Collecting Comments

Posted on August 16, 2017
I love to collect Woodson Art Museum visitors’ comments and stories. It’s delightful to see what Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum visitors love, appreciate, and are inspired by during their time here. To me, the recently installed comment wall in the sculpture garden is a treasure trove.

The Wall(s)

Posted on August 09, 2017
Although walls may not seem as crucial as the artwork they support, an attractive and reliable backdrop ensures enjoyment of the artwork.

Wabi Sabi

Posted on August 02, 2017
With a background in sociology and comparative religious studies, I’ve done my share of navel-gazing; with a career in gallery engagement, artwork-gazing is a daily ritual. Imagine my bliss when an art exhibition encompasses more than a process, medium, or movement and extends to a worldview.

Bad Hair Day & Molting Makeover

Posted on July 26, 2017
If you’ve visited the Woodson Art Museum during the past year, you’ve likely noticed near the main entrance the nearly thirty-foot-tall sculpture of a pair of dancing sandhill cranes made of tree saplings, tie-wraps, and plastic bags.

Woodson Goes to Washington

Posted on July 19, 2017
Since learning the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum would receive the 2017 National Medal for Museum Service, I have been counting the days until the Washington, D.C. award ceremony. It’s now come and gone. The memories will be with me forever.

Adventures in Kiln Sitting

Posted on July 12, 2017
Like many people, I learn best by doing. For years, my knowledge of ceramics was minimal and I hadn’t really considered pottery since I was a pre-teen taking classes at Chicago’s Lill Street Art Center. That all changed about six months ago when I revisited ceramics in preparation for the Woodson Art Museum’s summer exhibition, Nature, Tradition & Innovation: Contemporary Japanese Ceramics, on view through August 27.

This Medal Is Your Medal

Posted on July 05, 2017
Sunshine and dry skies are needed for the Woodson Art Museum’s community celebration on Thursday, August 3, 4-7 pm, in the sculpture garden. Save that August 3 date; we hope the community will bask in the glow of the Museum’s recognition as a winner of the 2017 National Medal for Museum and Library Service – the nation’s highest museum honor for service to the community.

Celebrating Family

Posted on June 28, 2017
The Wagner family spent nearly every Fourth of July at Thunder Lodge, a summer home on Deer Lake near Tomahawk, Wisconsin. From the late 1950s through 2011, generations of Wagners and friends spent the holiday swimming, biking, waterskiing, enjoying cookouts, and going to town for the fireworks.

Joe.

Posted on June 21, 2017
It’s the laugh that I miss. Joe had a marvelous baritone laugh. It wasn’t belly-splitting or loud or protracted. It was warm and inviting . . . the kind of laugh that interrupted your thoughts and made you look at his face, with the gentle eyes and amiable smile.

Indoor Birding and Art Appreciation

Posted on June 14, 2017
Being the Woodson Art Museum's resident expert – and I use that term loosely – on all things birds, I recently took on an Art 101 program designed as an indoor birding expedition among paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings in the south galleries.