Keeping evil spirits out of the garden and home- bottle trees were created to catch those evil spirits. Here’s an article about the American Bottle Tree on Smithsonian Gardens blog.
I photographed this blue bottle tree in Lenox CT as we went for early morning coffee in November. The bottle tree has African origins and has now spread across the country but was primarily evident in the South. Now you can order a bottle trees online from you know where.
Barkhamsted Reservoir in Connecticut.
To remember. Read their names.
As I was photographing one of these brass Stolpersteine, an elderly man came up to us and said in German “it’s important to remember the bad things that happen.”
Artist Gunter Demnig creates the Stoplersteines and personally places them in the sidewalks, using a small trowel, in front of the residences where individuals and families were taken by the Nazis. They all say “here lived_______” , their name and their dates and the location where they were murdered.
Writer Megan King says in her article https://theculturetrip.com/europe/germany/articles/the-deeper-meaning-behind-berlins-brass-cobblestones/ “These cobblestone plaques that bear a tragic chapter of German history are the open-ended project first initiated in 1996 by the German artist Gunter Demnig. Not only is their message one of remembrance and of personalising the victims by honouring their names, but their purpose is also thought-provoking, aiming to initiate discussion and stimulate thought.”
(Link to another post about the Stolpersteine remembrance project)
The last photo taken at night illustrating how the light catches the brass plaques. Here are a few of the thousands of stolpersteines placed in Berlin but the project has expanded to other countries as well.
The title of today’s post comes from a conversation I had with one of the guards in the gallery. He has seen two women lie down on the museum floor to look up the dresses ( he thought they had fainted), two men blow on the hanging costumes to get them to move (saliva included) and a 5 or 6 year old ran into the Queen Elizabeth gown the other day. Today I saw a woman reach to touch the gossamer lace on a collar. It’s hard to fathom that the gorgeous costumes/sculptures are made entirely of paper but they are.
Today at the Frick Art Museum we viewed the exhibition of Isabelle de Borchgrave : Fashioning Art from Paper
In a week’s time I hosted Charlie and Laura and then Michael,Jack and Maura.
The streetcar parked in the Heinz History Center lobby was a big hit with all the grandchildren
Charlie driving the streetcar
Jack at the controls.
Pittsburgh Streetcars on Northside Routes
YouTube video
Right in Millvale PA, across the Allegheny River from Pittsburgh.
” Croatian artist Maxo Vanka painted a one-of-a-kind masterpiece on the interior walls of St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale, PA. The 25 murals—created in two intense periods in 1937 and 1941—are unique, evocative and larger-than-life representations of faith and family; the immigrant experience in America; social justice and injustice and the horrors of war” from the website Vanka Murals
When I parked on Grant Avenue, I noticed the banner sign on the lamppost and remembered seeing these dramatic and stunning murals at St. Nicholas Church. Information on the website link about how to get a tour and how to support the preservation of these significant and historic artworks.
Pittsburgh Streetcar in the South Hills, right across from the mall.
Streetcars in Pittsburgh History
We drove in and parked. Through the exhibits and a video we learned a lot about the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. Hunting, fishing, artifacts, fur trading industry, There was an exhibit about the 2014 wildfires in the area We were welcomed at the front desk and shown around by the Museum Coordinator- Kristen Heidenthal
Anthropology & Museum Studies majors as undergrad and a Master’s in Archives and Administration
Q
Dugout Canoe belonged to Long Jim a chief of the Chelan Tribe
The other night my dear friends (and blog followers)Tookie and Jack, left two tickets for the Killer Heels Show in my mail basket.
Today my friend Vincie and I used them to see the Killer Heels show right here in Pittsburgh.
We had the best time.
Here’s a gallery of Killer Heels and A link to the show Killer Heels Frick Art Museum and opening night party sounded pretty wild and fun. The show is there until September 4th. Post-Gazette story about opening party
You start by reading the history -men wore them first!
A woman studies the beginning of the exhibit.
1880
Did you ever watch Sex and the City?
Yes, that’s David Bowie wearing the shoes above!
Something for everyone……
Lady Gaga shoe, worn in her perfume ad.
Glass slipper-
Here is an old Post with Killer Heels tag after I saw the show in New York with my sister.
In this second post, I mentioned the Brooklyn Museum First Night December 2014 But I didn’t photograph any of the Killer Heels show then- maybe photography was not allowed?
Today I asked the guard if I could use my phone camera without flash and he said yes
The visitor center had a display case of Mrs. Frick’s shoes
Then we headed home.
Thanks Tookie and Jack. We enjoyed ourselves tremendously.
The Gift Shop
Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe is organized by Lisa Small, Curator of Exhibitions, Brooklyn Museum”
Heinz History Center- downtown Pittsburgh
A sampling of the exhibit. I went with the Retired Teachers after a luncheon at Lidia’s.
Memories of childhood in America.
Here are a few-Erector sets and Tinker Toys. Lincoln Logs. Slinky and Etch-a-Sketch, Pac Man and Star Wars. Barbie dolls and GI Joe. Mr. Potato Head and trolls. Spirograph and Cootie. Howdy Doody, Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers.
Maybe you’ll recognize one of your toys from your childhood.
You can touch the paper on this table in the rotunda.
