Tuesday, December 15, 2015

ATOM!



As I mentioned in several posts previously, I have been devoting a great deal of time to being part of a national touring apron museum show with helping to curate it and being the showcased apron collector.  The thing I hadn't let slip yet is that I have also been busy preparing to be a part of ATOM or Aluminum Tree and Aesthetically Challenged Seasonal Ornament Museum  !!

I have been a huge admirer of ATOM for quite some time (see our 2005 visit).  The guy who started it, Stephen Jackson, is quirky and clever (example: A Tammy Faye Bakker tree with makeup putty knives) and a true inspiration to me.  The "museum" has always been his vast collection of oddly decorated aluminum trees that he sets up at different museums near his hometown of Brevard, NC since 1991.  However for several years a few years back he did not host the museum at all, at least I couldn't find anything about it.  I would search it out online but nothing came back until last year.  The Transylvania Heritage Museum in Brevard has taken over a part of the permanent collection from the original curator, Stephen Jackson.  I quickly called my mom, who is also a fan of ATOM and told her that ATOM was going to be up in a town a couple of hours away from her.  She high tailed it to Brevard for their opening reception...which was also appropriately a tacky Christmas sweater party as well.  She mingled with Stephen and the new curator, Pat Childress,  and by the end of the evening she had it set up for she and I to decorate THREE of the trees for the 2015 showing!

Our trees.

We choose three themes from past years that already had ornaments: The Andy Griffith Show , Buddy Holly, and It's a Wonderful Life.  However that doesn't mean that there was nothing to do or prepare for.  Some of the ornaments had to be repaired. Some had to be completely made to ensure we had enough. All of the backs of the paper ornaments had to be covered with decorative paper because before it was just exposed packing tape and manila folder. We also wanted to add several new pieces/ornaments to each tree.  I will be posting on all of this post haste.

At the opening "sneak peek' reception this year they had a few cute handcrafted items for sale I wanted to show.

These aluminum tree branched reindeer antlers on a headband. You better believe I got me a pair.

And these chocolate silver coated candy pop trees. 

It took us several hours to set our trees up and in the mean time Hubs and PB got to help decorate one of the permanent collection trees: Rock n' Roll Tree.  They even got credited for their work on the description card...only Hubs was called Jeff, which is not his name but rather funny.


ATOM has a huge following from the local newspapers and publications around Bravard and Charlotte.  My mom and I have been mentioned in several of them for the trees we did.

As it stands right now in this moment in time, I have two museum showings that I am a part of, actively taking place!  As I have said earlier I have been very busy.

If you are in the area of Brevard, NC check out ATOM!
 There are about 20 more trees in the show decorated by other people.  One is a Star Wars theme and very well done.

Transylvania Heritage Museum
189 West Main Street
Brevard, NC
(828)884-2347
Wed-Sat., 10-3:00pm
November 28-Dec. 19, 2015

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