Safari #86: Third Thursdays at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

I finally had a chance to visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner for Third Thursdays this past week.  I had such a great time that I can't wait to again soon.

The museum itself (if you haven't been) is the personal collection of the museum's namesake.  Isabella Stewart Gardner had an amazing appetite for art, and she built the museum on Louis Prang Avenue to house her collection.  Today, visitors can enjoy her works and attend special events, such as Third Thursday.

In 2012 the new wing of the museum opened offering an onsite cafe, bookstore, library, performance hall and other educational spaces.  Third Thursday embraces these new spaces with fun and creative activities.  In addition, cocktails are served on the ground floor of the museum.  During my trip themed Midwinter Tropics, we created succulent gardens using an assortment of plants, mosses and other decorative elements.

One of the evening's highlights was artist Victoria Shen's Modernist Manicures. These tiny creations embraced Victoria's vision of accessible art; viewers can sometimes find modern art difficult as it challenges our traditional understanding of art.  Victoria's masterpieces make modern art more understandable through personal interaction and ultimately by allowing the viewer to wear it.

Here's a short video of the finished work:

**Image of the interior courtyard of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum kindly borrowed from http://bagendhobbits.blogspot.com/2007/08/isabella-stewart-gardner-museum.html