I went to the American Folk Art Museum after last Friday’s class, it was located near the Lincoln Center; it is a free museum for everyone, small-size but plentiful. There is a gift shop on the left of the front door of the museum, I didn’t buy anything there but I stayed for a while to see all those creative products like handmade books, jewels, and all kinds of accessories. The old lady who took charge of the gift store was nice and friendly, she says hello to everyone entered the museum, and chatted with some frequent people, it looks like she was totally enjoyed this kind of life- slow but quiet.
And Then I went to the inside of the museum, the exhibits that surprised me the most was the quilts that the soldiers used during the war time, most of the quilts were owned by the British soldier, made in India. The quilts were still in good condition, they were of excellent workmanship and still as colorful as new. The interesting thing I noticed was the quilt can be separated by their owners’ hierarchy. Also, I saw a fancy quilt- it mounted with luxurious precious stones like pearls, rubies, and sapphires, maybe it’s for a higher-ranking military officer. The gallery about quilts taught me pieces of knowledge about history as well because when I saw the introductions of those exhibits, I was able to know which war they had been to with their owners, how did the war started and how they ended. I learned a lot besides the textbook.
Quilts are excellent handicrafts, they not only gave soldiers a comfortable environment to relaxed and kept warm but also an inheritance of the treasure that generated from craftsmen. I really had a perfect time in the museum, if some new handicrafts are exhibited, I will definitely go to the Folk Art Museum again.
