Taking A Trip Home..

After returning to my hometown this weekend for a family wedding, I decided to take a trip to a local museum that I had never had the privilege to visit before. After visiting the UC Davis Design museum, it sparked my interest to visit other exhibits and see the different areas of design that are evident within other museum exhibits. This particular museum focuses on local history within the town. Not only was the original building built in 1912, but the McHenry Museum, served as the town’s original library. This small bit of information made for a greater understanding of the museum as a whole. The set-up of the museum allows a great interaction with its audience by inviting them to take a closer look at the exhibits, with actual “scenes” set up, making the bystander believe that they are actually in that time period. The museum was designed by year, starting with artifacts from the earliest times in history, and ending with memorabilia, and artifacts from more recent times in history. I really enjoyed the museum as a whole. It provided very interesting information about the town’s history, and the era surrounding that time. Though I enjoyed all of the museum, I grew to appreciate an exhibit of artwork by Virgil William West. Mr. West was a local artist know for painting beautiful western scenes. His use of color, and shape within his paintings, made one feel as though they were in the painting. As a design student, I could appreciate the time and effort put into his work. It was clearly one of, if not the one, exhibit that served as a "favorite." It amazes me how much one can learn, and feel from another designers concepts, and ideas! I really enjoyed my day.


(http://www.mchenrymansion.org/mm_images/Musuem2004.jpg)