……………………..Chapter #5………………”POTTERY & CERAMICS”………..There were many ceramic pots on display…..some in the shape of animals and frogs……but many were just beautifully hand painted in wonderful designs…..The designer in me couldn’t help but think what beautiful printed fabrics many would make!
………………….Chapter #3…………”AFRICAN ARTIFACTS”……………I WANTED everything I saw as my friend Tom and I wandered through the show…….Okay, maybe not the BIG ROCK sculpture that Tom was standing behind!!!….but everything else! The amazing hand carved chair and the tables would look SOOOOO GOOD in my home, and who could help but not love that couple, and the CRAZY face of the man with the WHITE TEETH………I wanted it ALL!
………………..Chapter #2……….”PRIMITIVE ART”………………I don’t know what draws me to primitive art….the crudeness, the honesty, the earthy colors and materials, the lack of pretension….so many things….I just love it and could look at it for hours. The exhibit had a wide range of figurines….many doing everyday things….I was glad the surroundings were the perfect place to show these fabulous creations where you could walk around them, and just meander from display to display….There also weren’t too many people so you had the opportunity to look and think….undisturbed!………..I simply can’t praise this exhibition enough!
…………………….”ARTS OF OCEANIA, ARTS OF GREEK AND ROMAN ART”… the title of the brand new exhibit at the Met………..Chapter #1……..The next exhibition I wanted to see was a new installation in a new venue at the Metropolitan Museum of Art….The rooms are magnificent…very open and spacious with tons of natural light which comes through a wall of floor to ceiling windows…..The African displays are numerous, and every piece magnificent….I would love to own any single piece to add to my own African collection…..The wood carvings as you enter the great room are breath taking. They are huge and many go almost up to the ceiling….There is an in depth description of exactly how they were made and by whom. When the Mangrove trees were felled they were brought into the village, and the master carvers, all men, were sequestered and went into a darken ceremonial building to carve these incredible “pole” pieces until they were finished. They truly are wonders. It surprised me just how pornographic some of them were. I guess it was considered natural, and what may seem surprising to us….was not shocking or unnatural to them at all. This was one of the very best exhibits I have seen in years…..very INSPIRATIONAL!…..I hope you enjoy seeing it through my eyes as much as I did seeing it in person.
……………..The other day I was shopping in one of my favorite stores………….TERAIN…………and I found these wonderful BIRD HOUSES…..I couldn’t resist them……When I got home I enlisted Franco to help me hang them……As I directed him where I wanted them hung….he strung them up………They are supposed tom be for small birds……I think I’ll take them down during the winter months so they don’t get ruined, and hang them again next spring….So far….no occupants!