Travelsmartplanet

When Dale Chihuly was developing his Macchia forest he had a goal to use all 300 glass colors available in the hotshop. He was able to push the scale of these shapes up to four feet in diameter.

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Though foreigners flock to see the Mona Lisa, to the French, the most important painting in the Louvre – the unofficial national painting of France is this one, Liberty Leading the People by Delacroix. The bare-breasted female figure, who is called Marianne became a symbol of Liberty for the French Republic. Though Delacroix painted the July Revolution of 1830, the broken bodies beneath the flag depict the 40 years of civil war, political and social upheavals necessary to conquer the monarchy in order to win a representative government. The huge 8′ by 10′ scale adds to the dramatic patriotism.

There’s only a few more weeks for the whole family to appreciate the delightful and amusing summer long exhibition at the Ormond Memorial Art Museum & Garden. The Four Footed & Fanciful Art Exhibit showcases the work of three artists who create whimsical animal creatures.

Take a walk though the imagination of artists Adonna Khare, Cindy Burkett and Don Nedobeck and enjoy the fanciful creatures they capture.

The exhibit features the artistic talents of California artist Adonna Khare, who creates large scale pieces using a carbon pencil. She was the winner of a $200,000 People’s Choice prize at Art Prize.  Cindy Burkett, from New Smyrna Beach, creates intricate collages from recycled magazines and other materials for her collages that draw viewers in to find their surprising secrets and Don Nedobeck, a DeLand artist who creates fun animals, especially big fluffy cats, that he calls “caricatures in watercolor” and he has produced three children’s books.                                  “Cats Eyes” collage by Cindy Burkett

Hurry in because the exhibit only runs through Sept. 9.  Admission is free with a $2 per person suggested donation.

“Ornate Cat and Bert” Watercolor and ink by Don Nedobeck

Location: Ormond Memorial Art Museum & Garden, 78 East Granada Blvd, Ormond Beach, FL 32176
Date – until Sept 9, 2018
Time: Mon – Fri 10am – 4pm, Sat & Sun noon- 4pm
Tel: 386-676-3347
ormondartmuseum.org
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: daytonabeach.com

Light City is a FREE festival that transforms Baltimore with large-scale light installations, performances, music and innovation. Central to Light City is the BGE Light Art Walk along Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, featuring more than 50 attractions including visual arts such as illuminated sculptures, projections, interactive technologies, performances, concerts, food vendors and a children’s area.

Performance artists bring Light City to life with entertaining acts including fire (a showcase of fire and LED performances utilizing dance, flow arts, circus arts, and music), illuminated puppets, projections, stilt walkers, dance, musical entertainment at the Inner Harbor Amphitheater and along the BGE Light Art Walk.

Inner Harbor Skyline Photo Courtesy of Baltimore Office of Promotion and Arts

Music is a major attraction at Light City. The festival features a full schedule of FREE concerts including local, regional and renowned DJs, bands and musicians across every genre.

Families can visit Mini Light City in Pierce’s Park for hands-on, illuminated craft activities in a youth makers’ tent, children’s entertainers and whimsical snacks such as lighted cotton candy. The park is home to a sound garden by artist David Hess.

Congregation_KMA_Photo by: Tom Wexler

From the south shore of the Inner Harbor to Harbor East, festival -goers can explore 1.5 miles of world-class installations – all free, accessible and open to the public.

Attendees of the Light City Baltimore festival are encouraged to download the free app prior to their visit to see all that the festival has to offer including the festival map, schedule and general festival information. lightcity.org/light-city-baltimore-app

The Pool  Photo by Jen Lewin.

Location: Baltimore’s Inner Harbor – lightcity.org/map
Date: Fri, Mar 31 – Sat, Apr 8, 2017
Hours: lightcity.org/schedule
Tel: 410-752-8632
lightcity.org
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: visitbaltimore.org

If you’re a fan of architecture and design you’ll want to check out The Gropius House. Walter Gropius, the founder of the highly influential Bauhaus School and one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century designed this striking home in 1938 after moving from Germany to Massachusetts to teach at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design.

Modest in scale, the house was revolutionary in impact. It combined the traditional elements of New England architecture — wood, brick, and fieldstone, with innovative materials rarely used in domestic settings at that time: glass block, acoustical plaster, and chrome banisters, along with the latest technology in fixtures.

At the Gropius House, Bauhaus ideals remain alive, and throughout Gropius’s life, he and his wife Ise continued to add newly designed furnishings that reflected their belief in the marriage of design and industry.  In keeping with Bauhaus philosophy, every aspect of the house and its surrounding landscape was planned for maximum efficiency and simplicity of design. 

Two years after Mrs. Gropius’s death in 1983, the Gropius House opened as a historic house museum. The house contains a significant collection of furniture designed by Marcel Breuer  and fabricated in the Bauhaus workshops. The house also contains works by Eero Saarinen, Joan Miró, and Herbert Bayer that were given as gifts to Walter Gropius. With all the family possessions still in place, the house has an cohesiveness rarely found in house museums.

All images are “Courtesy of Historic New England.”

Location: Gropius House. 68 Baker Bridge Road, Lincoln, Mass. 01773
Dates: Sat and Sun, until May 31
Hours: 11 – 4pm, Tours on the hour
Tel: 781-259-8098
historicnewengland.org/historic-properties/homes/Gropius%20House
For Regional Information, Restaurants & Attractions: merrimackvalley.org

It’s a game that you rarely think of playing outside a five-by-two foot space. It incorporates skill, concentration and hand-eye coordination. It’s foosball, the tabletop-size game that has a household presence but with an entirely new approach.

The human version of the tabletop classic is remarkably similar to its traditional counterpart, but on a much larger scale. Teams of 6 attach themselves to fixed poles across the field and can only move to the right or left as a team, to move the ball up the field. Teams consist of 2 Forwards, 3 Mid-fielders and 1 Goalie. Watch your favorite table-top game come to life when twenty-four teams  participate in this round robin tournament taking place on the grounds of the Airborne & Special Operations Museum.

Cash prizes are awarded to the top three teams. Food and refreshments will be available for purchase. The tournament raises money for the museum’s nonprofit foundation.

Location: Airborne & Special Operations Museum,100 Bragg Blvd., Fayetteville, NC 28301
Date: Sat, Oct 1,2016
Time: 9 – 5pm
Tel: 910-643-2778
asomf.org
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: visitfayettevillenc.com

At the Nature Museum, you can find this scale model of Grandfather Mountain, which is one of NC’s top scenic attractions. The museum houses more than 2 dozen exhibits about the natural history of the area, and there is a nature conservancy on the grounds.