Finishing catching up: fall 2012, in and around SI

So I'm sorting photos from Belize, and thought I'd double-check what's still waiting to post, and I found an assortment of photos from the end of the year that I hadn't done yet. Ah, good intentions. So here's a quick post to close that out, and I'll start Belize later this week. 

Cleaning the dome. Not the job for me! 

 Day of the Dead Festival at NMAI. This is an intricate carpet, made from sawdust. It's a tradition in Guatemala.

 

 One of the ofrendas, an altar devoted to the ancestors. Day of the Dead is a time for remembering loved ones who have passed on. There are traditional foods and offerings made, and often photos line the altars. This one was made for us by an indigenous woman from Mexico. An indigenous gentleman from Bolivia did another, the museum had its own, and I thought there was a fourth, but now I don't remember. Bad on me.

 We also had an incredible show by an Inuit artist, Abraham Angvik Ruben. Huge pieces of stone turned to beautifully intricate carvings, depicting both Inuit heritage and Inuit history. This one was in the museum's lobby. It's from a whale vertebra, and has soapstone carvings too.

 This stunning piece is from a narwhal tusk. As I recall, only two artists have ever carved a complete tusk -- and two of his tusks were in this show. These are a form of ivory, so very hard. Absolutely amazing.

 This one shows one of the Inuit legends. Numerous sea mammals are below the boat, and the crew is anthropomorphized. I don't know the tale.

 This one looks like a bit of syncretism -- Viking settlers combine with traditional Inuit imagery to tell a story about the Inuit past.

 Obviously, something different! This original Peanuts drawing is at the National Museum of American History. I see it when I step off the elevators for meetings with my mentor. Love it!

 And something else different. After our management presentations for the leadership program, we had the good fortune to tour the gem and mineral collections at the National Museum of Natural History. This is one of the cases on the way to the vault. All different types of wulfenite from around the globe.

And then, this stunner. We were allowed to take photos in the vault, but not to post photos of things. However, this piece is now on display in the hall at the museum. This is the amazing Dom Pedro, the world's largest faceted aquamarine. This picture cannot do it justice. It is beyond stunning. Do visit the museum to see it!

Somewhere on the SI's servers there is a photo of me with the Secretary from graduation; I'll see if I can find it. Otherwise, the year ended quietly, with a rather rough Christmas, and a trip out west to see family. That went really well, but the end was also rough. However, in addition to new work projects which will ensure my continued insanity for the next I'm not even sure how many years, about six it looks like, I got offered a cruise trip to Belize and Guatemala with the Journeys office: six days in the tropics hiking rainforests, exploring Maya sites, and snorkeling coral reefs. Guess what I said? Yippee!!