Volume III | January 23 2021
The Present
The Present
by Billy Collins

Much has been said about being in the present.
It’s the place to be, according to the gurus,
like the latest club on the downtown scene,
but no one, it seems, is able to give you directions.
It doesn’t seem desirable or even possible
to wake up every morning and begin
leaping from one second into the next
until you fall exhausted back into bed.
Plus, there’d be no past
with so many scenes to savor and regret,
and no future, the place you will die
but not before flying around with a jet-pack.
The trouble with the present is
that it’s always in a state of vanishing.
Take the second it takes to end
this sentence with a period––already gone.
What about the moment that exists
between banging your thumb
with a hammer and realizing
you are in a whole lot of pain?
What about the one that occurs
after you hear the punch line
but before you get the joke?
Is that where the wise men want us to live
in that intervening tick, the tiny slot
that occurs after you have spent hours
searching downtown for that new club
and just before you give up and head back home?

(From The Writers Almanac, January 23, 2021)
DMFAH GIFT SHOP HIGHLIGHT: Wood Turned Bowls Made By Karl Stauber
Woodturning is a unique crafting skill that involves spinning wood on a lathe to create intricate shapes and designs.
The creation of wood bowls, platters, and more is often accomplished utilizing this unique method of wood-turning. Since approximately 1300 BC, this method of woodworking has been used to create both beautiful works of art and practical tools. Though today, most professional commercial woodworking is done via machine, master crafters keep historical wood-turning alive, using a motor and hand tools to turn the wood.
This week the DMFAH giftshop will be featuring Karl Stauber, a Danville resident and former president and CEO of Danville Regional Foundaton (DRF) who has become a master craftsman of beautiful Wood Turned Bowls. The Museum’s Gift Shop is excited to offer a selection of these bowls, along with other local artisan’s handcrafted work. Karl’s bowls are all turned on a lathe and then hand finished. Each one is signed and dated.
DMFAH Collection Updates
The primary goal of collections management and maintenance is to meet the needs of the public for research accessibility. The DMFAH mission is to ensure the long-term safety and sustainability of the cultural objects within the DMFAH’s care.
This past December and January there were three very busy bees in collections working on maintenance and updates before the Museum applies for a MAP grant. We thank Annie Chappell ( a senior at Emory University), Daniel Shogun (a recent graduate of JMU) and our very own Intern Aidan Thomas (who attends DCC) who worked so diligently during these past months. Aidan Thomas completed all cataloguing for the Camilla Williams collection, aided by Tripp Hayes and Adessa Breakley. There is still much work to be done, including unpacking and cataloguing the Schoolfield Collection, but we are moving forward steadily with the end goal of American Alliance of Museums (AAM) accreditation!
Clutter: An Untidy History by Jennifer Howard

PUBLISHED JANUARY 12, 2021

On January 12, Jennifer Howard discussed her book, Clutter: An Untidy History, an expansive assessment of our relationship to the things that share and shape our lives. Howard sets her own personal struggle with clutter against a meticulously researched history of just how the developed world came to drown in material goods.
Knitters and Knitting Groups Wanted for WANDERLOVE Community Project.
The Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History is teaming up with the Danville-Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce, Danville Parks and Rec, the River District Association, the Dan River Basin Association as well as many other civic organizations, on one of the largest and most ambitious community knit projects in the region. 

This fiber, knitting & crocheting collaboration by the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History, recognizes the building of community found within the age-old practice of gathering to assemble fabric and knitted pieces in small groups. This interactive winter community project, produced from January through June, celebrates and reflects people’s many different backgrounds and experiences. Participants are invited to collaborate in the making of a "Yarn Bombing" installation along the Danville Riverwalk.

To find out more please contact Felice McWilliams, our DMFAH Knitting Group Coordinator HERE: You can also call the museum at 434-793-5644 or email us at info@danvillemuseum.org if you have any questions.
To read more about this project on our website: https://www.danvillemuseum.org/community-outreach-2020-2021
Swanson Studio Classes during COVID19 Spike
Classes of 5 and ONLINE workshops
While Jonathan Scollo’s ceramic classes will still be meeting in small groups of five, the Directors Drawing and Printing workshops, which are conducted on a first come first served bases will be moved to online formats. Workshop Videos will be posted on FB and accessibility will be given to those who request a code at info@danville.org. These ONLINE workshops are $10 for members and $15 for the public.

Tune in for the first Director drawing workshop 'STRINGS and THINGS'(for free) on Thursday January 28,2021 and give us your feedback by writing to us at info@danvillemuseum.org.