On Tuesday, we went to see the North Carolina Museum of Art and also get a bit of homework done for an on-line class I’m taking called Museums and Artists. The NCMA was getting ready to open a contemporary exhibition called Crosscurrents: Art, Craft and Design in North Carolina in cooperation with the Mint Museums. The exhibition hasn’t opened yet, but luckily Russ’s sister knows the director of development, so he got us in the back door to get a peek – a most excellent show!

Outside the museum is 164 acres of land that will eventually be developed into a sculpture park, and they already have a few nice installations. My favorite was one of Patrick Dougherty’s sculptures. It’s made of branches and sticks all woven together into an vaguely architectural form that you can walk through. The little girl standing in the doorway in the photo below gives an idea of the scale.

I love his work. Up close it really is like baskets on steroids. It seems to evoke feelings or memories that go beyond words, somewhat akin to poetry. You can see more on his web site here.