Suspense!

Hanging over head when you walk into the Baltimore Museum of Art are these suspended orbs.

I cannot fathom how they were assembled - there are supporting wires in every conceivable direction!

BMA Exhibit by Stephen Towns

Last week was another trip to the Baltimore Museum of Art.

I won't share about our disappointments caused by our inexperienced Vantage House trip coordinator.  Needless to say there was no docent nor lunch reservation.

The exhibit most of us went right to was a small one focusing on the quilts by Stephen Towns.  

He trained as a painter and taught himself how to quilt to create some extraordinary quilts that are stories of our nation's slave history.

I've included all the labels with each quilt.

This flag was almost floor to ceiling.

It was interesting to look closely at these quilts.  Then it hit me how many times the same fabric was used for the sky, the clothing, and the scenery.  Doing that tied all the quilts together into one story.

The exhibit Stephen Towns: Rumination and a Reckoning runs through September 2, 2018.

Sure Do Miss This President

In early January Vantage House sponsored a trip to the Reginald Lewis Museum in Baltimore.

One room was devoted to these story quilts and one of those on President Obama.

Another on notable people in history who were African American.

And another on Maryland history.

Faberge Exhibit at the Walters

I spent Friday morning at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore.  This was a trip sponsored by Vantage House where we live.

One of their special exhibits is Faberge and the Russian Crafts Tradition with two of the 50 known Faberge Easter eggs owned by the Walters.  That was my first stop before I went exploring some of their other exhibits.  

First an apology - low lighting and difficulty in focusing means that some of these photos are not quite in focus.

At the start of the exhibit is this opened egg.

The egg is maybe 5 inches tall at the most so the scene inside is miniscule.

Besides the amazing carving what was astounding was that it was on mammoth ivory.

This necklace has paintings of the 4 daughters of Nicholas II and lots of diamonds.

Nearby was their photo.

Gold, diamonds, precious stones, silver and enamel were common elements in many of these pieces.

I loved this casket (box) for its many patterns.

Then there were these 4 animals carvings.

In a room by itself was this second egg.

It wasn't opened because once it contained a necklace which has been lost to history.

Many of the items in the exhibit are owned by the Walters having been collected by Henry Walters.  Others have been donated to the Walters or are on loan for this exhibit.