Blooming Art

We took advantage of fine weather and a long lunch break and made two trips to the Minneapolis Institute of Art this past week.

Our lunch date was all about Matisse. I learned a lot and appreciated his stamina and creativity even when wheel-chair bound and elderly.

Our second outing, a ladies afternoon, was all about flowers. We explored the third floor of the MIA on a day when all of Minneapolis and half of St. Paul had the same idea. Meandering through the crowds, sometimes up on tiptoe to peer over heads at famous works, was totally worth it.

This is the one weekend of the year when people create floral arrangements inspired by masterpieces. Some are more literal interpretations, others give more of an impression or suggestion of elements of the painting or sculpture.

Here are the side by side shots we managed to capture. Turns out one camera was not enough for one mom and three daughters. We kept jockeying for turns and positions in front of the works hoping to capture our favorite pieces. (I learned later that afternoon that Churchill Downs would also be home to this behavior. The Kentucky Derby, the fastest two minutes in all of sports, was set to run that day.)

Loved this one. Check out the drapery, the gorgeous fabric on this woman. Even the little dog got a nod from the florist/artist.

Taken by one of the girls. I love this shot.

The Magi - stunning.

Not sure what happened with this photo, but I like it.

Ahhhh. Van Gogh.

This painting we thought was kind of funny. The dove, the Holy Spirit, seems to shoot the baby, Jesus, straight at Mary's head. 

We liked how the scene was imagined and represented in this arrangement. The yellow orchid traveling down the vine towards "Mary".

Being afraid of heights, it was hard to get this shot but I somehow wanted to capture the space. Two floors below a string quartet was playing and it was lovely to listen to the sound ring through the hall.

My youngest insisted that we couldn't leave without seeing the "big white dog".

I can see what she means. He was big and white and a dog. The floral arrangement was just as simple, but impressive, I thought. His little nose, a red gerbera. Cute. See the partial view of that guy's face? More on that later.

Heading back to our car I stopped to take this picture.

It reminded me of the image as the backdrop for this blog. Minus the fake flowers.

Good times in Minneapolis!

DIY Centerpiece

One detail I spent time on last week was creating four centerpieces to decorate tables for our guests as we dined and celebrated our daughter's making her First Holy Communion.

It's important to me to draw attention to the heart of the event, occasion, or reason for any gathering. In this case, we were celebrating the presence of Jesus in the bread and wine and remembering his words to his friends. It seemed appropriate to highlight this in our home.


A quick google image search provided this arrangement of John 6:35: "I am the bread of life..."

I printed it and wrapped it around a mason jar. Digging through our wrapping paper box I found the perfect color and size of ribbon to tie around the jar and conceal the line on the back.

My daughters assembled the tulips in nice arrangements and voila! A Spring centerpiece - beautiful and meaningful for this special occasion.

Now we just need some sunshine to open these babies up!

Friday Evening Art Crawl

Our Friday family night was glorious - the weather, the scenery, the creativity, the spontaneity.

We visited two locations where local artists are displaying their creations in our hometown city as part of the weekend's Saint Paul Art Crawl.

First we stopped in at the Grand Hill Gallery to check out cousin Josh's paintings.

Here's the artist himself (on the right) and a couple of his paintings we admired.

Other artists displayed their works here too. I think our collective favorite was this sculpture - Dancers. Simply made with two forks. Brilliant.

Upon leaving the Grand Hill location we took a quick detour to this tiny park near our beloved first house.

Then we headed to the newly renovated Schmidt brewery artist lofts to check out cousin David's paintings.

 It's a talented artistic family I married into. Here's a shot from David's studio.

And this building and lofts are amazing. I just couldn't get enough. A gorgeous blend of the old and new.

Here are the shots our eldest captured as she meandered through the building.

Sunset on the way home was a perfect end to our evening excursion.

Easter Crepe Cake

We had an unusual Easter. Sickness kept the family divided for the Triduum. Sickness kept us from enjoying the taste of delicious food and pleasant company altogether. Bummer of a weekend in one sense.

A few highlights made is memorable in a good way though. We initiated the Italian soda and cannoli dessert as part of our timpano tradition. We tried an all natural version of egg dye by using left over cabbage - it worked! We almost overheated in the pure glory of 70 degrees and clear skies.

And we enjoyed the heavenly crepe cake that my sister made and served for brunch.

Smitten Kitchen's recipe for Crepe Cake.

Divine. Simply divine.

Sew Good Goods

Combine a traditional skill, socializing, and compassionate giving and you get Sew Good Goods.

Sew Good Goods is a Twin Cities based non-profit organization that provides materials and instructions to any individual or group who wishes to sew bibs, receiving blankets, or pillowcases. These are then collected and distributed to those in need, both locally and abroad.

Whether you are a novice or expert sewer or somewhere in between, you can participate in creating beautiful items for children around the world to enjoy. We take for granted the mile high shelves and dozens of aisles of baby items of every shape and size begging to be purchased at Babies R Us. We register at multiple locations for the perfect matching baby items to complete our nurseries. We pack our bags in advance for the hospital stay with a cute take-the-baby-home outfit, nuks, blankets, burp cloths, etc. We buy, accumulate, donate, pass on, replace, cherish, and store bins and more bins of items to clothe and comfort our little ones.

In some places, mothers don't bring even a blanket to wrap up their newborn - apparently it is considered bad luck to come prepared in that way.

Sew Good Goods provides the opportunity for young and old to sew and donate items to those in need.

All you do is ask for a "kit". You can request to sew bibs, blankets, or pillowcases. Each kit comes with easy to follow instructions, material (some pre-cut), and thread. You provide the time, a sewing machine, and skill.

This is a great activity for one to just have on hand and do in those spare moments, or it can be a fun group activity for a birthday party or service project. There is no requirement for how it comes together - you can decide the timing and who helps get it done.

I have made pillowcases and blankets so far and each of my kids has helped in some fashion. Even a little help with ironing counts!

Sew Good Goods has also hosted mitten/scarf making events and a children's birthday party at which the guests made one pillowcase to donate and one to keep.

Follow them on facebook and check our their website for more information!

Giving through sewing is a wonderful experience!