Instead of Boxes...A Carousel Synchronicity

One for the bucket list.

If you are a regular reader, you were probably expecting a picture of a painted box today.  I needed a little playtime after my carousel project.  I have started painting a box, but today I have something much more interesting to write about: a synchronicity.  And also an interesting trip.

Whether you call it a synchronicity or a coincidence, it is just amazing how things happen sometimes.  As many readers know, I just completed a small folk art carousel.  In my last blog post I mentioned that going around the country to ride carousels was one of the things I was going to put on my bucket list.  I had not yet given any thought as to how this might be accomplished.  I just wrote it and went on to my life.  Within a week, things started to happen.

My husband and I decided to take a road trip (more on that in a moment).  We stopped at a rest stop in Maryland.  Inside the tourist information center they had a carousel horse on display.  This was a recently carved horse.  It was wonderful to see such beautiful carving.  We did not have the camera with us in the rest stop. The information said it was done by a local carousel group.    I thought that was a wonderful treat.  However, that was not the end of the synchronicity.  More was to come.

The reason we were on a road trip is because I had wanted to go to the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.  (More on that in a moment.)  After we went to the museum, we had lunch and took a stroll along Baltimore's inner harbor.  To my absolute delight, there were some workmen installing a carousel.  It was absolutely beautiful.  It was a real treat to see it.  My husband snapped the picture from his phone.

I don't know if the carousel will be there as a permanent feature.  Baltimore is having some type of festival next week and I'm thinking it might be installed for the festival.  But if you live in Baltimore now, or are planning on going to the National Aquarium soon, check out this carousel. 

The museum was also a treat.  Some of the art was what I expected, as I have seen Visionary Art before.  Visionary Art tends to deal with apocalyptic themes.  Other types of art in this category are art that do not fit into neatly defined categories. They had a kinetic sculpture by Vollis Simpson, a throne and crowns decorated with bottle caps, hand made automatons, fiber art, and lots of mosaics featuring mirrors and broken bottles and plates.  Strange stuff, but beautiful in its own way.  I don't have pictures to show you because they do not allow photography at the museum.  I'm providing a link to the museum's web site for those who would like to see what they are willing to post on the internet:  http://www.avam.org/  If you happen to be going to Baltimore, it is worth the time to take a tour of the museum.   It is worth the trip just to see the facade of the building, which is decorated in bottle and mirror mosaics. 

We were also very enamored of the "tree" decorated in mirror glass.  The cone shaped tree was decorated with strands of small mirror tiles.  It flashed and sparkled in the sun.  The breeze caused the mirror strands to act like wind chimes.  There was a constant tinkling sound.

Well, next blog post will be about the painting I'm doing on a box.  Check back on Wednesday.