Museums Through the Backdoor

02/07/2026

Have you played in the snow this winter?

02/05/2026

I hope you're all well and surviving what for many of us is an annoyingly cold winter! Mostly, I've moved my writing and social media over to Substack. I'm enjoying the friendly feel, the lack of ads, and the people I've gotten to know.

This was my essay today. Enjoy! And come join me on Substack - The Savvy Museum Visitor!

With a Macintosh computer in hand, I traveled to London and Ireland to do research, and blew up my computer as soon as I arrived!

01/05/2026

Are you concerned about the Administration's attacks on museums? This is a time to act, even a small act. This essay provides suggestions on what you might do to support and uphold the role of museums in America.

(And, of course, I'd love it if you became a free subscriber!)

Museums need us! Create good trouble to support museums and cultural organizations.

01/03/2026

My latest essay on my newest publication, Bibliotherapy Plus! Check it out and consider becoming a free subscriber.

Bibliotherapy: friendship, loyalty, being different

12/31/2025

A bit of New Year's fun!

12/30/2025

Happy New Year! How do you look at the end of the year?

As we meander our way into 2026, do we dance cheerfully into the future?

12/26/2025

A switch of gears. I've added another topic to my current writing: "Bibliotherapy Plus." Please consider sharing this link with a friend or family member who is on a healing path and who might benefit from practical and supportive tips for individuals facing anxiety, trauma, or other life challenges.

Crating therapeutic stories to nudge us forward

12/24/2025

Merry Christmas! May the holidays be just what you need! Thanks for being here!

12/19/2025

Just over 3 inches (8cm) in length. Loveliness in a wee form.

Who couldn’t use a little pick-me-up?

This ivory figure of a polar bear picking up a cub by its scruff could fit in the palm of your hand. Siberian Yupik master carver Alexander Akeya (Aayanga) made this carving around 1975. Akeya was not only an artist, but a subsistence hunter. Like many in his community, he practiced the tradition of using all the parts of a walrus–from ivory tusk to vestigial tail. This practice is crucial to the survival of coastal Alaska communities, the continuance of cultural traditions, as well as the protection of walrus populations.

Akeya learned to hunt and harvest Pacific walrus from elders in his community of Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska. He deeply valued those teachings and wanted to encourage younger generations to respect and maintain traditional knowledge.

In a 2004 interview for a traditional knowledge project, Akeya said, “This walrus has been our food for centuries . . . our food has an overseer. Although I wanted to harvest more, our elders would say, ‘Quit hunting, that is enough. Take care of your food, do not be wasteful. If you waste, you yourself will cause the Creator to cut you off . . . take home enough of what you need, with a limit. This animal, your food, is very important. We want it to live just as we strive to live.’”

A walrus provides not only food, fuel, and clothing, but also bone and ivory to create artwork for supplemental income. Alaska Native artists have been using walrus, mammoth, and mastodon ivory for generations to create distinctive artworks. Walrus ivory is usually white but can darken over time or due to environmental factors. Mammoth and mastodon ivory can range from a creamy white to mottled brown depending on the minerals in the surrounding area. Find hundreds more ivory art and objects made by Siberian Yupik artists in our collection and see if you can tell the difference between the various types of ivory. https://s.si.edu/4oYnG6k
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Alexander Akeya (Aayanga) (Siberian Yupik, 1928-2011), Figure of polar bear and cub, ca. 1975. Savoonga, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Sculpture: ivory and paint, 8.3 x 3.3 x 5 cm. 26/2541

12/19/2025

Stresssed? Anxious? Working on changing, growing, and healing? Trying to support a loved one on their healing path? My second Substack publication might be just right for you! Here’s one sample essay.
Check it out!

Therapeutic stories provide a gentle way to tap into uncomfortable feelings, difficult experiences, and traumatic events.

12/10/2025

12/09/2025

Welcome back to Trilobite Tuesday! Pictured is a 1.5-in- (3.8-cm-) long Hesslerides arcentensis. This Mississippian specimen was found in the Lake Valley Formation of New Mexico. While the locale has been recognized and studied for decades, such complete and well-preserved examples of this late-Paleozoic proetid is a rare find.