jan milliman

Wind me up!

The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore could be just about the coolest museum I’ve ever visited. They have so many unusual pieces — there’s a surprise around every corner. The art shown here is all “produced by self-taught individuals, usually without formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels foremost in the creative act itself,” according to their website. If you’re looking for a little creative inspiration, this place is a must-see.

Here are some of the items that were on display during my visit:

A 10-foot-tall sculpture of Divine.

• A school bus covered in mirror mosaic.
• A room full of delightful automata (warning: sound at the link).
• A hand-worked crochet horse dress.
• A huge mandala made of colorful paper plates.

The whole museum is full of wonders, plus there is an awesome gift shop. I only wish I lived nearer so I could visit more often.

I got to thinking about the museum again because I have been working on a paper automata sculpture that turns out to have been created by one of the artists featured in the automata exhibit. I had given Paul Spooner’s “Museum of the Mind: Build Your Own Thinking Machine from 192 Pieces of Paper” a go some years back, but didn’t quite finish it up. I’ll keep you posted on my progress this time around.