I have been fortunate to been to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts twice in the last few weeks. Here are just a few pictures from my first visit. The first set of pictures are from “Layered Abstraction: Quilting and Contemporary Fiber Art.”

This first image is one of 28 quilted wall hangings that were in the Sears Tower in Chicago, designed by Jack Lenore Larson’s company to absorb noise.

A Plane View of Things Past/Transparent Ideas is by Jan Myers-Newbury, made of cotton.

Mary Lee Bendolph, of Gee’s Bend, made Strings of cotton and wool.

Sheila Hicks made Honed and Faceted, a geometric study in linen and cotton.

The other exhibition I photographed is “Craft in the Hand.” Alexander Calder is best known for his mobiles, but he also dabbled in jewelry making. This is a tie clasp and a pair of cufflinks. “…Calder preferred to make his jewelry by hand, often seen carrying around a spool of wire and pliers in order to work spur of the moment. Much of his jewelry was made for friends…Calder did not permit duplication or mass production of his jewelry.”

Finally, a piece by Erica Spitzer Rasmussen, whom I’ve written about before. This is Coat of Invocation, made of envelopes and intended for a relative, with each envelope containing a wish for the relative’s recovery.