By Louise Irvine Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day was an amazing success at WMODA on Saturday, September 17. Several hundred visitors flocked to WMODA throughout the day, many experiencing the museum for the first time. They learned about the fired arts on display in our galleries, some diving deeper by scanning

By Louise Irvine A celestial utopia is depicted on this rare Della Robbia ceramic panel modeled after the sixth day of creation by Sir Edward Burne-Jones. The Pre-Raphaelite artist wanted to portray “visions and dreams and symbols for the understanding of people” and visualized heavenly angels in paintings, tapestries, and

By Louise Irvine Liberty’s of London offered one of the most exciting shopping experiences of the Arts & Crafts era. The emporium was founded by Arthur Lasenby Liberty in 1875 to sell ornaments and objets d’art from Japan and the East. In the 1880s, Liberty began collaborating with distinguished designers

By Louise Irvine Glass teapots may appear to be a modern addition to the tea party but they have been with us since the Art Deco era when heat-resistant borosilicate glass was first used in domestic settings. In the US, we are most familiar with Pyrex which was introduced by

By Louise Irvine During Afternoon Tea Week, we featured some novelty teapots from the Art of Tea exhibition at WMODA. Now we are highlighting Rob Stern’s giant glass teapot and the whimsical showstopper by Christian Thirion which are on loan for our Mad Hatter’s Tea Party exhibit. Neither of these