weinke’s April birthday is the best because she is a cookie baker par excellence).

On my November birthday this year, I had the surprise of a lifetime. My colleagues had lined up in marching order around my office seventy-two cans and bottles of Mountain Dew!

Why Mountain Dew? I’m addicted, though I am trying to wean myself off this particular habit. Or I will be once my 72 cans and bottles are gone. My “code name” with my grandchildren is Dewy as is my character name on their Wii baseball game.

The inspiration behind their gift? I had a slight meltdown at a Birds in Art opening weekend activity at which no Mountain Dew was present. Maybe it was more than slight.

After this year’s birthday, a bag of M & Ms is going to seem pretty mundane!

Our Holiday Potluck Lunch

Like many work “families,” the Woodson Art Museum staff is a diverse group of individuals who bring varied customs and traditions to holiday celebrations.

For lunch on Monday, we came together for a true holiday potluck. “True” in the sense that we had no sign-ups or assignments. If desserts prevailed, so be it . . . or hooray for all of us.

As it turned out, we treated ourselves to an array of delicious – and balanced – dishes, except for the absence of rolls, which is one of the easiest, tried-and-true potluck items. I suppose everyone wanted to be just a bit more creative.

We began with deviled eggs, shrimp, herring, salads, veggies and dip, and moved on to casseroles – including Kansas City Jack Stack Barbecue restaurant's famous Cheesy Corn Bake, good ol’ fashioned farm-hearty beans, and meatballs.

Desserts were plentiful, too: holiday cookies, chiffon cheesecake, carrot cake, chocolate-frosted snowman (a nod to the sub-zero weather we’re experiencing), apple pie, and fudge. No shortage of tempting treats.

Eighteen of us enjoyed lunch (I know, it sounds like there was food for many more and there was!) and one another’s company. We laughed, shared plans for the holidays, and recognized how truly fortunate we are. We take great pride in our work and in the Woodson Art Museum, and we have fun to boot.

There’s nothing quite like a potluck lunch to get you in the holiday spirit!


PS. Our gathering had a community-service element, too. Staff members brought canned goods and other food items, which we donated to our friends at The Neighbor’s Place.

Bird Is the Word

One of my challenges as the curator of collections is to find ways to tie the Woodson’s permanent collection to its changing exhibitions. Obviously during Birds in Art that connection is no problem. It becomes a bit more difficult with an exhibition like More Than Words. Fortunately, the Museum is a good steward and save ephemera it receives, including artists’ illustrated letters and thank you notes. A sampling of these is included in Bird Is the Word, currently on view in the gallery adjacent to the Museum’s entrance.

These letters share thoughts on the importance of the Woodson Art Museum, specifically the annual Birds in Art exhibition. Dutch artist Robin d’Arcy Shillcock is known for completely filling the white space around his written word with colorful sketches and doodles. In a 2008 letter he regrets being unable to attend the opening weekend festivities and sends best wishes to Master Wildlife Artist Jim Morgan. Elliot Offner used a drawing of Daedalus surrounded by elaborately penned script to share his eloquent thoughts after being honored as Master in 2003-truly a thank you note posing as a work of art.

A beautiful pastel painting records Fred Somers’ daily observations of the comings and goings of birds to a flowering Lady Slipper. Of the many visitors, he chose a ruby-throated hummingbird to include in the composition. Somers’ writing is reminiscent of a journal page, providing the viewer with insights into the musings of an artist.

From doodles to elaborate watercolor paintings, from a brief note to a multi-verse poem, each of the seventeen artists honors the Woodson Art Museum with a beautiful as well as thoughtful illustrated letter.

The Kindnesses of Colleagues

In mid-November I had the pleasure of accompanying twenty-three Woodson Art Museum members on a six-day adventure in the South Carolina and Georgia Low Country. We focused on Charleston and Savannah and the surrounding areas with an emphasis on the arts in the broadest sense of the word, including not only the visual arts but also historic architecture, garden design and, most important, the culinary arts!

From my perspective, the trip comprised highlight after highlight (okay, this is hyperbole, but I feel it is more than justified). When I close my eyes and reflect on the experiences, I am most appreciative of the kindnesses of my colleagues who took time to greet, welcome, and visit with our group.

At Brookgreen Gardens, the extraordinary haven for American figurative sculpture located between Murrells Inlet and Pawleys Island, President Bob Jewell welcomed us, and my friend Robin Salmon, Vice President of Sculpture, led a walking tour of the gardens and provided insightful history for many of the most important works, including Carl Milles’ Fountain of the Muses.

In Charleston, Gibbes Museum of Art director Angela Mack also welcomed the Woodson group prior to docent-led tours of Grass Roots: African Origins of an American Art, which told the story of the beautiful coiled baskets made for generations by families in the southeastern United States. And in Savannah, senior educator at the Telfair Museum of Art, Harry DeLorme, met us at the Telfair’s fabulous new Jepson Center for the Arts, where he detailed the building’s design process and introduced the exhibitions we would see, including glassworks by William Morris, many of which had been presented at the Woodson in spring 2005 in Myth, Object, and the Animal.

While a visit to the Telfair, the Gibbes, or Brookgreen is exciting and inspiring in and of itself, an introduction by a key staff member or time spent with a knowledgeable docent can significantly heighten an experience. This was certainly the case during our recent Low Country adventure and I’m grateful.