Tag Archives: Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
Change Is Good
Posted on December 02, 2020
As the calendar page turns to December, in a typical year I would be preparing for an annual Christmas cookie-baking weekend. A few friends and family would come together for three days to bake dozens of cookies which, ultimately, we give away. It’s my favorite holiday tradition.
This year, thinking positively that change is good, holiday baking will be different. There will be delicious cookies, yet just not as many as in the past. Instead of thirty different varieties of holiday treats, I’ll prepare just a few. I’m thinking of challenging myself with more difficult recipes that might fail, versus the tried and true.
Treasures Redefined
Posted on November 25, 2020
For a daily mini-escape, I stream and watch past episodes of Antiques Roadshow – the U.K. version. In its forty-one seasons, the British show’s format is the same as the U.S. version. People bring objects, seeking an expert’s appraisal, a discussion of provenance or history of ownership, and estimated auction value. Participants vary, from treasure hunters trawling secondhand stores for the once-in-a-lifetime find to individuals inheriting an antique of which they know little or those with cherished memories.
It Takes More Than a Village
Posted on November 18, 2020
To receive a Distinguished Career Award is so much more than the tangible gift I will cherish. The recognition caps my deep love for the work I have been privileged to do for almost forty years.
My gratitude to the Woodson Art Museum “village” and to the community of Midwest museums is boundless.
Extending Birds in Art Possibilities
Posted on November 04, 2020
Aware of the popularity and importance of Birds in Art, the Museum made the decision to reschedule the winter exhibitions, The Global Language of Headwear: Cultural Identity, Rites of Passage & Spirituality and the concurrent Stormy Kromer: Evolution of a Classic, and extend Birds in Art into late February 2021. This potentially allows additional time for visitors to experience the 45th edition of Birds in Art, provided the pandemic allows a timely reopening.
Something to Talk About
Posted on October 28, 2020
Finding benign, lighthearted topics of conversation isn’t easy these days. There is much to talk about, but most is heavy and disheartening. I didn’t realize how much small talk – or at least the Midwestern variety – relies on shared experience or daily social interaction.
A Standing Ovation for a Shining Career
Posted on October 14, 2020
After years of deflecting the spotlight away from herself and, instead, toward the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, director Kathy Kelsey Foley is being ushered to center stage. Kathy is receiving the Association of Midwest Museum’s Distinguished Career Award for her significant contributions to the museum field.
Time
Posted on September 30, 2020
With the blink of any eye, we’re mindful that Birds in Art remains on view “only” through Sunday, November 29.
Don’t let time slip away this fall. Make plans to visit the Woodson Art Museum and Birds in Art . . . or make a virtual visit to our galleries through videos highlighted by artist-voices. You can revel in the artistry on view throughout the Woodson Art Museum’s galleries and grounds, and time can seem irrelevant.
Autumn Absurdities
Posted on September 16, 2020
I like the word “absurd” and mental images it conjures – ridiculous, silly, incongruous . . . like a duck on a bike. Birds in Art artist David Milton agrees. He chose his painting’s subject – the 1950s tin toy – at the start of the coronavirus quarantine as a metaphor for the absurdity of the situation we are experiencing.
Slow Summer’s Hourglass Sand
Posted on August 26, 2020
Somehow, summer always seems to slip away before we know it. Only a few days remain to experience this summer’s exhibition, Many Visions, Many Versions: Art from Indigenous Communities in India, on view through August 30. Imagine pausing the passage of time, even for an afternoon. Who knows? Maybe visiting the Woodson Art Museum with others will help slow the slippage of sand through the hourglass of summer.
Salute to Shari
Posted on August 12, 2020
Organizations, especially relatively small ones like the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum that engender long tenures among staff, are a lot like families . . . and close-knit ones, at that. We don’t just work together, we get to know one another and we care deeply about one another.
It’s bittersweet, therefore, to share the news of administrative manager Shari Schroeder’s retirement at the end of September. While I am thrilled for Shari and her family – and know that Woodson Wanderings readers will be, too – I am experiencing more than a twinge of blueness when I think about the Woodson Art Museum without her. Shari represents a key piece of the puzzle that makes the Museum staff not only a productive whole, but also relevant in a multi-faceted and connected way.
