Indianapolis Museum of Art Blog

You may be familiar with a miniature horse named Cheesecake who warmed the hearts of spectators at the April 26 On Procession parade in Fountain Square. What you may not know is the tale behind the parade that brought him to that day. This is my personal account of Cheesecake, the miniature horse who could.

Wednesday, April 23
Three days and counting until parade day. My husband and I were checking out the parade route and scoping out bike racks in Fountain Square. We decided to ride our bikes over to Garfield Park and discovered the Pleasant Run Trail. After perusing in the spring air for an hour, it was time to head back home. Still on the trail, I slowed down upon catching sight of an adorably plump, but unusually small statured horse being brushed on a front porch. I excitedly shouted something like, “Look at the little horse!” and sped past. My more patient husband stopped for a closer look before catching up with me. How often to you see something like that? Read the rest of this entry »

May through September marks “high season” for weddings. Planning such a special event offers exciting opportunities to express your personal style. Whether art lovers or artists, there are unlimited ways to incorporate art into your wedding:

Location: Surround yourself and your guests with art by choosing a museum as your wedding venue. Tie the knot at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the State Museum, the Eiteljorg or as our development events manager Jane will do on May 25, at the Columbus Museum of Art. Feel too formal? Try a smaller, local art gallery for a more intimate setting.

Invitations: Have your invitations custom made by a graphic designer rather than a stationary representative or company. You’ll find that most graphic designers are happy to take a break from their daily grind to help you out.

Dress: Find inspiration for your wedding attire at Breaking the Mode or other museum fashion exhibitions. You’ll have a better understanding of construction, materials, form and concept, so when you get to the store, you’ll be the expert. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been obsessed with the forecast this week. Almost every hour from sunrise to sunup, I’ve visited weather.com to assess the temperature and rain chance for Saturday. On Monday and Tuesday the forecast called for rain. Yesterday thing improved significantly when the chance for rain dropped from 40% to 20%. Today, all weather stations are calling for mid-60 degree temps with no rain in the afternoon. PHEW! Mother Nature apparently is a fan of the parade. And why wouldn’t she be? Music, art, families, and projects with such fun and fantastic names as: “A Bag of Bees,” “Cinderella in the City,” and “Revenge of the Pinatas,” there’s something for everyone this Saturday.

So here are my final thoughts for all my loyal parade-lovin’ readers:

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Today we are pleased to welcome Anne Laker, our newest IMA blogger, representing the Education department. She is also known for her compassion for all things green, so please enjoy her inaugural post on this most appropriate occasion.

Never underestimate the potential of a bruised banana. Around the office at the IMA, my desk is known as repository for fruit that’s past its prime. Colleagues know—as an obsessive recycler—that I will repurpose their bananas by taking them home, tossing them in the freezer and using them in a smoothie.

The re-use ethic is the foundation of freeganism, the practice of strategic food salvaging. Freegans use their wits to rescue perfectly good food out of the back doors of grocery stores and other venues. Freegans and freecyclers can imagine other uses for other people’s garbage. [If you are an Indy-based freegan, please respond to this post!]

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Meet Christina Gentry; she’s the first – and so far the only – person to take me up on my offer to have lunch at Pucks with the IMA’s director, Max Anderson, for making a Wikipedia article about one of the IMA’s outdoor sculptures. As for TED, I’ll get to that later.

First check out Christina’s Wikipedia article on the Sutphin Fountain, which even has a link to a set of pictures of the fountain on Flickr.com. Nice work, Christina!

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