Long-term loans of artwork from private collectors and other museums are an effective and efficient way for a museum to give visitors a new perspective on its permanent collection, and for lenders to get their artwork out to new audiences. In the Charles O. McGaughey Gallery on the second floor of the IMA, visitors will currently find a painting by Thomas Gainsborough, titled Wooded Rocky Landscape with Mounted Peasant, Drover, Cattle, and Distant Building, on loan from the Tacoma Art Museum.

Image Courtesy of the Tacoma Art Museum

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Filed under: Art

As Irvin so beautifully illustrated last week, winter has arrived. I have had to break out my heavy coat and glove liners for working in the gardens.  At home, I’ve had to light the furnace and there have been “three-cat-nights.”  But if I see one more Snuggie or Dreamie commercial , I’ll scream. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Horticulture

Stone Mason, courtesy of old-picture.com

This fall the folks in Horticulture, led by Geoff Von Burg, proved once again they know more than plants by completing two important hardscape projects. The first came about when The Toby was renovated and the handicap emergency egress ramp had to be added into the existing landscape.  This left a 2-3 foot grade change along the path. To prevent erosion and save as many trees as possible a beautiful stacked limestone wall was installed. This project required Geoff’s considerable skills and the handy work of several other garden staff to cut and lay the stone.  The area will be planted in the spring and will make a nice transition between the building and the gardens.

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Filed under: Horticulture

Ah, damn! Who made it October already? Frost cannot be far away. It would be a miracle to get another 4 weeks in before it hits. Hopefully we will get at least 2 more weeks of temperatures above 32.  Soon all my beautiful tropicals will be gone from the landscape and all that will be left is that hardy crap. Oh, I know. Like Frosty the Snowman they will be back some day. But in the meantime there is the bleak period filled with cold rain, blowing snow, and worst of all, never-ending gray skies. What the ancient ones called the Midwest Winter.

To be honest I am at a bit of a loss for ideas for this week’s blog. Well, not at a loss for ideas really, but at a loss for ideas that the muse can turn into a blog. The muse is being a rhymes-with-witch this week. Some weeks I can pound one of these out in a couple hours. Other weeks are like this one, three days off and on and I’m still not there. And the blog is hardly something I can afford to spend too many hours on. So it finally came to me to describe in a bit of detail this summer’s design for the circle bed in front of the Museum. I can’t let you into my head for the entire thought process however. It is a far too dangerous place. There are things in there that even I’m afraid of.

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Filed under: Horticulture

It’s Friday the 13th. Oooooooooo. I’m so scared. If you want a history of why this day is considered bad go here. If you want to know why I don’t buy into the theory stay here. Black cat, you want to cross my path? Go right ahead. When you get to the other side I’ll give you a bowl of Friskees (Frisky!). I might even change your litter box. Ladder up ahead, I will walk right under you. Crack in the side walk, I will step on you. Then patch you so a stiletto heel won’t get mangled (To quote Karen from Will and Grace, “Kill one piece and the whole ensemble dies!”).

Personally I don’t think a date on the calendar brings bad luck. Frequently what appears to be bad luck is actually the result of bad judgment. When I rear ended the car in front of me many years ago it wasn’t bad luck. It was stupidity. Why did I take my foot off the brake at a red light? Maybe I was distracted by the Scotsman in the other bucket seat. When I don’t have a presentation ready and I have an article due and a blog to write – all on the same day, it isn’t bad luck. It’s procrastination (I almost said procastration. Entirely different. And as a general rule I am not but sometimes…..) We make much of our bad luck in my opinion. So on this day that is rife with superstition I’m looking at why this is a GOOD day.

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Filed under: Horticulture