Holiday Museum Tour

My quilting and singing friend, Carol, invited me to accompany her on a leisurely drive to St. Petersburg by way of New Orleans.  Not quite the direct route but a very interesting one.  We left December 21st and headed south, stopping in Hartselle, Alabama.  Hartselle has several antique shops and we found some treasures there.  Mine was a nice thimble but Carol's was a quilt top.  She was initially drawn to the colors and construction of the top.  What made it even more interesting was that it was paper pieced using newspaper - with quite a bit of the newspaper still present.  And when we looked more closely, it was a newspaper from Gadsden, AL, dating from 1953 - about the time that Carol and her family were living in Gadsden!  So, what could she do but buy the quilt top??? 

Carol with her paper pieced quilt top.  Interesting construction technique and layout.  The question is, what to do with it now so that the paper doesn't deteriorate further.

After an overnight stop in Tuscaloosa, we made it to New Orleans in time for lunch at Herbsaint.  Delicious!  Meg, the daughter of my friend Diane, had suggested we consider the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.  It was an interesting museum, showcasing many artists from Louisiana and surrounding states.  It provided a great view of the city from the fourth floor terrace.  Following that, we enjoyed walking buying pralines (pronounced prah-leenes in New Orleans) and being tourists enjoying the revitalized French Quarter.

Margaret & Carol standing on the plaza overlooking St. Louis Cathedral.

The next morning after a quick stop for the traditional beignettes (delicious and covered with loads of powdered sugar), we headed east across US 90, a road that runs right next to the Gulf of Mexico.  Carol had gone on a mission trip a few years ago to assist in rebuilding a church devastated by Hurricane Katrina.  She was much encouraged by the rebuilding that had taken place.  While there were still many empty lots, there were also many new homes and businesses.  



Our museum of the day was the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art, recently opened in a building designed by Frank Gehry.  The museum had been under construction when Katrina hit and was levelled.  Designed in modules, it is now about 80% completed and there was only one major pod that was still under construction.  The museum featured the pottery of George Ohr, a native of Biloxi and a prolific potter, and included a special exhibit of Andy Warhol paintings.  Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area not only for the pottery on display but also for the center's unique architecture.

These pods are constructed as mini-galleries.  Quite an interesting design for a museum.

We arrived at St. Petersburg on Christmas Eve and enjoyed a wonderful dinner and evening with Carol's friends.  That was the beginning of a pleasant stay in St. Petersburg.  While there, we went to The Dali museum - a wonderful collection of Dali's paintings and drawings.  If you plan to go, they'll be in their new location a few blocks away in a new building built to withstand hurricane force winds.  What made the museum even more interesting for me was that I had read a book on Carol's bookshelf about Dali prior to visiting the museum.  It helped me understand the symbolism in several of his paintings and I was able to see images in some paintings that I might have missed otherwise.

We also visited the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts and had a delightful lunch in their atrium that overlooks the bay.  They had a special exhibit of American Impressionism 1870 - 1940 that was quite interesting and peaceful by comparison to the Dali paintings.



I was intrigued by the design - it would make a great border on a quilt!



The final museum was the recently opened Chihuly Collection, just two short blocks from Carol's condo.  That was an interesting look at the variety of glass sculptures coming out of Chihuly studios.  Just as interesting to me were the paintings done by Chihuly in preparation for the glassblowing.

This is the display outside of the Chihuly Collection.  It's plastic, not glass, but is still a stunning display.

On New Year's Eve, we had a great time strolling around downtown St. Petersburg during the 1st Night Celebration - a party with lots of family friendly artists and activities.  It included two sets of fireworks - at 9 p.m. and midnight - to help ring in the New Year.  

Just one of the fun activities for kids of all ages.  The goal here is to get to the top rung on the ladder without falling off.  What you can't see is the guy at the bottom who turns the rope ladder over to help you fall off!

So - back home again in Indiana (I'm singing this in my head) and with lots of quilts lined up, I need to get to work!  I hope you had all had a Happy New Year, too.

Cheers!
Margaret