Eric Carle Exhibit at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta

(The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle)

Last week I played hookey from work one day and went to the High Museum for the day.  There were several interesting traveling exhibits, but the one that interested me most was I See A Story:  The Art of Eric Carle.

Eric Carle is a children's author and illustrator.  He was born in 1929 in Syracuse, New York, lived in Germany with his family as a young child, and then moved back to America in 1952.  He published his first children's book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? in 1967.

The High Museum of Art is one of my favorite buildings in Atlanta.

It's very bright and open, and you go up and down winding ramps between floors.

The Eric Carle exhibit covers almost an entire floor in the new wing.  The first thing you see as you enter is an illustration from The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

The walls have a sort of floorboard design of nature collages.  

This is a large collage by Eric Carle.

Some of the artist's original sketches were on display -- they were fascinating to see!

A photo of Eric Carle painting over collage materials with a broom was displayed, and then you could see his original paint splattered coat and the broom used for this collage process.

Most of all, I loved seeing some of the beloved, familiar art in person.  

The Very Lonely Firefly is my favorite Eric Carle book.  When I taught preschool I had this picture book in my classroom.  On the last page of the book a little battery operated firefly twinkled.  No matter how many times I read it aloud, the children would always say "ahhh!" when they saw the twinkling firefly.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

The Grouchy Ladybug:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar:

Seeing the art in person, all the beautiful, colorful nature imagery was striking.  I love this quote by Eric Carle:  "When I was a small boy, my father would take me on walks across meadows and through woods ... in my books I honor my father by writing about small living things."

I love these moon images:

There is a fascinating story behind this art (from 10 Little Rubber Ducks).  In 1992 25,000 Friendly Floatees toys, including yellow rubber ducks, were set adrift when their packing crates went overboard in the Pacific Ocean.  Oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer started tracking the ducks, and Eric Carle became interested in the story.  That inspired 10 Little Rubber Ducks.

I See a Story: The Art of Eric Carle will be on exhibit at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta through January 8, 2017.  You can read more about the exhibit here:  Carle exhibit.   I highly recommend it for fans of children's literature and illustration.

Did you grow up with Eric Carle books?  Do you have a favorite?  I'd love to hear from you in the comments, below.

The Mid-Century Ranch House Exhibit at the DeKalb History Center Museum, Atlanta

Shhh!  I'll tell you a secret.  I played hooky from work for a while this morning.  I'm self employed, but I try to keep regular work hours.  This morning, though, I found out about an exhibit at the local historical society that I couldn't resist.   The DeKalb History Center Museum is located in Decatur, Georgia - metro Atlanta.  They have a new exhibit called The Mid-Century Ranch House:  Hip and Historic!   It focuses on the design of ranch houses and why they were so popular in metro Atlanta in the 1950's and 1960's.  The museum is open Monday - Friday;  you can read more at the website:  DeKalb History Center - just click here.

This is the entrance to the gallery.  The design of this exhibit is a lot of fun:

This display features Starburst dinnerware by Franciscan.  I've sold some of this on eBay in the past.

This dinnerware is by Russell Wright.   Nice retro ads just above the case, too.

A selection of kitchenware including a Sunbeam Mixmaster.  My Mom still has one of these!

Fun retro 1957 Frigidaire refrigerator ad.  I love the pastel colors!

This Mid-Century Modern den is just about perfect.  Look at that wall of glass!

A pink bathroom!  I love these.  There is a great website called Save the Pink Bathroom, dedicated to preserving these in homes.

A nice photo with labels showing specific features of Mid-Century ranches.

Ranch design books and magazines.  The W.D. Farmer books, Homes for Pleasant Living, were used for a lot of houses in suburban Atlanta.  (I've sold these on eBay in the past, too.)

This house looks just like the ones in my childhood neighborhood:

A 1960's map of DeKalb County, showing how the suburbs were expanding - with lots of ranch homes.

This was my favorite part of the exhibit.  A perfect panelled living room waits - complete with 1950's - 1960's music from the hi-fi:

And another view:

Here are a couple of popular floorplans:

Moving on through the museum, there are also a couple of other Mid-Century vintage exhibits.   One exhibit is all about Mathis Dairy.  This dairy delivered milk in the Atlanta area during my childhood years.  We also went to field trips to the dairy.

A little history of Mathis Dairy.  Interesting stuff!   The Mathis kids went to my high school.

I Milked Rosebud!   Rosebud was a sweet, patient cow at the dairy -- very popular on field trips.   You got a little tin button to wear after you milked her.

Milk bottles and caps:

A box like you would find outside Mid-Century homes, waiting for the morning milk delivery:

The other fascinating exhibit at the museum was a display of photography by Guy Hayes (1913 - 1998).  He worked for The Atlanta Journal - Constitution and photographed everyday life in the metro area.

Interesting juxtaposition of two women with homemade food:

A dog and pony show:

Carnival chalkware at a fair or amusement park.  These chalkware figures were prizes on the midway.  One of my friends collects them.

High school cheerleaders, 1950's vintage:

Dad and son cooking out in a suburban backyard:

Mom and children in the kitchen, 1950's:

Two young women playing music in a paneled den:

The exhibit is fun and free, and a visit takes an hour or less.  I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Mid-Century Modern Ranches or retro Atlanta history.   I'm already planning a return visit!

Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) - A Photo Tour

Saturday I visited MODA - the Museum of Design Atlanta.  This museum is located on Peachtree Street across from the High Museum.   It is a small museum on the ground floor of a building that also houses a branch of the Atlanta Public Library.  You enter the museum through the gift shop, with an education display showing 3-D printers at work making models.  There is a hallway and two gallery rooms in the museum.  The current display is about 100 years of design, and features posters, book catalogs, and vintage advertising.  I am very interested in children's book illustration and Mid-Century advertising, so I found this exhibit fascinating!

This photo shows portraits of early 1900's artists including Louis Comfort Tiffany and Charles Dana Gibson.  A Windsor chair is part of the exhibit, and there is an interesting early photo showing Windsor chairs on display.

This 1967 Children's Book Exhibit Catalog was illustrated by Andy Warhol.

This 1966 Children's Book Show Catalog was illustrated by Tomi Ungerer.

This Call for Entries: Children's Books brochure was illustrated by Luncina Wakefield in 1950.

This 1965 Children's Book Show invitation is so bright and colorful.  The style of illustration looks familiar, but I cannot place the artist.

This 1951 AIGA Journal was illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky, a frequent Little Golden Book illustrator.

There is a portrait of Charles and Ray Eames, with a quote about Modernism in design.

This piece was one of my favorite features of the exhibit.  It includes paperback book covers from 1961.

This 1955 poster promotes Disneyland.  I love the juxtaposition of the homespun design (with buttons!) promoting a fantasy world for children.

This 1965 poster promotes popular television.  Note that The Andy Griffith Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show are prominently featured.

I love this retro inspired poster of a woman with "paint by number" style deer illustration.

This 1939 New York World's Fair poster was stunning in person!   I love anything related to a World's Fair or exposition.

This Bob Dylan poster was also amazing in person.

There was an area where you could make your own design, and of course I tried my hand at making a simple layout.

The exhibits at the museum rotate frequently, and I intend to look for upcoming shows and visit again. I highly recommend a trip to MODA for anyone interested in design.