The post Feeding the Stone appeared first on The Mint Museum.

• 

  Todd A. Herman, PhD

  Chief Executive Officer and President

• 

  Gary C. Blankemeyer

  Chief Operating / Chief Financial Officer

• 

  Hillary Cooper

  Chief Advancement Officer

• 

  Michele Leopold

  Sr. Director of Collections and Exhibitions

Todd A. Herman, PhD

Chief Executive Officer and President

Todd Herman joined The Mint Museum in August 2018 as its President and CEO after serving as the Executive Director at the Arkansas Arts Center (AAC) for seven years. While there, he brought the institution to fiscal stability, expanded its programming and outreach, and diversified the AAC’s exhibitions to reflect the broader community. He also launched a $100M renovation and expansion project with celebrated architect Jeanne Gang.

As President & CEO of the Mint, he oversees an operating budget of $10M and manages more than 50 full-time and 25 part-time employees. His vision for the Mint includes creating a collaborative atmosphere between arts organizations that positions the Mint as a sustained and integral part of the educational and creative fabric of the community. Through exhibitions and the Mint’s renowned collection, Todd intends to celebrate the diversity of voices expressed in art that will bring the World to the doorstep of this vibrant city.

Todd received his undergraduate degrees in art history and microbiology from James Madison University, an MA degree in art history from the University of South Carolina, and his PhD in art history from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland with a focus on Italian Renaissance painting. He has worked in the curatorial departments of the Columbia Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art and taught art history at USC, Cleveland State, and for the University of Georgia in Cortona, Italy. He has written extensively on the art of Venice and for exhibitions and catalogs on Italian Renaissance Art, and organized the nationally traveling exhibition “Mark Rothko: The Decisive Decade, 1940-1950”.

Gary C. Blankemeyer

Chief Operating / Chief Financial Officer

M.B.A. Case Western Reserve University
B.B.A., University of Cincinnati

After more than 25 years in Financial and General Management Gary joined the Mint Museum the end of June 2015. Prior to joining the Mint, in his first endeavor in the non-profit world, Gary was Senior Vice President, Finance for Child Care Resources from January 2010 through June 2015. Prior to Child Care Resources, he held various senior general management and financial management positions over 23 years at Bosch Rexroth Corporation, a German based global manufacturing company.

Hillary Cooper

Chief Advancement Officer

Michele Leopold

Sr. Director of Collections and Exhibitions

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If you’re looking to bring something new into your Instagram feed, may we suggest these socially conscious artists. Some are people of color, and all allies of #BlackLivesMatter using their voices (and social media feeds) to bring new perspectives and first-hand insight to culturally important topics.

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Hank Willis Thomas

@hankwillisthomas, 124K followers

His sculpture art is large and poignant, and his IG page follows with images and commentary that call for social justice and a deep look at systemic racism in America. Brooklyn-based, he works primarily with themes related to perspective, identity, commodity, media, and popular culture.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ᕼᗩᑎK (@hankwillisthomas) on Jun 17, 2020 at 9:58am PDT

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Simone Leigh

@simoneyvetteleigh, 53.8K followers

Simone Leigh is an American, black female artist based in New York City by way of Chicago who strives to undo cultural assumptions about black women’s life and work. Her artwork is influenced by African and African American art. She posts stunning photos of her sculptures, as well as artwork that speaks to racial activism today and throughout history.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Simone Leigh (@simoneyvetteleigh) on Jun 18, 2020 at 8:25am PDT

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Dammit Wesley

@dammit_wesley, 12.8K followers

One of the artists who created the Black Lives Matter street mural in uptown Charlotte, Dammit Wesley is the founder and force behind BlkMkrt CLT, the art gallery at Camp Northend in Charlotte that represents artists of color. He is a black, multidisciplinary artist, whose work “provides context and commentary on the black experience through the lens of pop culture” (Elsewhere). His work is thoughtful, albeit sometimes brash, but without apology. He was also part of the Mint Museum’s Battle Walls event in the summer of 2019.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Dammit Wesley (@dammit_wesley) on Jun 22, 2020 at 7:01pm PDT

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Owl and Arko

@owl.clt, 4.8K followers

@arko.clt, 4.5K followers

Colombian-born, Charlotte-based, Owl posts images of her work, as well as images of other artists’ work, including her partner, Arko, and positive messages that encourage change, equality, and respect. Owl is also the creator of the mural walls in the current exhibition Classic Black: The Basalt Sculpture of  Wedgwood and His Contemporaries at Mint Museum Randolph.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Owl (@owl.clt) on Jun 5, 2020 at 10:29am PDT

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John Hairston Jr. 

@jagolactus, 6.9K followers

A UNC Charlotte professor, freelance artist and illustrator, John Hairston Jr. is well-known in the Charlotte arts community for his graphic arts and graffiti style that blends social commentary and political satire.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by John Hairston Jr. (@jagolactus_) on Jun 3, 2020 at 9:40am PDT

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Arsham Studio 3020

@danielarsham, 728K followers

Sculptor Daniel Arsham’s IG posts are complemented by his social commentary. Recently he and artist Samuel Ross’s came together to provide $3,000 grants to 10 black artists in an effort to showcase under-represented creatives from around the world.

 

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A post shared by ARSHAM STUDIO 3020 (@danielarsham) on Jun 15, 2020 at 9:14am PDT

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Ola Ronke Akinmowo

@thefreeblackwomenslibrary, 41.8K followers

Ola Ronke Akinmowo is a Brooklyn-born artist and community activist. She started the Free Black Women’s Library to amplify the voice of black women and to bring their stories into the spotlight. She posts books to read, updates on the library, and other great content supporting black women and writers.

 

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A post shared by OlaRonke (@thefreeblackwomenslibrary) on Jun 19, 2020 at 3:10pm PDT

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Shane Pierce

@abstractdissent, 4.1K followers

Shane Pierce, aka the mural artist, Abstract Dissent, posts pictures and videos of his work. Many of his murals are responses to events like George Floyd’s murder and the pandemic, and he calls for change and unity.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by SHUG_NPC_Abstract Dissent (@abstractdissent) on Jun 6, 2020 at 5:20pm PDT

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Nico Amortegui

@nico_malo1, 2.5K followers

A Colombian artist living in Charlotte, Nico Amortegui is a ceramic artist and painter whose art is rooted in being an immigrant. He moved to the U.S. at age 17 from Bogota, Colombia and lived undocumented for some time. In his bio online, he states: “Being forever between two cultures has shaped my views and molded the themes of my pieces. I consider myself 100% Latino – equally Colombian and American.” He even made a mask to fit on top of his mask during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Nico Amortegui (@nico_malo1) on May 2, 2020 at 1:43am PDT

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Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy

@angelik.wiki, 1.6K followers

A curator, writer, and speaker who currently serves as the Assistant Curator at the Museum of Arts & Design (MAD) in New York City, Angelik shares works of art and promotes the talents of artists of color, and started a regular POC Artist series on her Instagram page. Her profile is full of bright colors and beautiful works. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ??????? ???????????-????? ??✨ (@angelik.wiki) on Jun 16, 2020 at 2:34pm PDT

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Bree Stallings

@breequixote, 3.8K followers

A professional artist and muralist based in Charlotte, Bree Stallings is active in the local art scene most recently helping to raise money for local organizations through the sale of her art. She was also part of Battle Walls at Mint Museum Randolph in 2019, and is the creator of the To be Seen and Celebrated solo exhibition.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Bree Stallings, Artist (@breequixote) on Jun 14, 2020 at 6:23pm PDT

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Stella McCartney

@stellamccartney, 6.3M followers

“Yes the designer, who has amazing posts,” says Mint curator Annie Carlano. The Stella McCartney IG page is fashion forward, but to support #BlackLivesMatter protests and campaigns, the platform was used as a way to learn from, listen to and amplify black voices, and amplify the voices of diverse women.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Stella McCartney (@stellamccartney) on Jun 20, 2020 at 8:13am PDT

The post 13 artists of influence on Instagram to follow now appeared first on The Mint Museum.

24 Hours in the life of Ruben Natal-San Miguel

“I’ve walked every street in all five boroughs,” Natal-San Miguel says.

A native of Puerto Rico, Natal-San Miguel came to the U.S. to study architecture in college and graduate school—studies that inform his eye for photography. Now 51, Natal-San Miguel is the artist behind the Mint’s first online exhibition, Expanding the Pantheon: Women R Beautiful. His portrait Mama (Beautiful Skin) in the contemporary galleries of Mint Museum Uptown shows a confident woman in front of a red van. She wears a white T-shirt, with cornrows and skin marked by vitiligo. The image—one of 26 included in Women R Beautiful—speaks to the photographer’s overarching goal: introducing a new range of beauty for our consideration. Here, Natal-San Miguel walked us through his typical day.

7 AM

I’m diabetic, so the first thing I do is test my blood and feed my cat, Dante. I check my email. If it’s press, I need to respond. If something got published, I immediately go on social media. The base of my collectors is older and on Facebook. So I go do a more personal approach there before reposting on Instagram. Then I go and eat and take my meds.

8 AM

For breakfast, the first thing is coffee. It’s part of my family and culture. I was born in Puerto Rico, where my grandfather had a coffee and tobacco plantation. I recently made whole wheat cinnamon pancakes with sliced mandarin oranges cooked in slow fire. I’m daydreaming about it.

9 AM

I’m not exactly a morning person. I hate midday shadows and I love people in natural light. I photograph people exactly how I find them: the hair, the necklace, the shoes. I’m a storyteller. I have a simple, strong connection between me and the subject.

NOON

I make a sandwich or buy it at a corner bodega. My go-to sandwich—well, I’m not supposed to have it all the time—it’s chicken parmesan. In New York, I love it.

1 PM

I take a nap. My cat is next to me. He’s black with green eyes, and sweet. I found him in Harlem on a cold December day and he followed me home. I take time to think. It’s part of my process. Right now, my head is all about a book for Women R Beautiful.

With my photographs, I celebrate a life—a lot of these women may not have a voice. My grandfather wouldn’t allow my mother to look at him when she was talking to him. She had to talk to him with her head down. Even though she was highly educated, she was in the shadow of machismo culture. I was a little kid when I saw that, and I had a visceral, strong reaction. I couldn’t believe a father could treat a daughter like that. It’s what motivated me to do a show like what’s at the Mint.

2:30 PM

I live in a brownstone, have a yard. But I’m a creature of the street. It’s good to travel around this time because kids aren’t coming out of school and the subways aren’t crowded. I want to be in place by 3 or 3:30 PM. My encounters with subjects are no longer than five minutes, usually just a few seconds.

Sometimes I have three cameras on me. The lens caps are off. If I have to wait to take a cap off, my subject may be gone. My work is like a subway ride—very strong, very fast.

You’re passing thousands of people and that person catches your eye and you go after them.  Most New Yorkers are always in a hurry and they don’t want to talk. I feel like I’m selling Tupperware when I’m trying to get their photo. But I’m lucky. I’ll get nine out of 10. These people in the most marginalized areas of the city—they have such wisdom and can tell if you’re a bullshitter. I love and respect that. They can tell I’m not a bullshitter.

I get their email address, get their Instagram feed, and I send the file later. Sometimes I give them a signed print. I stay in touch and invite them to my shows. I want them to see themselves in museums, in galleries.

6 PM

By this time, I have my second cup of coffee. Coffee twice a day, that’s part of my culture. Then that moment before it goes dark—I call it the magic moment. It’s only a few seconds, so you better be somewhere that’s important.

6:30 PM

In the winter, I’m home by this time. In summer, I’ll be out until 8:30 or 9 PM. Dinner is usually salad and soup. Sometimes I’ll buy a rotisserie chicken and share it with my cat. He’s a Harlem cat and loves his fried chicken and rotisserie chicken. After dinner, I look at pictures I’ve taken.

1 AM

I do what I call my “YouTube videos and Google research.” I Google neighborhoods and notice the demographics, crime statistics, landmarks. I look at an area’s retail. It’s important for me to understand the culture of an area to reflect it in the photos. I took the photo of the three Muslim girls in Women R Beautiful because I’d seen the subway coming through in a commercial for a local newscaster. I saw it, googled the gym name on the side of a building, and went there. I sat like a fool for 90 minutes on those steps, waiting. I said, “I’m going to sit here until someone comes down who’s amazing.” And the three little Muslim girls came down. That was it.

1:30 AM

I do The New York Times crossword. It takes me only a few minutes because I’ve been doing it for years. I like to motivate my brain to think. Then I give myself time to think.

3 AM

Sleep.

The post On the Daily: 24 Hours in the life of Ruben Natal-San Miguel appeared first on The Mint Museum.

With an anticipated completion date of Fall 2016, we at The Mint Museum are growing excited to welcome as many as 700 new residents to a new 43-story luxury apartment tower taking shape on our roof.

As construction proceeds, we may be subject to temporary disruptions such as noise or changes in traffic flow. We are doing our best to keep updated information posted here and on our Facebook and Twitter feeds as it becomes available. We thank our visitors for their patience as we occasionally experience factors outside our control. If any visitors have questions, please contact the Mint at 704.337.2000 or info@mintmuseum.org ; media inquiries may be directed to leigh.dyer@mintmuseum.org

The apartment tower is being built by Childress Klein , and the tower (originally condos) was part of the original vision for Levine Center for the Arts since its inception.  Childress Klein owns the air rights above the Mint, and Batsoon Cook Contractors is the General Contractor for this project. The infrastructure for the tower was put in place inside Mint Museum Uptown as it was constructed in 2009-2010.

LATEST UPDATES

Updated July 30

Pump up the jam! That’s right – concrete pumping is underway. The entire first floor has already been completed and the second is on its way. The hours started out primarily in the evenings from 4:30-9:30 p.m. but the General Contractor has discussed moving them to different times of day and will seek to avoid disrupting Mint special events.

Remember how we told you a few weeks ago to expect some screening to cloak the side of our building and be visible from our windows? Batson-Cook has figured out another solution to keep concrete from spilling on the building from the roof level, so no views from galleries or classrooms will be obscured by screening.

Headsup: Traffic on Church Street near Mint Museum Uptown will be disrupted by construction from 9 a.m. tomorrow (Friday) thorugh Sunday at 7 p.m., but this one’s not our project – they are closing the street to assemble a construction crane for the nearby 300 South Tryon Street development. Please plan to avoid Church on your way to visit us!

Check out new views from the roof below and on Facebook !

UPDATED July 16

View from the top.

Visibility alert:

Another highly visible aspect of the tower construction is about to start. General Contractor Batson Cook will install a protective screen on the side of the Mint Museum Uptown building facing Levine Avenue of the Arts, from the roof down to the newly constructed platform. It will not be visible through the Mint’s atrium windows, but visitors will be able to see it from the classrooms and the gallery windows on that side of the building. As concrete pumping begins, the purpose of the screening is to protect the side of the building from any spillage.

Next milestone:

Concrete pumping is still anticipated to begin July 22. Vibration monitors will be ready!

Safety tip:

Your favorite route to cross Church Street behind the Mint’s building may now be obstructed by the construction. BUT PLEASE DON’T JAYWALK! Please continue to use sidewalks and crosswalks for your own safety, because Church Street drivers have lots of potential distractions in the area!

Did you know? The new platform across Levine Avenue for the Arts is equipped with its own dry sprinkler system and lighting under the platform. Lights will remain on at night to help keep pedestrians safe.

New images:

Please visit the Mint’s Facebook page  for a new set of “views from the top.”

UPDATED July 10

Crane Installation:

We are pleased to announce that the initial crane erection is complete! The crane will be jumped twice during the remaining construction of the project as the height of the building continues to increase.

Platform Installation:

The Platform on Levine Avenue of the Arts is near completion. This platform will provide protection for the sidewalks around the project including direct access to the entry of Levant and Starbucks.

Concrete Pours:

The first concrete pour for the columns on level twelve and shear walls is complete. The first slab pour will begin on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company plans to pour approximately one floor of concrete per week.

NOISE:

What’s that noise you’re hearing? At this time, the drilling and other noise is mostly coming from the removal of blocks for access, installing temporary supports for the power lines, and setting plates for the staircase installation. As time goes on, this noise will minimize but then be replaced by the sound of concrete pumping. Pumping is anticipated to concentrate from approximately 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for four days each week.

As time goes on, the “activity noise” will get further away as the tower rises – but the concrete pumping itself will be occurring on the Levine Avenue platform.

ANY VIBRATIONS?

Vibration monitoring is ongoing throughout the museum to ensure the safety of visitors and works of art, and not once has the vibration reached the minimal monitoring threshold.

New images:

Please visit the Mint’s  Facebook page  for a new set of “views from the top.”

The post Watch Levine Center for the Arts Grow appeared first on The Mint Museum.

Get your glow on at The Mint Museum’s “Light Up the Night” celebration Feb. 14, powered by Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas

Charlotte, N.C. (February 6, 2020): The Mint Museum welcomes the community to its free Light Up the Night event, powered by Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas, 6-9 PM Feb. 14 at Mint Museum Uptown. The free Valentine’s Day event features immersive experiences for all ages, including glowing swings on the plaza, live music by DJ Fannie Mae, and pop-up maker spaces inside the museum.

One highlight sure to fill Instagram feeds: five circular glow swings installed on the plaza outside Mint Museum Uptown. The LED-lit hoop-shaped swings are designed for guests to twist and glide. Each swing is suspended on rubber-and-rope cords attached to steel structures. LED lights embedded in the swings rotate through neon candy colors when in motion, gradually dimming to a soft white light when still. 

The event—free and open to the public—is held in conjunction with special exhibition Immersed in Light: Studio Drift at the Mint, of which Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas is a corporate sponsor. The exhibition, which showcases the Dutch artist collective, runs through April 26 at Mint Museum Uptown. Spotlight tours take place every half-hour in the galleries on the museums Level 3 and Level 4 galleries.

In addition to the gallery experiences, enjoy light bites and illuminated cocktails at the cash bar, and make creative designs at pop-up maker spaces with glow-in-the-dark art activities.

Fans of Immersed in Light can enjoy a special “Fall in Love With Dutch Design” conversation at 6 PM in the boardroom, presented by the Mint’s Senior Curator of Craft, Design and Fashion Annie Carlano, curator for the exhibition. Carlano will showcase exceptional works by Dutch artists and the hottest Dutch designers of the 21st century. 

Want more info?
Contact Michele Huggins, the Mint’s communications and media relations project manager, michele.huggins@mintmuseum.org or at 704-337-2122

The Mint Museum

Established in 1936 as North Carolina’s first art museum, The Mint Museum is a leading, innovative cultural institution and museum of international art and design. With two locations—Mint Museum Randolph in the heart of Eastover and Mint Museum Uptown on South Tryon Street—the Mint boasts one of the largest collections in the Southeast and is committed to engaging and inspiring members of the global community.

Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S. It employs 30,000 people and has an electric generating capacity of 51,000 megawatts through its regulated utilities, and 3,000 megawatts through its nonregulated Duke Energy Renewables unit.

Duke Energy is transforming its customers’ experience, modernizing the energy grid, generating cleaner energy and expanding natural gas infrastructure to create a smarter energy future for the people and communities it serves. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure unit’s regulated utilities serve approximately 7.7 million retail electric customers in six states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. The Gas Utilities and Infrastructure unit distributes natural gas to more than 1.6 million customers in five states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The Duke Energy Renewables unit operates wind and solar generation facilities across the U.S., as well as energy storage and microgrid projects.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune’s 2020 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list, and Forbes’ 2019 “America’s Best Employers” list. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos, videos and other materials. Duke Energy’s illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Piedmont Natural Gas

Piedmont Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, is an energy services company whose principal business is the distribution of natural gas to more than 1 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The company also supplies natural gas to power plants. Piedmont is routinely recognized by J.D. Power for excellent customer satisfaction, and has been named by Cogent Reports as one of the most trusted utility brands in the U.S.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S. It employs 30,000 people and has an electric generating capacity of 51,000 megawatts through its regulated utilities, and 3,000 megawatts through its nonregulated Duke Energy Renewables unit.

Duke Energy is transforming its customers’ experience, modernizing the energy grid, generating cleaner energy and expanding natural gas infrastructure to create a smarter energy future for the people and communities it serves.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune’s 2020 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list, and Forbes’ 2019 “America’s Best Employers” list. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos, videos and other materials. Duke Energy’s illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

The post Get your glow on at The Mint Museum’s “Light Up the Night” celebration Feb. 14, powered by Duke Energy-Piedmont Natural Gas appeared first on The Mint Museum.

If you work, live, or visit uptown, or know someone who does, there will soon be a great new way to experience  Levine Center for the Arts : FREE “ArtBreak” lunchtime museum tours offered by docents of The Mint Museum, the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, and the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture.

Beginning on March 17—Saint Patrick’s Day—these 30-minute tours , free and open to the public, will be guiding visitors through the galleries every third Thursday of each month at noon.

Whether it’s an introductory experience for a first-time visitor or a deeper cultural experience for those already familiar with Levine Center for the Arts
institutions, the tours will provide a brief but focused encounter with art with people who have a limited amount of time—and will allow time to grab
lunch as well.

This collaborative effort, the first of its kind in Charlotte, originated with the Mint docents and is just one of several new initiatives underway to improve
public tours. Support is provided by the THRIVE Fund, established to provide financial stability to Charlotte’s cultural sector and currently administered by
Foundation For The Carolinas.

Visitors can choose one of the three museums for each date, and experience a tour structured around a common theme reflecting the nature
of permanent collections or special exhibitions on view. (Each theme lasts for three months—enough to experience all three institutions!)

Themes include:

“Trending Now,” March–May, will examine how contemporary issues may become an aspect of an artist’s work, the use of new materials
and processes in creating art, or simply what is new on view. At the Mint, works discussed will include Hoss Haley’s White Ripple, Susan
Point’s Salmon Spawning Run and Tom Joyce’s Thicket.

“Zoom In, Zoom Out,” June–August, will challenge tour participants to look at selected works of art in an unconventional manner.

“Labels: Do We Need Them?” in September–November will ask visitors to consider text and reference materials provided by curators as
well as issues of identity and labels in society today.

“Out of Place,” December–February 2017, rounds out the tour themes for the year and will focus on the quirky and unexpected in the
galleries.

Article by Renee Reese, a Docent of The Mint Museum since 1988, who was recently named Director at Large for the National Docent Symposium Council. This article originally appeared in “INSPIRED,” the member magazine of The Mint Museum. To receive a copy, call 704.337.2009. Click here to become a member today !

The post “ArtBreaks” New FREE lunchtime tours announced appeared first on The Mint Museum.

On Saturday September 29, 2012, Carolina Raptor Center, Carolinas Aviation Museum, and The Mint Museum will all open their doors free of charge along with over 1,400 other participating venues for the eighth annual Museum Day Live! This immensely successful program, in which the museums will emulate the free admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington, D.C.-based facilities, encourages learning and the spread of knowledge nationwide.

Inclusive by design, Museum Day Live! fulfills Smithsonian Media’s mission to make cultural education accessible to everyone. For one day only, the museums will grant free access to visitors who download a Museum Day Live! ticket at Smithsonian.com. Last year’s event drew over 350,000 museum-goers, and this year’s Museum Day Live! is expected to attract close to 400,000 participants.

The Museum Day Live! Ticket is available to download at Smithsonian.com/museumday. Visitors who present the Museum Day Live! ticket will gain free entrance for two at participating venues for one day only. One ticket is permitted per household, per email address. For more information about Museum Day Live! 2012 and a list of participating museums and cultural institutions, please visit Smithsonian.com/museumday.

More information about the attractions and events at each venue:

Carolina Raptor Center

The center at 6000 Sample Road in Huntersville is dedicated to environmental stewardship and the conservation of birds of prey through education, research, and the rehabilitation of injured and orphaned raptors. General adult admission is normally $10. On September 29, events include an 11 a.m. Live Bird Presentation, a 12:30 p.m. Vulture Feeding, and a 2 p.m. Meet the Keeper Program. More information at www.carolinaraptorcenter.org.

Carolinas Aviation Museum

The museum devoted to the history of aviation and aircraft is at 4672 First Flight Drive near Charlotte Douglas International Airport. General adult admission is normally $12. Exhibits include a recently completed exhibit on the “Miracle on the Hudson, Flight 1549.” On September 29, visitors will be able to take a special tour of an Eastern Airlines DC-7 and a replica of Air Force One as it was during President Reagan’s tenure for a special charge of $7. More information at www.carolinasaviation.org.

The Mint Museum

Charlotte’s oldest and largest art museum is offering free admission at both its locations: Mint Museum Randolph, 2730 Randolph Road, and Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts, 500 South Tryon Street. General adult admission is normally $10. Free admission will be offered to all visitors and a Museum Day Live! voucher is not required. Mint Museum Uptown’s free admission day coincides with Hola Charlotte Festival 2012, A Cultural Celebration! In cooperation with the Latin American Women’s Association and Norsan Media, the festival includes a salsa contest, live music, cuisine and a celebration of the culture of Latin heritage. Museum visitors will also experience the final weekend of the exhibition Hard Truths: The Art of Thornton Dial, closing September 30, and will be invited to cast ballots in the “Vote for Art” project, which allows visitors to select which work or works of art from among six choices should be added to the museum’s permanent collection. At Mint Museum Randolph, visitors will experience the final weekend of Drawings by Thornton Dial, which also closes September 30. More information at the NEW mintmuseum.org.

UPDATE: It’s an important cultural weekend in uptown Charlotte, with the debut of “Our Heritage, Our History,” the unprecedented joining of three exhibitions and a special event for one weekend only. Read details here.

About Carolina Raptor Center

Carolina Raptor Center is dedicated to environmental stewardship and the conservation of birds of prey through research, education and the rehabilitation of injured and orphaned raptors. Over 35,000 people walk the Raptor Trail each year, enjoying our 25 species of raptor including hawks, eagles, owls and vultures. In 2012, 834 birds were treated in the Raptor Medical Center with almost 70% of those that live through the first 24 hours being released back into the wild. CRC Educators present programming to over 25,000 school children a year onsite and in their classrooms.

About Carolinas Aviation Museum

Founded in 1992, and located at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the Carolinas Aviation Museum has the largest collection of aircraft and aerospace artifacts between Washington, D.C. and Robins, GA.  The collection spans the entire history of powered flight, and includes the world-renewed “Miracle on the Hudson” Airbus A-320.  The museum’s mission is to educate and inspire the next generation to excel academically in the areas of math, science, and history through the preservation of our aerospace heritage.  More information about the museum can be found at http://www.carolinasaviation.org or http://www.facebook.com/ft1549.  Follow the Museum on Twitter @Carolinairmusem.

About The Mint Museum

As the oldest art museum in North Carolina, with one of the largest collections in the Southeast, The Mint Museum offers its visitors inspiring and transformative experiences through art from around the world via innovative collections, groundbreaking exhibitions, and riveting educational programs. The Mint Museum is a non-profit, visual arts institution comprised of two dynamic facilities: Mint Museum Uptown and Mint Museum Randolph.

Located in what was the original branch of the United States Mint, Mint Museum Randolph opened in 1936 in Charlotte’s Eastover neighborhood as the state’s first art museum. Today, in a beautiful park setting, intimate galleries invite visitors to engage with the art of the ancient Americas, ceramics and decorative arts, fashion, European and African art, among other collections. Resources include a reference library with over 18,000 volumes, a theater featuring lectures and performances, and a museum shop offering merchandise that complements both the permanent collection and special exhibitions.

Mint Museum Uptown houses the internationally renowned Craft + Design collection, as well as outstanding collections of American, contemporary, and European art. Designed by Machado and Silvetti Associates of Boston, the five-story, 145,000-square-foot facility combines inspiring architecture with cutting-edge exhibitions to provide visitors with unparalleled educational and cultural experiences. Located in the heart of Charlotte’s burgeoning center city, Mint Museum Uptown is an integral part of the Levine Center for the Arts, a cultural campus that includes the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture, the Knight Theater, and the Duke Energy Center. Mint Museum Uptown also features a wide range of visitor amenities, including the 240-seat James B. Duke Auditorium, the Lewis Family Gallery, art studios, a restaurant, and a museum shop. For more information, visit the NEW mintmuseum.org.

About Smithsonian Media

Smithsonian Media comprises its flagship publication, Smithsonian magazine, as well as Air & Space, goSmithsonian, Smithsonian Media Digital Network, and the Smithsonian Channel. Smithsonian Media is a division of Smithsonian Enterprises, the revenue-generating business unit of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum and research complex consisting of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities. Approximately 30 million people from around the world visit the museums annually.

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Artist Lydia Thompson at work in her home studio.

On the daily: 24 hours in the life of artist Lydia Thompson

By Liz Rothaus Bertrand

For Lydia Thompson, a working artist and professor of ceramics at UNC Charlotte, the past is always present. She is fascinated by “our abodes,” and how we interact with them. Inside these spaces, we carry our own stories, as well as those of former inhabitants and vestiges from our lives elsewhere. Thompson’s recent work focuses on issues such as forced displacement, gentrification, and what gets left behind when a home is abandoned. 

“You can see the emotions of a structure when it starts to deteriorate, especially when it’s been abandoned,” Thompson says. “You can see layers and layers of cultures that lived in there.” 

As Thompson wraps up a three-year term as UNC Charlotte’s chairperson of the department of art and art history, she’s also looking toward the future. After spending much of her career in leadership positions at universities throughout the United States, she is eager to return to a schedule with more time for teaching, studio work, and leading community workshops. 

“I really love working with the community,” she says, “because the artwork just sits in the gallery and I want to bring it alive.”  

While her weekdays have been mostly filled with administrative duties she finds time for studio work on the weekend. Take a look at a typical Saturday for the renowned ceramic artist, filled with her sketchbook, the kiln, and some thought provoking documentaries. 

Lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

5 AM: I wake up and start my day with some personal reading. The books I’m reading are always centered around projects I’m working on. Books I’ve recently read include Feeding the Ghosts by Fred D’Aguiar, Root Shock by Mindy Thompson Fullilove, and The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson.

6 AM: I check emails, maybe look at Instagram, and have two cups of coffee, followed by a full breakfast of pancakes or eggs. I reserve the yogurt and oatmeal for Monday through Friday. I keep a sketchbook nearby at all times. Because I don’t have a lot of time to work in the studio, I’m always making lists.

7:30 AM: I head down to my basement studio — I am happy to finally have a dedicated studio space — and open the kiln. Even though I know what the result is going to be, I love the anticipation. The excitement of seeing a fired piece never goes away. 

Because slabs are heavy, I work on them while I have the most energy of the day. I spend a couple of hours focused rolling out and flipping slabs. I use a template and make a cardboard model before I actually cut anything out to be sure it’s going to work when I put it together.  

While working, I usually put on the television show “Columbo” or listen to a podcast. I feel like detective Columbo is the underdog who is misunderstood. I think of myself and my career in terms of being misunderstood sometimes. People see me and never think I’m the director or the person in the leadership role at UNC Charlotte because I’m an African American woman. They’re always surprised when they find out who I am. 

I also enjoy listening to podcasts. I love Brené Brown’s “Unlocking Us,” and “Business of HYPE,” with host Jeff Staple. 

9:30 AM: If I have slabs set up, I start building the interior structure and putting the walls together. I start busting up things, making rubble so I can dip all of it in glaze and put it in the piece.  

11:30 AM: It’s time to glaze. I look at the wooden bases and check the inventory of what needs to be done before setting up. I usually glaze my pieces three or four times. 

Noon: I take a lunch break, which is usually leftovers — homemade pizza, maybe a salad or a tuna sandwich — and enjoy time in my backyard with a quick stretch and check on the garden my fiancé planted. We have green beans, tomatoes, cucumber, squash, lettuce, and green peppers.

1:30 PM: Back to the studio. I set up the piece a little more and then do some glazing. This takes time and can be tedious because I put masking tape where I want another color to appear. But it gives me the result I’m after. I glaze for an hour and a half and then let it dry.

2 PM: I get another cup of coffee that I don’t really need.

3 PM: I’m always working on two or three pieces at the same time, so it’s helpful to review where I am with projects. I go back to my sketchbook and then I repeat the cycle I began at the start of the day, except for the slab rolling. 

Studio time is so important. It’s dedicated time to work and to review work you’ve done, especially the work that wasn’t successful. Even though you want to throw it in the trash, you’ve got to look at it and say, “Why did this not work?”

6 PM: It’s time to get dinner ready. We try to eat healthy, and I walk every day after dinner and sometimes in the morning, too. I also stretch. It helps to keep your body in tune, especially if you’re doing ceramics.

7:30 PM: My fiancé and I unwind watching movies, but I’m sketching all the time — at night, when I’m in bed or while I’m looking at the TV. I look through the sketches and pull out the ones I think will work. 

We like to watch suspense, thriller, love stories, and futuristic movies. I love documentaries. With the Black Lives Matter movement in focus, I’ve been watching documentaries, such as Black Wall Street, Amend, Coded Bias, and I Am Not Your Negro about African American history. They’re tear jerkers for me because this is reality. I think we’ve come really far, but the only way we can change certain mentalities is to start when people are very young. It’s hard to understand unless you actually walk in someone else’s shoes. I just don’t want people’s eyes to roll when we continue to have these conversations because it really has impacted lives. The way you treat a certain group of people still has an impact on their life and where they are in this country. There’s just no way around it.

9:30 PM: I go to bed fairly early. By 9:30 or 10 o’clock, I’m out. I’m done. 

Liz Rothaus Bertrand is a writer and editor based in Charlotte who is passionate about the arts.  

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Michael Sherrill Retrospective opens later this month at Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts, 500 South Tryon Street. The museum will offer member-only hours 11 a.m.- 9 p.m. on Friday October 26; Sherrill gives a public talk, free with museum admission, 11 a.m. Saturday October 27. It is followed by a book signing in the Mint Museum Store with a new, lavishly illustrated catalogue published by The Mint Museum to accompany the exhibition.

The exhibition will travel to the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in summer 2019, and the Arizona State University Art Museum in early 2020.

Temple of the Cool Beauty (Yucca)
Michael Sherrill
Created: 2005
Materials: polychrome, porcelain, Moretti glass, silica bronze
Gift of Ann and Tom Cousins. 2014.78a-b. Collection of The Mint Museum.

“The idea for a Michael Sherrill Retrospective was ignited by close study of one of the Mint’s sculpture’s, Temple of the Cool Beauty (Yucca), then on loan from Ann and Tom Cousins, and further research,” said Annie Carlano, the Mint’s curator of Craft, Design, & Fashion. “Surveying contemporary clay globally, Michael’s work is exceptional in its sheer beauty—delicate botanical reveries that chronicle life cycles from blossom to wither. His command of materials, not just clay but metal and glass, and his brilliance as an inventor of tools and technologies, make the magic happen. There is simply nothing like his work anywhere on the planet.”

Carlano serves as lead organizing curator and Marilyn Zapf of The Center for Craft is guest curator; filmmakers Matthew Mebane and Maria White contributed video to the exhibition.

Primarily a self-taught artist, Sherrill moved from Charlotte, North Carolina to the Western North Carolina mountains in 1974. His early influences came from the North Carolina folk pottery tradition and the community surrounding Penland School of Crafts, Seagrove Potters, and the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild, as well as from his studies of the ceramics of Asia and the Americas. These influences are apparent in Sherrill’s functional objects from the late 1970s and 80s. These early explorations led quickly to a new sculptural vocabulary, strong minimalist organic forms inspired by the botanical world. Sherrill’s unique aesthetic sensibilities are matched by his extraordinary skill and inventiveness. A true innovator, he has developed clay bodies and special tools to make the material fulfill his desired artistic outcome.

Over 70 objects will be on view, from a group of Steins (1977) to A Beautiful Death (2017).  Loans from institutions including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; The Museum of Arts and Design, New York; the Racine Museum of Art; and individual collectors in Oregon, Florida, Vermont, and North Carolina are featured.

“The Mint Museum is committed to collecting, publishing, and exhibiting the best of contemporary craft,” said Dr. Todd A. Herman, President & CEO of the Mint. “We have recognized the unique talent of Michael Sherrill since his early forays in functional vessels, and through accessions and exhibitions have acknowledged his creative expression and skill. This retrospective is the culmination of several years of dedication and excellence on the part of Mint staff and I am proud of our team and other contributors.”

Exhibition sections and catalogue

Michael Sherrill Retrospective begins with a sense of place, as the visitor walks through re-creations and interpretations of his cobalt blue studio doors and the woods of his mountain home. Twenty-first-century ceramics, like contemporary art in general, can be characterized as an exciting period of experimentation: to express their creative vision, makers are incorporating new media and technologies to reach beyond traditional methods. Sherrill is one of the foremost practitioners of this approach. His inventiveness and worldview play ahead of current trends, and working off the beaten track, he developed a naturalist’s sensitivity to the botanical wonders of Bat Cave, North Carolina. Finding the universal in the close at hand, Sherrill’s extraordinary evolution in creating with clay—and other materials—is conveyed in this exhibition.

The first section of the exhibition, Early Works, features functional stoneware forms that demonstrate the young artist’s influences from both historic and contemporary North Carolina pottery as well as Native American and Asian inspired shapes, glazes, and raku firing techniques.  It’s the smallest section of the show, due to the fact Sherrill’s oeuvre evolved so quickly from an artist’s initial period of exploration to maturity.

Teapots is the largest section of the exhibition and illustrates the way in which Sherrill uses the utilitarian object as vehicle for his forays into materials, process, and aesthetics. Here we can see sober Minimalist designs, drawing on traditional squat round forms, exuberant colorful expressionist compositions, and pure abstract forms.  In this rich and imaginative installation, reminiscent of a fine tea shop, what is unseen is as important as the surface ornamentation, as Sherrill moves fluidly from stoneware to porcelain. Installed in an imaginative teashop-like setting, this section of the exhibition includes a hand-on activity related teas from around the world.

In an intimate room off the Teapot section is Studio.  In this section of the exhibition visitors will encounter a selection of tools, organic materials, and other curiosities from Michael Sherrill’s actual studio Wonder Wall—a space filled with objects that inspire and invite contemplation.  Underscoring the inventor in the artist, across from the Wonder Wall is an installation of array of colorful clay work tools from the artist’s Mudtools line. Visitors will be able to scroll through the twitter feed of Mudtools to see the amazing ways people around the globe are utilizing these implements.

Contemporary Sculpture begins with transitional objects from teapot botanical abstractions to full blown sculpture. Inspired by the ubiquitous rhododendron that he sees every day on his daily walks with his wife Margery, the artist crafted a series of ceramic and life size sculptures in 2008. Still, this is not entirely a linear path, as Sherrill hones his naturalist sensibilities, skill, and technologies creating both large scale an intimate ornate plant forms and makes huge creative leaps to Neo-Minimalist sheaths, reminiscent of Agnes Martin paintings. The last group of objects in the visitor’s path was created since 2014. Showing his fantastic facility with clay, glass, and lost wax casting bronze in wall mounted and freestanding sculptures, objects such as Black Medicine, A Beautiful Death, and Dutch Solomon eschew any doubt that he is a Southern American master.

Each section is introduced by a video that features Michael Sherrill addressing the visitor. Shot on location in Bat Cave and including some vintage film, the videos were produced by Matthew Mebane and Maria White, award winning documentary filmmakers based in Charleston, South Carolina.

A scholarly exhibition catalogue, edited by Carlano, accompanies the exhibition. It features essays by Marilyn Zapf, Assistant Director and Curator, The Center for Craft and Guest Curator; and Ezra Shales, Associate Professor of Art History, Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Published by The Mint Museum, the book will be available for $40 at both museum locations; beginning November 15, it will be available online at store.mintmuseum.org.

Michael Sherrill has received numerous prestigious awards, including the US Windgate Fellowship: Crafts and the Arts, US Artists (2010) and is a highly regarded teacher and lecturer throughout the United States, and in Japan and China.  He serves on several non-profit boards and councils including the Archie Bray Foundation, and the Center for Craft, and has served as a member of the Founders’ Circle Board of Directors.

Mint curators Annie Carlano, Senior Curator of Craft, Design & Fashion and Emily Pazar, former curatorial assistant for Craft, Design & Fashion are the organizing curators; Marilyn Zapf, Assistant Director and Curator, The Center for Craft, Asheville, N.C., is Guest Curator.

The exhibition is organized by The Mint Museum. STEELFAB is the presenting sponsor for the exhibition. Generous support for the exhibition catalogue and tour provided by the Windgate Foundation; additional funding from the Founders’ Circle and Bank of America.

Media and invited guests are invited to preview the exhibition from 10 a.m.-noon on Thursday October 25; RSVP to leigh.dyer@mintmuseum.org.

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