During Black History month, we are discovering how Carnival is celebrated in the Caribbean and South America. The Rio Carnival begins on February 18 and the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival on February 24 & 25. Rio Carnival The Rio Carnival is the largest celebration in the world with over two

“A leopard never changes its spots” according to the Bible saying about the challenges that humans face in changing their innate natures. It is particularly relevant in the light of leopard conservation as the animal is now endangered in Africa. The expression also shows how important leopards were in ancient

The latest addition to the Carnival & Cabaret exhibition, thanks to Caroline d’Antonio, is a stunning Goldscheider figure of Dolores Del Rio from the 1927 silent movie The Loves of Carmen. Inspired by Merimee’s novella and Bizet’s famous opera, Carmen is a wild Spanish gypsy, unscrupulous in matters of the

In February we are celebrating universal love and kindness at WMODA. Romantics everywhere celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14 with heartfelt gifts. February is also American Heart Month when we are encouraged to live heart-healthy lives. Heartfelt In American Heart Month we raise awareness of heart disease and how to

This exhibition traces the evolution of Royal Doulton figurines during the last century, beginning in the 1890s with the first figurines made at their studios in London and Stoke-on-Trent. Each clay original model was blocked and cased for the production process by a master mold-maker. The figures were slip-cast in

The Murano glass necklaces in Cubist designs from Italianissimo were our best sellers for the holidays. Cubism revolutionized painting, sculpture and the performing arts in the early 20th century. Now it is influencing a new style of wearable glass art. For over 30 years, Diane and Mauro Gennaretti of Italianissimo

Victoria Ellis revives the spirit of the Art Deco era in much of her ceramic art. She carves stoneware panels with intricate designs in low relief. Several of her fairyland subjects were showcased in our Fantastique exhibit and her Jazz Age dancers starred in the Carnival & Cabaret show. See Victoria’s work again in

René Lalique was the most celebrated jeweler of the Art Nouveau era and became the most acclaimed designer of Art Deco glass. Throughout his career, beautiful women were his muses as well as his customers. In the 1890s, Lalique’s spectacular jewelry enjoyed celebrity patronage, notably the divine Sarah Bernhardt, the

The craze for the Argentine tango began in 1912 at the Paris thé dansants, where refreshing tea was sipped between dances. The Tango trend swept rapidly across Europe and added a tantalizing new dimension to the traditional British afternoon tea. One of Royal Doulton’s most popular Art Deco china patterns

by Louise Irvine Into the Night is an exhilarating exhibition in London exploring cabarets, cafes and clubs in modern art. I was fascinated by all the connections with our current Carnival & Cabaret exhibit. From the Serpentine Dances of Loie Fuller at the Folies Bergère in Paris to the pulsating