Dorot Gardiner Museum Outing

By Sharon Kamiel, Dorot Committee

On Wednesday, March 18, a group of 42 Dorot/Holy Blossom members assembled at the world-renowned, newly renovated Gardiner Museum to peruse their beautiful collections of ceramic art. It was inspiring to be led through an array of such talented international, as well as Canadian artists, some of whose pieces were actually created to look like other materials (eg, a “wooden” chair and a “leather” suitcase), when in fact, they were ceramic!

Our day began with a wonderfully warm and welcoming speech from Dr. Sequoia Miller himself (Chief Curator and Deputy Director of the Museum), along with Rachel Weiner, Sr. Manager of Marketing for the Museum! We were one of the largest tour groups ever to grace their Museum, and he wanted to personally greet and thank us. Our excursion was made even more special with this lovely surprise!!

In addition to our expertly guided tours, we had pre-arranged another unique treat for our guests. One of Holy Blossom’s very own congregants, Jess Riva Cooper, was the “Artist-In-Residence” at the time of our visit, and we were fortunate to be able to add private workshops with Jess in her on-site studio, to learn all about her processes when creating such beautiful artwork! As luck would have it, the Museum’s special installation, by Linda Rotua Sormin: “Uncertain Ground”, remained for our perusal. This exceptional exhibition, flown in from New York, was definitely an experience not to be missed! An entire room was dedicated to her amazing artwork, inclusive of such materials as raw clay, fired ceramics and “found” objects. Truly a sight to behold!

The outing was a complete success – from the organization, to the delicious cuisine and wonderful waitstaff (a record 29 guests joined us for lunch in their Clay Restaurant); to the masterful installations commissioned by these acclaimed artists! Not only did our members enjoy the excursion immensely, but staff throughout the Museum could not thank us enough for being such delightful guests, and are eager to have us visit again!

Stay tuned for further outings we will be planning in the near future!

The Dorot program is generously sponsored by a gift from the Estate of Saundra and Henry Sherman.