The New York Times published a special section on museums today - it's a pretty impressive array of articles. I'm particular fond of the article about artists who work as art handlers. I know a lot of artists with art handling day jobs and have been treated to some great behind the scenes stories from all of them.

The thing I'm most excited about however, is the Eva Zeisel exhibition that's opening in DC at the Hillwood Museum & Gardens on April 19th. The exhibition, entitled The Playful Search for Beauty, is a survey of the 98 year old designer's amazing and prolific career. There's an excellent description of her work in the Hillwood release:

"Although the elegant lines and organic shapes of her work are clearly modern, Zeisel has managed to avoid what she describes as the 'cold, negative' aspects of modern design. "Instead of severe functionalism, Zeisel's work features abundant curving, natural shapes that are playful, yet familiar," notes Frederick J. Fisher, Hillwood's executive director.

Zeisel was one of the first designers to attract me to design overall - when I first discovered her work I spent hours poring over eBay search results and hunting down her work in flea markets and thrift stores. It's the playfulness of her work that got me then, and still gets me now. It makes me smile, it makes me happy. The schmoo salt and pepper shakers are the quintessential example of why I adore Zeisel's work.

(The Times requires free registration to read their articles. You can also go to bugmenot to get around that.)