ASU Art Museum, Phoenix

I received a call yesterday from son, Ron.  He is in Norway.  He has been in London for a week as part of his job and decided, while he was in that part of the world, to fly to Norway to meet some of the Larson cousins.  I think he is having an amazing time and I am begging him to take pictures.  I also am wildly jealous, should I add Norway to my bucket list?  Hmm. 

And just as I was feeling so sorry for myself for being stuck here in a house that doesn't move, staring out at scenery that never changes, I read in the Hattie's Hut blog (the link is over there to the right of the page), that Marianna, the author of the blog would be in Phoenix for a few days.  So, on Wednesday, I jumped into the RV and took off for the 90 mile trip north and a day of great fun.

Even though it upsets my high standards for dining out, we chose a chain restaurant for lunch, one that I had never experienced before.  And surprise, it was very good.   I have even learned there is an Oregano's near my house in Tucson so I may have to visit it sometime soon.

Marianna and her husband, Terry, flew over from their home in Hilo, Hi. because Terry was doing some consulting for a few days with a company in Phoenix.  Marianna suggested we visit this brand new pottery museum in Tempe that is an extension of the ASU Art Museum.  

Very few museums have amused and entertained me as much as this one did.  I expected to see lots of bowls, vases, and pitchers....

But 'utilitarian' is not the word I would apply to this enormous display of pottery art that spans many decades and an assortment of genres.  

Ahh, a pitcher.  This was a much older piece that dates from a time when pottery was useful rather than just looked at.

These pieces were enormous and made me wonder how you fire something that is almost 6' tall.

Almost everything is behind glass and I took many pictures of every object but the glare from the glass always shows up. 

I really wanted to capture the detail of so many of these pieces but it was hard.  If you look closely you can see both Marianna and myself with this, um, jug.

I really hope this is an apothecary jar, that the head screws off, and it's full of 

M & M's.  Wouldn't that be the best cookie jar, ever?

These little gals next to him seem to think he's pretty funny, too.

This enormous globe was first created, then shattered.  The pieces were individually glazed, glued back together, then fired.

Ditto with this one.....

 

...And this one.  It is a very interesting technique but I would find it hard to purposely shatter one of these utterly perfect, and very large bowls.

How do you get newsprint on clay?  

Sigh Me would appreciate this one.  Yes, I left her at home today.  It is getting far too hot to be able to leave her in the RV for the day.  I felt bad though because she really misses sleeping in the passenger seat when I'm driving.

This guy likes frogs.  If you look to the top of this creation you will see a tiny frog head, poking out.

Bacon, eggs and frogs over easy.

And a pot of black-eyed peas seasoned with frogs. 

This one is just beyond explanation. 

Colorful....

Crazy....   

Arizona kitsch...

Self portraits....

...and, Yes, that's a frog on his head.

                       This piece was by a native American artist and I think it is my favorite.

The curator of the museum informed us that they were only displaying about 20% of the collections the museum owned.  Since the displays will be changed often I have decided to make this museum a regular stop anytime I am in the area.

That evening Marianna, Terry and I found a Mexican restaurant for a scrumptious dinner and interesting conversation before I headed back to Tucson. The next morning they left for Sedona and the Grand Canyon.  (Be sure and check out her postings on the Grand Canyon with some lovely photos)

Until next weekend--and maybe something fun and unexpected will crop up between now and then.