Thanksgiving is done, it's cold and snowy; time to think about Christmas. It was a great weekend to visit the 'Hall of Trees' at the arboretum- six large trees in the great hall decorated with handmade ornaments made from natural materials. I am an avid collector of natural materials, I'm always picking up pinecones, seedheads,leaves, and flowers when we go for a walk and now I have lots of ideas.
These little box cottages are simply made, covered in paper or birch bark and decorated with seeds, dried flowers,twigs, and the seedheads of ornamental grasses for the 'thatch' roof.
These looked like large flowers on the tree and are dyed or painted corn husks.
A couple more little cottages- I like the curly dried leaves on this one's roof.
This one below uses my favorite material- lightly pink tinged maple 'whirlygig' seeds.
They make such perfect little shingles.
Each tree is a little different, but all unlit- they didn't seem to need lights.
One tree had fanciful 'bugs' and 'butterflies' made from leaves and flowers and then varnished so they were shiny.
It's hard to tell in the photos but grass seed heads form the bodies and the leaves are multiple wings.
The one below uses a dried chili pepper for the body.
They are so pretty even if you can't see the 'insect' in them.
Some were just a simple bouquet of dried flowers sprayed with shellac- so pretty.
Nestled in the branches were little gift boxes decorated with shellacked leaves and flowers. This would be beautiful on gifts under the tree.
This butterfly was gorgeous!
Of course the arboretum is the perfect place to gather all these materials. Our long Fall lulled me into thinking I had lots of time to do a little foraging myself- I had my eye on some really big magnolia leaves- but then the snow hit and I missed my chance. Next year I will be prepared.
This idea for packages was one of my favorites.
Another great idea was the dried and painted milk weed pods coupled with a pinecone to form a poinsettia.
A couple more pretty little 'bugs':
Dried berries attached to a pinecone:
A corn husk doll:
Pumpkin seeds varnished to a shine :
This little plane made from a corn cob is so cute:
These milkweed pod poinsettias have been lightly painted a pinkish red:
A little birch bark and seed star:
Candy canes from dried and pressed flowers:
The garlands on this tree are made from the feathery heads of ornamental grasses:
Dried seed heads:
and more grass heads formed into star shapes with a little square of mirror in the center for sparkle:
A very tall, very snowy white looking tree:
All in all a very inspiring display!
We have officially broken the record for December snowfall surpassing the old record from 1969- a little over 33 inches and the possibility of more this week. Everyone everywhere seems to be having extreme weather this year. On one particularly snowy day we spent time at the Art Institute in Minneapolis to view two visiting exhibits. The first one was 300 years of chairs- this one is an 19th century leather upholstered example. Both the seat and the back are the warmest caramel color and look so soft ( of course I couldn't touch it!)
This 20th century one is made from one piece of laminated birch plywood- a couple of simple cuts, steamed and molded to shape.
It was made in 1934 (seems more contemporary!) and because it has no joins it was touted as being perfect for tropical regions - no joints popping.
This woven plywood chair is a Frank Gehry piece made in 1992.
This one is so delicate looking and had very pretty inlaid designs. I think this one was a late 18th century piece.
The one below is, of course, from Texas. Interesting but not very comfortable looking.
This one is an early English made chair made entirely for metal. Intricate designs and even the tufted upholstery look seat is metal.
And this last chair is made from an array of stuffed toys. Imagine how much fun kids would have with this one!
The other 'on loan' exhibit was a Native American collection. It was beautiful! Unfortunately, I couldn't take photos in this show ( I took one before I was asked to put the camera away), but I could take photos of the permanent collection.
There were lots of these intricate woven baskets- it is amazing the materials they used. Everything from pine needles and grasses to moose hairs and split plant roots and stems.
The flowers on these mocassins are made from dyed moose hair.
The bead work is incredible! You may not be able to tell from the photos but the entire surface is covered in beads- not just the flowers.
Aren't they beautiful! And so inspiring!
Lots of examples of silver and turquoise jewelry:
The Institute is a fantastic place to spend the afternoon, but definitely too large to see everything in one day; In fact, I usually get lost in the maze of galleries. There are some things I have to try and see each time we go and one of these is the Veiled Lady.
When we would come here as kids my aunt and mom would always search this one out- the delicacy and transparency of the veil worked in marble always leaves me intrigued. It is an Italian piece made in 1860.
A carved trunk that I couldn't resist.
And finally the Dale Chihuly glass sculpture hanging in the entrance. Every piece is hand blown and then was assembled and suspended on site. This piece is huge! So there is my day at the Institute.
I picked up a map this time and plan on plotting out future visits so I can explore some of the areas I tend to miss. I completely missed the textile exhibits! That's top on the list for next time. Hope you enjoyed the tour!
