We went to Tennessee at the end of August, what a beautiful place and a great drive through the mountains. People are really friendly there. I can't wait to go there again. We had great weather and next to no traffic all the way there from New England and that alone helped to make the trip even more enjoyable. We drove through beautiful green mountains as far as the eye could see. The Shenandoah Valley is stunning. All along the way are historic battlefields and sites. There are numerous caverns which had lines and lines of people anxious to enter and see the wonders of nature underground.
Once we entered into Nashville itself I quickly spotted a large banner hanging from an old quite beautiful building. What a great surprise and quite unexpected - it was an advertisement for the exhibit being held inside. My excitement grew and my husband told me to stay calm and stop bouncing up and down in my seat ( I couldn't help myself). I never thought that I would have the opportunity to see this group of quilts. Anyway we continued on down the road though, after all we had to park the car, which we did and then roamed around town.
There was live music everywhere all up and down the street. There are shops to buy boots, country music, food and drink. City buses come around quite often that you can hope on and take a tour of the city - the fare is $0.00 and the drivers are friendly and helpful.
We had a day before meeting our son and his girl there (surprise!) so we headed back to the Frist Museum! Inside we were both delighted to see the exhibit of Gee's Bend Quilts and Bill Traylor illustrations. Now you know why I was so excited. This set of quilts are truly pieces of beauty. The women who cut and stitched the fabrics of their daily lives into something useful yet primitively beautiful never thought that these quilts would ever be in a museum for the world to admire, they were just being practical, something we in this age sometimes forget. I was very grateful to have actually stood in front of all of them. Then we came upon the Bill Traylor exhibit, a man who would just sit and draw what he saw on old discarded advertisement stock that he found here and there. This man was unable to write and had to be taught to write his name but had the ability to draw the animals and people that passed in and out of his life. His story is quite interesting. We purchased the book in the gift shop which tells about his life and features many of his pieces. The book uses his name as the title.
The Frist museum is a beautiful building itself. It is an art deco designed building which features original decor of metallic panels and polished marble floors. The building itself is a work of art and a reminder of times gone by. In the front of the building is quite a large sculpture of pink roses made by Will Ryman, hard to miss.
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| Will Ryman sculpture at the front of the Frist Museum |
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| Hanging banner inviting quilter's to come in and see Gee's Bend exhibit at the Frist Museum |
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