American Museum of Visionary Art

Yesterday, my friend Lynne and I went into Baltimore to visit a new museum. www.avam.org Lynne is an artist, so we had decided to go to one of the art museums there. This was a wonderful choice! It features artists who are self-taught and are not exactly traditional in what they produce. The pieces on exhibit were like nothing I have ever seen and were fascinating. Among others items they had: a model of the Titanic made from toothpicks; various items, including one piece of furniture, made of matchsticks; a tree and a pond (representing the sea) all made of or decorated with mirrors and colored glass; two walls of murals depicting mostly farm life, done in primitive style by a man who lives in a mental institution and is 112 years old; ceramic heads with distorted faces; drawings of faces - human and cat - done with pen and ink (I think), featuring hundreds of lines, rather like those Spirograph pictures kids used to do, but much more interesting; and so much more. This would be a great place to visit with kids, as there were a number of interactive displays. The gift shop is filled with books, some really nice crafts and a whole lot of stuff that is pretty much junk - but very high class junk. I've never seen a museum store anything like it. The museum itself has a spiral staircase going up three floors with a metal railing that has unusual items incorporated into it, e.g., a paintbrush and a glove. I will definitely go back, as I think they change their exhibits periodically. We spent about 2 and a half hours there (it's a small museum) and then had lunch at the Rusty Scupper which overlooks the Inner Harbor. A little expensive, but very good food and service.