Dec31
Tag Archives: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Nov5
Video of the Week #278: Restoring a Painting at the Met
Aug27
Video of the Week #268: A New Tutu for the Little Ballerina
Dec20
Creative Juice #169
Creative stuff that will delight you.
- A phenomenon noticed at an art museum.
- What leaves do.
- This tile effect is achieved with spray paint.
- What happens when a sketching enthusiast goes to The Nutcracker.
- One dot at a time.
- What to give your loved one who is an artist.
- Even if you hate guns, I’ll bet you’ll like these.
- I love looking at this artist’s intricate designs.
- Books make awesome Christmas presents. Just sayin’.
- I don’t understand how someone can draw photographic portraits using only pencils.
- An artist discusses a daguerreotype pin.
- You still have time to make this cute winter decoration. But no old sock in my house is that white! I say buy a new pair and make two of these snowmen.
Dec13
Creative Juice # 168
Inspiring works of art and clever diversions.
- Artistic justice for cell phone abusers.
- My husband’s beard and mustache look like #11’s. Most of the rest of these prize winners are too bizarre for me.
- John Lennon in photographs.
- We had a hail storm here (Phoenix area) on Monday, which is the closest I’ve come to snow in years. However, this nostalgic article about a snow activity resonated with me.
- Travel to Rome.
- I truly enjoy following this creative person on Instagram. She quilts, embroiders, draws, tangles, and makes her own rubber stamps.
- Inspired by yellow.
- Things I didn’t know about Louisa May Alcott.
- Awesome Christmas GIFs.
- Visiting the Egyptian exhibit at the Met with an artist.
- It’s a String Thing was a weekly Zentangle challenge for six years. It’s no longer active, and I miss it. Here is one of the last challenges.
- A bride wonders how Erasmus got hold of her wedding ring.
Dec15
Creative Juice #72
Fourteen servings of beauty and creativity:
- Animated photos.
- These houses are for the birds.
- Beautiful quilts by Diana McClun.
- Two-dimensional reclaimed wood portraits.
- An interesting glimpse at Da Vinci’s genius, and two more books I want to read.
- A sculptor talks about the Period Room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Oliver Sacks said imitation and mastery of form precede creativity.
- Embroidery beyond the hoop.
- Nonfiction reading list.
- Illustrators celebrate Christmas.
- This Christmasy blog post is just so pretty I had to share it.
- A quick trip around the world in photographs.
- Some lovely menorahs.
- An artist’s (slightly twisted) process for writing a Christmas book.
Apr25
Video of the Day: U is for Unicorn in Captivity
Share my obsession.
Sep22
Own a Piece of the Met
Antique Lovers: have you ever wanted a distinguished piece of furniture or decorative art? Something of museum quality?
Well, get ready. On October 27, 2015, Christie’s in New York City will be auctioning 200 lots of English furnishings from THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART!
Our real challenge has been to determine which pieces belong in a museum and which, on the contrary, would sing louder and better in someone’s home.–Luke Syson, curator of European sculpture and decorative arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Proceeds of the sale will benefit the Met’s Acquisitions Fund.
Read these articles from ArtNews and Christie’s website for more information. And save your pennies. 😉
Sep17
Video of the Week #12
My favorite museum ever! The incredible Unicorn Tapestries are shown at 18:20. To read my post about The Cloisters, click here.
Jul22
Cloister Me
I have loved The Cloisters, the branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to medieval art and architecture, since I visited it on a field trip when I was a freshman in high school. In fact, it is the setting of the second chapter of the novel I’m writing about a high school freshman who, um, visits The Cloisters on a field trip (any similarities between this story and my life are strictly <ahem> coincidental).
Near the northern tip of Manhattan in Fort Tryon Park, its location atop a wooded hill makes you think you’re far away from New York City. Standing on the terrace overlooking the Hudson River, you almost believe you are somewhere in Europe long, long ago.
The word cloister means “a covered walk in a convent, monastery, college, or cathedral, typically with a wall on one side and a colonnade open to a quadrangle on the other.” The museum building is largely assembled from architectural elements from ruins of European monasteries, with authentic columns supporting the arches of the walkways. The structure suggests, rather than duplicates, parts of the originals. There are four open courtyards, planted with herbs and flowers you might have found in a medieval garden. There is even a chapel constructed in gothic style.
Gathered within the walls of The Cloisters are masterpieces of sculptures, tapestries (including the famous Unicorn Tapestries, to which I will devote a future post), stained glass, paintings, old illustrated manuscripts, and metal artifacts. Looking at these treasures awakens a sense of wonder at the vision and craftsmanship of artists long dead. (The photographs in this article are from metmuseum.org and commons.wikimedia.org. Click on the pictures below for a better view.)
But more than anything else, it’s the setting that appeals to me. I’ve been there three times in my life, and each visit touched me deeply. I remember the place so vividly. The hushed peacefulness, despite crowds of museum guests. It is truly a sanctuary, a holy place.
Is there a place that speaks to you, that moves you to your very core? Share below in the comments.
