Artful Gifts
Give some art (or other fun things)
with favorite items from local
museum gift shops.
Lynne Konstantin
I Contributing Writer
Jewel-encrusted parasol and cane handles, enameled frames, animals carved from semi-precious stones, miniature egg pen-
dants and, of course, the exquisitely crafted imperial eggs for which the House of Faberge became known are among the
stunning and rare works on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts exhibition "Faberge: The Rise and Fall, The Collection of
the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts" (through Jan. 21, 2013). Inspired by the objets d'art crafted by jeweler Karl Faberge, a
favorite of the Russian aristocracy from the 1880s through the next 40 years, this Butterfly Enameled Box with Pendant
($55; $44 for members), inlaid with Austrian crystals, has hinged wings that open to reveal a secret compartment with a
matching butterfly pendant on a golden chain tucked inside. The Museum Shop at the DIA (313-833-7948; diashop.org ).
GARDEN INSTALLATIONS
Amidst 300 years of American his-
tory, dozens of master artisans create
works with glass, clay, tin and paper,
using historically authentic tech-
niques. But among the historic replicas
produced by Liberty Craftworks, on
site at the Henry Ford in Greenfield
Village, are stunning, contemporary
and original works of art. The swirl-
ing patterns of these Golden Waves
Sphere Vases ($150-$400; $135-
$360 for members) cascade into lus-
trous waves. Museum Store, Dearborn
(313.982.6001); Online Shop (giftshop.
thehenryford.org ).
Founded in 1930, the Cranbrook Institute of Science
is an integral part of the Cranbrook community,
which includes Cranbrook Schools, the House and
Gardens, the Art Museum and the Academy of Art.
The Institute of Science is a natural history and sci-
ence museum that offers extensive permanent and
changing exhibitions, a towering T. rex, a spectacular
state-of-the-art planetarium and a newly renovated
observatory. Your favorite stargazing or astronomy-
loving kid (ages 8 and up) or adult will be the hit of
the Chanukah party with the Monopoly Night Sky
Solar System Edition ($39.95): Buy, sell and trade
popular celestial bodies, like Halley's Comet and
Jupiter, and win with six collectible tokens. Science
Shop, Bloomfield Hills (248-645-3200; science.
cranbrook.edu ).
More than 160
works of sculp-
ture by artists
including Rodin,
Degas and Henry
Moore are inter-
spersed through-
out the Frederik
Meijer Gardens and
Sculpture Park in
Grand Rapids. More
than a museum,
the Meijer Gardens
are made up of 132
acres of natural
wetlands, wood-
lands, meadows and display gardens; indoors, tropical,
Victorian and seasonal gardens and changing sculpture
galleries make Grand Rapids a destination that thrills
adults and delights children.
Home to two permanent installations by Seattle glass
artist Dale Chihuly, the Meijer Gardens recently hosted
an exhibition of his works that included chandeliers,
glass towers and floating spheres set against the lush
and hilly backdrop that changed with the seasons, giv-
ing the pieces an organic life of their own. Four years
in the making, "Chihuly at Frederik Meijer Gardens &
Sculpture Park: A New Eden" is captured permanently
in Chihuly Garden Installations ($75; Portland Press;
2011), along with installations at the Atlanta Botanical
Garden, the New York Botanical Garden, the Kew and
more. Numbered limited-edition copies of Chihuly Garden
Installations Special Edition, signed by the artist, are
also available for $300. The Meijer Gardens Gift Shop,
Grand Rapids (888-957-1580; meijergardens.org ).
The five-year-old Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, a non-collecting museum, has been bringing art at the forefront of
contemporary culture to visitors, fueling dialogue and collaboration, presenting lectures, and hosting musical performances,
parties, films, literary readings and educational activities for kids. Housed in a former auto dealership in Detroit's vibrant
Midtown neighborhood, the 22,000-square-foot building includes the MOCAD Store, which brings to visitors (and online
shoppers) specialized and limited-edition offerings, including BOX #1: A MOCAD Journal ($150). Edited by Cary Loren (co-
owner of Oak Park's Book Beat) and Rebecca Mazzei, BOX was created in conjunction with the museum's current exhibition,
"Vision in a Cornfield" (through Dec. 30), curated by M. Saffell Gardner, Mazzei and Loren, as a collection of original art-
works, essays, poems, music and ephemera related to Afro-futurism in Detroit. Among the rare items included: a 12-inch LP
of recordings from Sun Ra Live in Detroit in 1979-80. MOCAD Museum Store, Detroit (313-832-6622; mocadetroit.org ).
44 November 15 • 2012
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