Category Archives: Blog

Post-it® Note Promises

Posted on September 21, 2016
Whenever I participate in some sort of large, group gathering for work, I always leave with “Post-it® Note promises,” whether literal or in the form of a mental note. These notes consist of follow-ups and reminders for myself stemming from conversations with members of the group. As is true for many people, meetings with staff or community members always yield mental notes, which are usually fairly easy to address and check off the list. Multi-day events, though, like the opening of Birds in Art is another story.

Seek and Find Inspirational Spark

Posted on September 14, 2016
Make up your own seek-and-find game to play when you visit the Museum to experience Birds in Art with friends and family this fall. Which artworks incorporate the mere suggestion of a bird, perhaps with only a feather, a shadow, or traces left on a sandy shore?

Stress Baking

Posted on September 07, 2016
Finding ways to cope in stressful situations varies from person to person. Some take the healthy route – hours in the gym or a miles-long run. Several friends advocate for yoga. Occasionally, a glass of wine or a cocktail can soothe shattered nerves. For years, I’ve opted for this: when tension puts calm thinking at risk, I take refuge in my kitchen. I take a deep breath, choose one of hundreds of recipes I’ve saved, and mix flour, sugar, eggs, and other ingredients into baked goods – mostly cookies.

Paris.

Posted on August 31, 2016
Paris. Louvre. Mona Lisa. Montmartre. All words describing their beauty and majesty have been lauded upon them and exhausted a million visitors ago. I had the privilege of returning to Paris and traveling with my seventeen-year-old daughter on her inaugural trip – a truly fabulous experience. She was likewise at a loss for words.

Honoring Our Mothers

Posted on August 24, 2016
My mother-in-law, Esther, celebrated her 97th birthday last week. At her party, Esther was surrounded by her loving family, honoring another birthday milestone. She is fortunate to still live at home, cared for by family members who help ground her when she struggles with memory loss.

You Never Know . . .

Posted on August 17, 2016
While I happily call Wausau, Wisconsin, home, among the wide-ranging benefits of my Woodson Art Museum work is the opportunity to travel.

Good Design, Gardens, and Great Company

Posted on August 10, 2016
A trusty loading-dock cart served as a makeshift coffee bar for volunteers who helped themselves to coffee, tea, and breakfast treats before boarding a motor coach bus headed for a visit to the Fox Valley yesterday.

“Vacation”

Posted on August 03, 2016
Much like when I’m waiting for that fish to nibble on the hook, reviewing the Birds in Art catalogue is a time to savor the birds around me.

Finding Favorites

Posted on July 27, 2016
What is Project Postcard? Birds in Art artists are asked to consider donating postcard-sized artworks which then are sold to members and guests during the Friday evening exhibition preview to raise funds for Woodson Art Museum acquisitions. Last year 156 postcards were available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Anonymity is part of the fun; purchasers must make their selections quickly – you have one minute to make a choice – without knowing who created the artworks, and artists are asked to help keep the secret.

Postcard from Idabel

Posted on July 20, 2016
It might not be easy to get to Oklahoma when you call Wisconsin “home,” but my visit this week to Idabel – in the lower, southeast corner of the Sooner State – was worth the effort. My destination was the Museum of the Red River, where the Woodson Art Museum-organized 2015 Birds in Art exhibition is currently on view