My first special offer ..... at the Morse Museum

I am so busy preparing for my Zonta District 24 Board meeting this weekend. However, I have been drawn out of that singular focal point by the discovery that the Zonta International Board is also meeting this weekend.

In Orlando .... at the Marriott!

How cool is that.

You no longer have to take my word, you'll soon have the entire ZI Board singing the praises of Orlando!

But there is one tourist tip for which I want the credit for the "exclusive" release.

The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, Winter Park (where else?)

I can't do this place credit in a quick post. There will be more later - let's just dip in our toes first.

and when I say "dip in our toes" I mean : "Watch out! This place will blow your socks off!"

Whatever my love for Disney - this museum is the jewel in Orlando's crown. 

But Mrs. Banks - why do you say this? what is so good about this place?

This museum is small and still one of the most beautiful I have visited.

Louis Comfort Tiffany's 'Oyster Bay'

This museum houses the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of Tiffany glass items, including magnificent window panels (as above), along with the famous lamps and jewellery, paintings, pottery and all the way down to humble glass buttons.

The Tiffany studios were innovative, creative and prolific. 

The studios reached their peak around the turn of the 20th century, when the American oil and business barons were booming. Tiffany received some of the most extraordinary and extravagant orders.  

It's a light ...in a ball ... with water lillies ... all that glass ... in perfect globe!

What made Tiffany unique was that he created a range of glass work techniques that allowed him to create these intricate and delicate designs, combined with the most intense response to passing light. Tiffany didn't paint the glass - he developed different dies, in a wide range of over 5000 colours, and coloured the glass.

Wisteria and Snowball Tree, 1904

He also made use of, and honed to professional standards, many different glass working techniques such as:

• rippling for water;
• paper thin layered shards to represent leaves on trees;
• bubble mottling for abstract designs; and
• drapery - literally folding and draping sheets of glass to look like fabric. Handy when making angels.

example of draping

The Museum tells the most interesting stories, some of which I will touch upon in future posts. These include

• Tiffany's own life story and how he ran the factory; 
• his beautiful home, Laurelton Hall which was practically constructed of Tiffany work and how it operated as a working design studio; 
• stories behind many of the major pieces on display at the museum; and 
• the amazing story of the development of the Morse Museum itself.

Reading lamp - wouldn't we all want one of these?

I don't want ruin your visit to the museum with spoilers. you deserve to have your experience first hand, just like I did.

I will instead share other elements, like my visit to the Museum's Christmas in the Park event - another amazing story, with a delightful Zonta - relevant twist!

Now here is the BEST NEWS:

When I last visited the Museum, I met with their Marketing Manager, and she agreed to host

FREE PRIVATE TOURS 

but only for me and my friends!

Caveat: I can only take a maximum of 50 people per tour group. Are there 50 of you out there reading this??

He made his own pillars for his house. With carved daffodils. DAFFODIL COLUMNS PEOPLE!

Amazing hey?! See what special arrangements I make for my special Zonta friends!

So - are you in?? Do you want to come with me to Orlando and enjoy our special tour of this very special museum?