Amazing creativity

Today I went with a friend to the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. They have a special exhibition on Benjamin Franklin that was really well-designed and interesting. He led an amazing life: printer, newspaperman, Poor Richard's Almanac, scientist, and diplomat. I think that he would enjoy living nowadays and seeing the progress of our generation.

Besides that show, the museum also had two other interesting exhibits: one on carved gemstones and another displaying American quilts. They were both outstanding! The skeleton hand below had each bone carved individually from a semi-precious stone called caledony. And the egg that looks like it's made of glass was actually carved from quartz. There's also a close up of a "crazy quilt"from 1900. The last photo is a detail of silver decoration on a Chinese ceremonial apron.

It's a small museum whose permanent collection is centered on the Pacific Rim, but it's worth a look if you're ever in Orange County.