Cloud Gate in Chicago

Cloud Gate in Chicago

This piece of sculpture is officially called the Cloud Gate, but has been nicknamed The Bean.  It was designed by artist Anish Kapoor and draws thousands of tourists.  The reflections in some places are like funhouse mirrors. Standing underneath the Bean provides...
Washing Your Hands?

Washing Your Hands?

Shown here is one style of what we would call an old washstand.  These were used in Germany in the 1600’s for washing your fingers before eating.  Yes, I did say fingers instead of hands. You didn’t wash both hands, instead you washed only the first two...
Artists' Pigments

Artists' Pigments

The sole reason I toured Albrecht Dürer's house in Nürnberg, Germany, was because I had read there was a display of his paint and where it came from.  Now Dürer lived 170 years before Maria Sybilla Merian did, but things were slow to change back in those...