Botero Meets Urban Art...

in the Sculpture Garden at the Birmingham Museum of Art.  The graffiti was museum sanctioned and created by local artists as part of the tribute to the present photo exhibit - Who Shot Rock and Roll!  The exhibit will run through September 18th. Don't miss it.

Getting Buffed at the BMA!

I told you that I never do my volunteer shift at the Birmingham Museum of Art without my trusty camera. Last week it was the neat reflections in the rain puddles. This week may be the best yet. I looked out over the Sculpture Garden and Botero's "Reclining Figure" was getting a bath! I ran for my camera and scooted outside. This friendly museum employee, who works in the restoration department, explained that this is done periodically and after her bath she will be waxed and polished to protect her finish. She laughingly added that she would wait till after the lunch crowd had cleared out of the Terrace Café. Apparently the "buffing process" always draws a nice crowd of (snickering?) onlookers. I hate I missed that! If this piece looks familiar, I've featured her here. You really do need to visit the Birmingham Museum of Art you know. There's a really great exhibit you need to see!

A nice surprise yesterday. Our blog friends Maya and Janet gave me a SKYPE call and we had a terrific visit. I even got a "tour " of their new apartment in France, a stone's throw from Geneva where they have jobs now. This time they didn't catch me in my baseball cap, worse.....I was in my PJ's much too late in the morning! That could be drawback of SKYPE I think.

Hot Chocolate!

One of my favorite pieces of sculpture at the Birmingham Museum of Art has to be this Botero.  When I took my 3rd graders for our annual  field trip to the museum , I had to find a way to offset the "giggle factor" that would ensue when confronted with the nudity that abounds in a museum.  I used the head 'em off at the pass technique.  I told them  before we went,  that they would see a very large nude woman that was made of a brown metal that looked like chocolate. Whenever I saw her,  I always thought that I might look like her one day, if I didn't quit eating chocolate!   I named her the "Chocolate Lady" and told them to be on the lookout for her.  Thankfully, the snickers (no pun intended)  turned to squeals of , "Oh look, there's the Chocolate Lady!"  

On July 16, Jilly over at Monte Carlo DP, posted Botero's Adam and Eve.