It's All in the Details

My daughter-in-law gave me this lovely picture frame

a couple of years ago, 

but something has always bugged me about it.

Despite the fact that the resin frame is three dimensional,

it has always felt "flat."

I knew how to fix it,

but just hadn't gotten "a round tuit"* until today.

*a round to it, get it?  

 A very nice frame, but it can be better.

 First, I brushed on a watered-down acrylic brown paint,

before wiping most of it off with a paper towel.

This will dry within a matter of seconds.

Notice how this brings out the details.

You can stop at this point,

or you can continue on.

Next, I used my finger to dry rub on a metallic acrylic bronze paint

over the raised edges of the frame

to bring out more of the details.

And in a matter of minutes, 

this frame went from boring to outstanding.

Not bad for ten minutes work.

Indiana's Oldest Winery

This is spring break week for Indiana University.

Since taking a trip to some exciting place

like Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN

is out of the question this year,

the Foodie Girls decided to have some fun

a bit closer to home.

The dear husband is very happy about that

(and so is his wallet).

Indiana's first winery is just outside of Bloomington.

"Oliver Winery was started in the 1960s

as a hobby in the basement

of Indiana University law professor William Oliver.

His enthusiasm for making wine led him to establish

a vineyard northwest of Bloomington.

Soon the flourishing vines produced grapes

far in excess of his needs as a hobby winemaker,

and he began plans to open a commercial winery.

Professor Oliver was instrumental in passing legislation

allowing for the creation of small wineries in Indiana .

The Indiana Small Winery Act passed in 1971

and Oliver Winery opened to the public in 1972."

-From Oliver Winery's web site.

Now that the Foodie Daughter is old enough,

I thought we should go to to the winery

and taste some wines.

This lovely building houses the tasting room and retail area.



To get to the tasting room,
one must first traverse the gardens.

They hold a certain beauty,

even in mid-March.

Large boulders of Indiana limestone

accent the landscape.

I was pleased to see that the waterscape

was up and running,

despite it still being winter.

This building

behind all the daffodils

is the original tasting room.

If I recall correctly,

it is now used as office space.

This is the view from the front of the building.

They even have a pond below with picnic tables

dotting the lawn.

Back in October of 2007,

our county's Master Gardener group

took a garden tour here.

Oliver Winery employs a talented gardener

to tend to the plots.

Isn't this just gorgeous?

The original tasting house is hiding behind

the lush landscaping.

(Hint, this is the same garden plot

that currently holds the daffodils that you saw earlier.)

Can you tell it's October in this picture?

So, what gave it away?

I wish they'd come tend to my garden.

I tell you, I have serious garden envy here.

Don't you just love the frog in the pond?

And now we are back to a chilly March day.

This fence and gate was custom-made

by an artisan.

Iron grapevines twine around the fence.

Detail of the artistry.

When I was a child,

growing up in my rural Ohio town,

I was fortunate enough to visit

a blacksmith who had been working

in the village for many years.

I was fascinated by how much work

and effort it took to bend the iron

even the tiniest bit,

and all without breaking it.

I cannot fathom the amount of work

and love

that went into the making of this fence.

The artist even expressed the grapevine

as growing up from the ground

by the fence.

More detail.

I love this fence.

A few years ago the winery planted a mini vineyard

at the entrance to the winery.

They don't look like much now,

but just wait until later in the year.

And in case you were wondering,

we ended up purchasing a few bottles of wine,

a bottle of Raspberry Mustard Pretzel Dip,

and a wine cooler that was created

by a local potter.

Happy early Mother's Day to me?

Not a bad start for our Indiana Uplands Wine Trail.

And just think,

we only have eight more wineries to go.

Art at Indiana University

I have recently joined the University Club at Indiana University.

Though I am not affiliated with the university

(other than the fact that I have given them a lot of money

as a parent of children who have attended IU),

I am eligible to join as a community member.

This past week I attended my first luncheon

as a member.*

The subject was "Art at the IMU."

The Indiana Memorial Union, or IMU,

was dedicated in 1932

and with 500,000 square feet,

is one of the largest student unions in the world.

I believe it as my daughter and I spent 45 minutes walking

the building on Sunday and still only managed to

tour just a fraction of the building.


*I had attended a luncheon last spring as a non-member

and had greatly enjoyed the experience.

But first we dined.

We were served salads of

baby spinach,

red onion,

mushrooms,

and hard boiled egg

with a creamy ranch style dressing.

The featured entree was

a grilled chicken breast

with sherried mushroom jus

served with rice.

*

Obviously, that was not going to work for me,

so I opted to have the vegetarian entree instead.

*

Here I have a

baked acorn squash

filled with bulgur wheat,

spinach and mushrooms

and surrounded by carrots and potatoes

in a creamy sauce.

*

This was very good,

but it was a lot of food and ultimately

I couldn't eat but half of it.

*

My compliments to the chef.

For dessert we had

a mousse over a chocolate brownie base.

*

Rich and satisfying.

*

And now, back to the show.

These pictures are not very clear as there was too much

ambient lighting in the room.


I attempted to seek out the actual items

and photograph them so you can see them better.


In some cases, this was not possible,

so I have tried to find links to the art where possible.

"The Flight into Egypt"

1290 A.D.

"Adoration of the Kings"

Middle-Late 15th century


These were some of the pieces that

the author Booth Tarkington had
collected over the years and that were later

donated to the museum by another family.

I tried and tried,

but could not find a link for this painting,

nor could I get in to photograph it.

This is T. C. Steele's

"Early Spring on the Jordan."

It depicts a scene on the IU campus.

Theodore Clement Steele was an important artist from this area

who lived from 1847 to 1926.

"Strength of the Hills"

by T. C. Steele.

"The Cabin"

by T. C. Steele.

"Spirit of the Garden"

by T. C. Steele.

"The Student Building"

by T. C. Steele.

Yet another IU campus scene.

This painting of former IU president,

William Lowe Bryan,

hangs in the University Club President's Room

at the IMU.

William Lowe Bryan served as the 10th president of IU

from 1902 to 1937.

Next to it is a portrait of his wife,

Charlotte Lowe Bryan.

President Bryan took his wife's maiden name

as his middle name when they married.

This large painting of Brown County in Autumn

by T. C. Steele also hangs in the President's Room.

A portrait of the 11th IU president,

Herman B. Wells, hangs over the fireplace

in the President's Room.

This plaster replica of "Uglino and Sons"

by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux sits outside the entrance

to the University Club.

We learned that the pained expressions signify the

horror and starvation that the men suffered

while imprisoned.

This statue was a gift to the state of Indiana from the

French government after World War II.

It arrived as part of the "Merci Train,"

often incorrectly called the Mercy Train.

There was a box car for each state

and this statue was included in the treasures

bound for Indiana.

A plaster replica of the Aphrodite of Milos
(more commonly known as the Venus De Milo)

stands in the lobby of the IMU.

Soul represents the spirit of unification

as one foot rests in the USA and the other

in the former USSR.

This statue was created in 1989.

Ornately carved bench.

Russian Icon

thought to date to 990 A.D.

" THE * UNIVERSITY * REGARDS * THE * UNIVERSE

WITHIN * WHOSE * INFINITY * HAVE * EMERGED

* ORDER * * LIFE * * MAN *

ARISTOTLE * GALILEO * SHAKESPEARE * LINCOLN

JESUS CHRIST"

Note that some pundit wrote "WO" before the "MAN."

Painting of the Constitution Elm

by Hoagy Carmichael.

Hoagy Carmichael was a Bloomington native

who was best known as a composer.

Among his many songs are

Stardust,

Georgia on My Mind,

The Nearness of You

and

Heart and Soul.

A slice of the Constitution Elm.

The Indiana State Constitution was signed

undeneath this elm in 1816.

Brass seal in floor of the Memorial Room.

"Voice of the Silence"
by Adolph Robert Shulz
and donated by
Dr. Albert and Virginia Higdon.


Sherry Rouse, who is the curator for campus art,

estimates that the university owns approximately

5,000 pieces of art.

She also states that there are over

1,200 pieces in the IMU.

That is an impressive collection by anyone's standards.

And that doesn't even include the considerable collection

housed at the acclaimed

Indiana University Art Museum.

Crystal chandelier hanging in the University Club stairway.

This is not part of the collection,

but I liked it.