This past week I met up with critter maker Marilyn DePhillips, and talked about all things critter! She has been a critter maker for about 7 years in the critter workshop of the Brandywine Conservancy, and has the skills to prove it. We had a lot of fun talking about the different materials she uses, including, eggplant skin, crushed up eggshell, and even the tops of bananas. She is always on the lookout for new materials, as are all Brandywine critter makers.

With the heat wave behind us there is nothing better than taking a stroll outside after a museum visit! This past week I decided to go on a walk and take in the Brandywine sights. The River Trail takes you along the Brandywine floodplain, and felt quite refreshing! It’s about one mile roundtrip, and takes you to the meadow across from John Chads house.

Last Tuesday the Malvern School “Friends” came into the Brandywine River Museum and were read the charming children’s book, Olivia, which features an aspiring singing and museum loving pig. I was fortunate enough to observe a group going on a tour of the Bayard and Mary Sharp Gallery where Jamie Wyeth’s infamous Portrait of Pig (1970) is located. When the children were led into the gallery by one of Brandywine’s knowledgeable docents, they gathered around Portrait of Pig and were excited to see and hear about the corn-fed pig.

The Brandywine River Museum offers many tours for schools and community groups to get children more involved in the arts. This summer, the Latin American Community Center of Wilmington brought their campers to the museum to experience art of the Brandywine Valley and also to make art of their own. One of the tour guides, Debbie, started off by explaining to campers different ideas such as the definition of an art museum, how preserving nature is important and how the museum and conservancy came to be.