What's Wrong with this Picture? REVISITED

In last week's post, I presented a picture of George Henry Durrie's painting, "Winter in the Country."

I then posted a second copy of the painting, but it didn't look quite the same.

That's because I changed the picture in ten different ways.  Were you able to compare the two pictures and find all ten changes last week?  Scroll down to see the answers!  Is this your first time seeing this puzzle?  Click here to try out the puzzle before seeing the answers.

Did you find all ten changes?  Let's find out:



1.)  The house is blue.




2.) The house is missing its second chimney.







3.) A star found its way to the bottom right hand corner.



4.) And a rock plopped down by the pond at the bottom left hand corner.



5.)  A black bird soars the sky in the upper right corner.



6.)  A strange dog keeps guard on the barn roof.



7.)  That's no strange dog!  It is the same dog 
that was standing in front of the blue house.  It's now missing.



8.)  The man carrying the large bale of hay
is walking in the opposite direction.





9.)  The shed's second floor door is open.



10.)  And the man steering the oxen has gone missing!

I hope you had fun with my little puzzle.  If you could change one thing about this painting, what would it be?  Post your comment down below or email me at educationinterns@shelburnemuseum.org.

What's Wrong with this Picture?

While browsing through Shelburne Museum's collection, I came across this fabulous painting made by George Henry Durrie titled "Winter in the Country."  Get a look at all the activity going on the farm by clicking on the photo!

     

Think you picked up on all the details?  Let's find out!  Here is a second copy of Durrie's painting, only this time I changed 10 different things in the painting.  By comparing the two paintings, can you spot all 10 changes?   Click on either photo to enlarge it.  Write your observations in the comments section of this post! 

  

Be sure to tune in next week when I reveal all the answers.  Have fun!

Giving Thanks

Here at Shelburne Museum, we are getting excited for Thanksgiving. Are you going anywhere special for the holiday? I think I'll follow my flock down south, where it's nice and warm!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year. Can you guess why?

...

The food!

I'm going to share with you the most delicious art we have at Shelburne Museum:

Severin Roesen, Ecstatic Fruit, 1852, oil on canvas

Can you believe this spread!? How many different kinds of fruit do you see? It looks ripe and ready-to-eat, but sometimes this artist painted fruit that was beginning rot. Why do you think he did that? Notice the pineapple and the watermelon--we might be able to buy these at any supermarket now, but in 1852 they were rare and exotic!

Patty Yoder, V is for Victor, a Natural Vegetarian, 1996, hooked rug

Can you figure out which vegetables make up all the parts of this ram? His legs are carrots! His chest is a pumpkin! What else can you find? The artist who made this rug loved her vegetable garden. Have you ever grown vegetables, or cooked something from your own garden? 

Turkey, c.1949, wood

We couldn't do Thanksgiving without the turkey. You'll find these birds over the north and south doors of the Horseshoe Barn! If you or your parents want to learn more about them and other turkeys at the Museum, check out this Shelburne Museum blog post.

You know, I do love a tasty meal, but the best part of this holiday is giving thanks. This year, I'm grateful for all the families who visited the Museum, came to Owl Cottage, did Dive In activities, and emailed me their pictures!

 You are a wonderful bunch. Happy Thanksgiving!

The Message is in the Quilts!

Did you know that Shelburne Museum has over 400 quilts in its collection?  Most of these quilts were made in America during the 1800 and 1900s.

For many quilters of this time, quilting was one of the few ways to creatively show one's thoughts, feelings, and ideas about the people or happenings in his or her life. One of the most popular methods of quilting back then was to combine small, basic shapes--like squares, triangles, circles, diamonds, hexagons and octagons into neat designs that fit into squares.  These squares are sewn together to become one large piece known as a Pieced Quilt. 

Some pieced quilts show objects from everyday life.  Can you guess what these designs are?


Baby Blocks



Bowtie



Tree

Back in the 1800 and 1900s, quilters chose to illustrate these objects in their pieced quilts as a way to record parts of their daily life.

Other pieced quilt designs stand for a quilter's values or beliefs.

Can you see the messages within these designs?

Old Maid's Puzzle = Family



Corn and Beans = Life on the Farm

Other quilters created designs to document important people or events that happened during their lifetime:

Shoo Fly:  If you owned a Shoo Fly quilt back in the 1800s, this means you were willing to help runaway slaves as they traveled north towards their freedom.

Old Tippecanoe:  Women made quilts with this design to support William Henry Harrison, who was elected as president of the United States in the mid-1800s.

Dolly Madison's Star:  This star is in memory of Dolly Madison, wife of America's 4th president, James Madison.  During Madison's presidency, the original White House caught fire, but Dolly bravely fought the flames to save the country's most valuable document --the Declaration of Independence!



Are you ready to make your own design?   Using paper, cut out your favorite shapes (squares, triangles, circles, diamonds, hexagons, and octagons).  Use your cutouts to create your very own quilt design.  Will you make look it like an everyday object?  What special message does your patchwork say to you?  If you need some inspiration from historic quilters, please check out Shelburne Museum's online quilt gallery on its website!

Email me at educationinterns@shelburnemuseum.org  and send me a picture and a description of your pieced quilt for a chance to appear on my blog!

May the Force Be With You

Hello, young Jedis! Over 4,000 people came to Haunted Happenings at Shelburne Museum on Sunday to trick-or-treat while decked out in their most creative costumes. To go along with our sci-fi theme, I decided to dress as my favorite Star Wars character, the ever-spunky Princess Leia!

Here I am with Leia.

Young participants had the chance to wield a lightsaber and try to master the Force.

Minnie Mouse trick-or-treats with Han Solo.

Swedish Fish? Don't mind if I do.

Things got a little scary when Darth Vader showed up. Beware the Dark Side!

What are you going to be for Halloween? Leave a comment and let me know! Or, better yet, send me a picture of your costume at educationinterns@shelburnemuseum.org.

Season of Inspiration

I can't believe that the end of the season is coming up so soon!  Sunday, October 28 is the final day of the 2012 season. What a spectacular season of special exhibits, events, and visitors Shelburne Museum has had! 

Keeper for a Day

Hello, Webby here! This week I'm exploring the Lighthouse, a favorite spot for family visitors. It is over 140 years old and spent most of its life in the middle of Lake Champlain, guiding boats around dangerous reefs as they sailed into Burlington Bay.

The light keeper's most important job was to keep the oil lamp at the very top of the lighthouse burning all the time. He also rang a fog bell when the mist rolled in and ship captains found it hard to see. 

We know that the children of lighthouse keepers sometimes had to perform these duties. One of my favorite books, The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter by Arielle North Olson, tells the story of a young girl named Miranda who kept the lamp going during a blizzard! You can find it in Owl Cottage.

Here I am, climbing all 43 stairs from the first floor to the lamp room. Think about how many times the lighthouse keeper had to do this everyday. Phew!

If you go to the Lighthouse, be sure to check out our display about Champ, the Lake Champlain sea monster. Do you think Champ is real? Leave a comment and let us know.

Lastly, don't forget to stop by my Dive In station on the second floor to learn more about the Lighthouse and do a fun activity!