Cameras were clicking throughout the weekend at the opening of two new WMODA exhibits celebrating art and nature on Saturday & Sunday, November 9 & 10. Guests also enjoyed a fascinating program of talks by talented artists and experts in the field.
Visitors were amazed at Paul Stankard’s miniature worlds encased in glass in the new The Art of the Flame exhibit. Louise Irvine, Executive Director & Curator, explained Stankard’s fascination with the spiritual aspects of nature in her introductory talk. She also explored Chihuly’s great love of nature expressed in his Macchia forests, Seaforms, and Ikebana flower arrangements.
Dr. Gwendolyn Reasoner flew to Florida specially to talk about the exquisite porcelain birds made by Royal Worcester and Boehm in the Flights of Fancy exhibition. She made them fly in the imagination of her audience with her expert insights.
Lloyd Goradesky introduced his latest sculpture project Let Love Guide Your Way and his earlier art installation Gator in the Bay, comprising thousands of photos to promote saving the Everglades. Lloyd then shared lots of smartphone photo tips and tricks with his audience.
Rob Stern of Miami introduced his glass art inspired by natural phenomenon, including his iconic Windstars which are on display at WMODA as part of the Art on Fire exhibit. He talked also about the work of his mentors and contemporaries including Chihuly and Stankard.
Chelsea Rousso and Anne Orvieto showed how images of nature can be captured in fused glass in their exhibits and joint presentation. Afterwards, they signed up aspiring artists for the next Creative Glass classes at WMODA on Friday, November 15 and Friday, December 6.
Arthur Wiener, the founder of WMODA, attended the event on Sunday afternoon with his wife Paulette and sister Donna. During the program, he was acknowledged for his generosity in donating his extraordinary collection of fired arts to the museum and supporting art and cultural events in the South Florida community.
Throughout the weekend, our expert docent Kimberly Sheridan took visitors on Highlights tours of the museum while staff members Carolina Bermudez, Alisa Melchanova and Kathryn Crawford helped customers in the busy WMODA shop. Meanwhile Luis Montanez kept everything running smoothly with his logistics expertise.
Thank you to all the volunteers and staff who help us create the exhibitions and support us throughout the special events, including Lori Brown, Doris Werner, Elyse Buchanan, Claudia Bailey, Lisa Davis, Betsy Kennedy, George Hawthorn, Jim Read, Shawn Orr and John Schussler – we couldn’t do it without you!
Reviews of the museum often talk about the friendliness of our staff and volunteers and we were thrilled to receive a TripAdvisor review from a Saturday visitor who claims WMODA is the Best Museum Ever! Thank you to all your visitors who attend our events and take the time to write our glowing 5-star reviews.
