Uncommon Folk

Two drawings from the exhibition Uncommon Folk at the Milwaukee Art Museum. One is a porcupine by Felipe B. Archuleta. I don’t know what the body is made of but the quills look like dried grass with thick stems that have gone to seed. The thing I like about this sculpture is it’s much larger than I imagine a porcupine actually is, and it’s clearly smiling. The other is a carved wood snake painted red and cream. It’s by an unknown American artist ca. 1930.

I did a little stippling of my original drawings with MS Paint to help clarify the forms.

 

Root Snake, American ca. 1930

Porcupine, 1978, Felipe B. Archuleta

 

 

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National Museum of the American Indian

When I was in Washington D.C. earlier this month I visited the National Museum of the American Indian. I was told that the restaurant there has great food that is inspired by the cuisines of the Native American people. The restaurant was big and impressive and my food was delicious but not surprisingly it was also very expensive.  Still, not an everyday opportunity for me. The museum’s architecture was very nice, for a moment you forgot you were on the National Mall and the exhibits were good but in my opinion there was way too much space devoted to food service, gift shop and children’s play area. On the other hand, I did have a good experience and it seemed other people were as well, so what the heck am I complaining about.

These drawings are from the exhibition Cerámica de los Ancestros: Central America’s Past Revealed.

 

Chirqui, Panama, AD 800-1500

Greater Coclé Jar Depicting a Woman, Panama AD 700-950

Tapir, Costa Rica, AD 500-800

 

 

Washington D.C.

I was in Washington earlier this month and did a few drawings while visiting some of the Smithsonian museums. I was reminded that I had my Palm Zire during my first visit to our nation’s capital and sure enough the oldest drawing on my PDA is of the Washington Monument. That was ten years ago. A number of years passed before I started drawing on the PDA regularly but I still have that doodle of the Washington Monument.

While I was at the Hirshorn Museum drawing this one figure from a larger group of figures a couple were posing with it for some pictures. Their posing included hugging it around the neck and holding its hand. I think they knew touching wasn’t permitted but there’s something irresistible about mugging with a figurative sculpture. It’s because the only penalty for getting caught is a short moment of embarrassment.

 

One of the multiple figure’s from a Juan Muñoz sculpture at the Hirshorn Museum.

 

 

My first use of the notepad feature on the Palm Zire 21 for drawing.