Homestead to host Smithsonian exhibit

Contributed to the Daily Sun

Homestead National Monument of America will host a Smithsonian traveling exhibit entitled “Inspirations from the Forest.”

The exhibit will be on display at the Homestead Education Center beginning Tuesday, Jan. 8, through Sunday, Feb. 24. The traveling exhibit is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Forest Service.

This exhibit features different landscapes, including forests, timberlands, grasslands, mountains and waterways and will demonstrate how nature serves as inspiration for creating works of artistic and musical expression; how artists use their work to tell a story; and how some art is or becomes a cultural legacy.

The themes include poetry, song, paintings, sculpture, instrument making, basketry, photography, weaving and quilting.

On display will be photographs of artists’ works including paintings, baskets, American Indian flutes and hand-built instruments along with quotations and stories from artists who draw upon nature for inspiration.

On Jan. 26, National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow award winner Sonia Domsch will demonstrate the art of bobbin lace making from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Domsch is from Atwood, Kan., and enjoys teaching people the skill of bobbin lace making.

Homestead National Monument of America is located on Nebraska State Highway 4, four miles west of the Highway 136/Highway 77 junction in Beatrice. The monument is open 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. All programs are free of charge. For more information, phone 402-223-3514 or visit the Web site at www.nps.gov/home.