This is going to be picture heavy!
Today DH and I went out for a multi-part adventure in the nearby towns of Oshkosh and Neenah. In Oshkosh, we went to the Paine Art Center and Gardens for two different events – an exhibit of Hmoob embroideries and Rooms of Blooms, a flower show.
The embroideries were done by Mao Lor, whose story you can read here. She is an amazing artist – her embroideries are beautiful and complex. Many works include elements of quilting, both regular piecing and reverse applique. Some of the embroideries show traditional stories and legends from Laos, others have modern elements.








The other event, Rooms of Blooms, was a chance for local florists to show off. And they really did! In one room, the florists were challenged to create floral displays to complement Mao Lor’s embroidered works. Elsewhere they just created elaborate floral displays. Most of these were elaborate and inventive and gorgeous.





Then after stopping to enjoy tea in the conservatory, we were off to our next stop, the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass! This museum is in the nearby town of Neenah, also home to Fibre yarn shop of earlier post fame. The museum is situated in a beautiful estate on the shore of Lake Winnebago. It is not a big museum, but does have several display areas and some classroom and activity areas. When we visited there was a display of glass work done by local school kids. Other than that, lots of works of art in glass, lots of it extremely ornate paperweights.




After the glass museum, we took a walk along the lake shore and saw Neenah’s cute little lighthouse.
All in all, a very nice day out and about! Have you gone on any local adventures lately?


Your day sounds lovely, I’d have enjoyed seeing all those things, especially the glass museum. Thanks for sharing your adventures in Dairyland with us. It gives a nice view into what Wisconsin has to offer.
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Always glad to share my adventures! I always love seeing other parts of the world, so like sharing my part too 🙂 The glass museum was small but very well done!
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What a lovely day! Those embroideries are stunning!
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It really was! You are right – you could just look at the embroideries for hours. So much detail and so much artistry!
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I’m happy to hear more about Oshkosh. Bill and I visited two years ago when we were considering various cities for our relocation. I will definitely want to visit it again, now that I have read this post. Mao Lor’s work has a wonderful folklore inspiration to it.
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Oshkosh has a lot to offer! Another thing we plan to get to soon is the Experimental Aviation museum, which looks pretty amazing.
Her work does have such an interesting inspiration, with the mix of old and new. She often sells her work at craft fairs – I am definitely going to be on the lookout for her stand!
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Very cool.
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That embroidery is amazing!
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It really is! Just lovely and so complex!
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Great photos! Looks like you had a wonderful time.
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Thank you! We did – it was a really nice day 🙂
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Those photos are all amazing! Such incredible art on display.
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Thank you 🙂 It is amazing art!
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Those embroideries are very fine work. So detailed. I love the glass art, too. Looks like a very good day out!
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It was all beautiful!
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The embroidery is very fine work, so detailed! I love the glass art, too.
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This is a fun post. My mom grew up in Neenah and we visited often. We always went to Oshkosh and saw the air show numerous times.
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Very cool – small world! We are planning on getting to EAA sometime in the near future. It looks like a great place!
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I enjoyed the “picture heavy” post while eating my breakfast! Wow that embroidery is amazing and it looks like a wonderful day! How fun to explore your area!
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It’s exciting being in a new area and having so much new to explore 🙂 YES! Her work was amazing for sure. So expressive and artistic. A lot of it made me think of magical realism, but it was all beautiful!
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