Diane Shaw
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museocat.bsky.social
Diane Shaw
@museocat.bsky.social
1.7K followers 2.4K following 500 posts
Retired museum library cataloger in Washington, DC area. Fond of birds and travel.
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I spent a few days in Manhattan last week. The Halloween decorations on the steps of some homes there were creative, amazing and spooky 👻🎃 Happy Halloween all!
A great array of pumpkins, flowers, plastic skeletons, and a witch adorning the front steps to a townhouse in Manhattan. A bonkers arrangement of Halloween pumpkins, fuzzy black spiders, and acrobatic plastic skeletons on the front of a Manhattan home.
November 1, 2025 at 1:43 AM
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My favorite sign seen today at the #NoKings rally says, “the only orange monarch we want is a butterfly.”
A No Kings protester holding a hand-made sign reading “the only orange monarch we want is a butterfly” A side view of a fluttering Monarch butterfly and green leaves are drawn on the sign.
October 18, 2025 at 9:19 PM
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I attended this morning’s #NoKings rally in Falls Church, Virginia. The fabulous No Kings shirt is from @tomtomorrow.bsky.social and was well-admired. Good to see the community turn-out flanking both sides of West Broad Street.
60-something white lady wearing a straw hat and a No Kings black T-shirt with a design from the cartoonist known as Tom Tomorrow, holding a hand-made poster featuring the Virginia state flag (“Virginians say no to tyrants”) and the US flag (“No kings in the USA”).
October 18, 2025 at 5:42 PM
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I attended a concert by the bluegrassy string band Mipso last night at the Lincoln Theatre in DC. They have heartfelt beautiful tunes, but their anthem “All You Fascists are Bound to Lose” had the audience on its feet clapping & yelling. So good!
Four members of the string band Mipso on stage at the Lincoln Theatre in DC.
October 2, 2025 at 3:05 PM
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The OSGEMEOS exhibition also features musical accompaniment to a room full of boxes with faces and paintings.
August 3, 2025 at 5:09 PM
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Much of the Pandolfo brothers’ inspiration comes from science fiction, as show here by a person caught in a tractor-beam and window decals showing a flying saucer and an airborne Metro train car appearing to float above the National Mall.
A sculpture showing a large multi-colored tractor beam emanating from a flying saucer, with a small bewildered man standing in the center of the beam. Window decals of a flying saucer and an airborne Metro train car that appear to be hovering over the National Mall.
August 3, 2025 at 5:04 PM
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Today’s the final day for the “OSGEMEOS: Endless Story” exhibition at the Hirshhorn. It’s so creative, whimsical, colorful & thought provoking. It features the work of Bralian twin brothers who started w/ graffiti art & now do all kinds of visual art worldwide. The Hirshhorn website has examples.
Title panel for “OSGEMEOS: Endless Story” at the Hirshhorn. Next to the title there is a yellow cartoon figure of a man with large glasses and pointed shoes with a triangular hat, in a red-decorated yellow suit. The twin brothers Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo are portrayed as cartoonish characters on a hooked rug, acting as deejays. A portion of a painting by OSGEMEOS in bright colors, featuring a part-human, part-bird creature in purple pants and a calico print shirt, with a crown, being side-eyed by a brown girl standing nearby. A wall display of various small sculptures, prints and ceramics created by the OSGEMEOS team.
August 3, 2025 at 5:04 PM
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Some Sunday afternoon cuteness: etchings of dogs by the illustrator Charles Sindelar in 1929 for the California Etchers Association. I found these while helping to organize the ephemera files at the Smithsonian American Art Museum/Nat’l Portrait Gallery Library.
Two separate etchings of dogs by Charles Sindelar. On the left are two Pekingese puppies in sepia tone; on the right is a side profile of a dog (Scottish terrier maybe?) in black on a white background. The etchings were done for the California Etchers Association in 1929.
July 20, 2025 at 7:49 PM
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Random photos from past travels (my attempt to not dwell completely on political stuff): scenes from @amandoveve.bsky.social’s “Millions of Cats” silkscreen, seen at Philadelphia’s Fabric Workshop and Museum in March 2025. The artist was inspired by Wanda Gag’s book of the same title.
Orange fabric with small yellow and black images of cats misbehaving in various amusing ways. The artist Veve also said he was picturing the cats in the style of Rodin’s Gates of Hell or Picasso’s Guernica. More frolicking yellow and black cats fighting and making merry, from artist Armando Veve.
June 25, 2025 at 1:17 AM
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#NoKingsDay in Falls Church City, Virginia. Lots of sympathetic car horns honking & general good cheer.
June 14, 2025 at 8:14 PM
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I’m sorry that things are bad and I hope the situation gets better soon. Here’s a Moroccan Peacock to bring a bit of cheer.
A peacock with feathers in brilliant shades of green, black and white stripes and light brown, with an electric blue head, standing on a large Moroccan zellige tile basin The peacock’s long tail is draped down the side of the basin touching the floor.
May 18, 2025 at 2:14 AM
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The National Mall in DC is hosting a display of a variety of Komatsu construction equipment, including humongous tractors and earth-movers in which people can sit in the cabs. There were many happy little kids playing as bulldozer drivers, which was cute to see.
Colorful sign for the Komatsu celebration of construction on the National Mall, showing cranes & other equipment with the US Capitol in the background. The “Smithsonian Castle” building, seen through the yellow arm of a Komatsu earth-mover. There are information tents set up on the National Mall in front of the Castle. Wide view of some of the Komatsu construction equipment on the National Mall, with the domes of the US Capitol and the Library of Congress in the distance. The large crane is not part of the Komatsu exhibition but is being used for rebuilding the Hirshhorn Gallery’s Sculpture Garden.
May 16, 2025 at 9:45 PM
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Confirming the rumors yesterday, there’s now a large banner with Trump’s face on the US Department of Agriculture headquarters in DC, across from a banner of Abraham Lincoln’s face.
Neoclassical facade of the USDA headquarters in Washington DC, viewed from the National Mall side. Between the stately columns are two large banners, one of Abraham Lincoln’s face and the other featuring a color photo of a glowering Donald Trump.
May 16, 2025 at 9:30 PM
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Reminder that the sumptuous exhibition of art by Alphonse Mucha and later derivatives in popular culture at the Phillips Gallery in DC ends this weekend. I highly recommend the show for those who love dreamy Art Nouveau illustrations, it’s absolutely beautiful.
Poster for the “Timeless Mucha” exhibition at the entrance to the Phillips Gallery in DC, showing a woman with a flowing mane of brown hair. Exquisite poster by Alphonse Mucha for a performance by actress Sarah Bernhardt. She is shown standing in profile wearing a flowing white dress against a background of silver stars and white camellias. A poster for a biscuit advertisement by Alphonse Mucha featuring a woman in a wispy gown with flowers in her hair. She is holding a plate of biscuits. A poster by Alphonse Mucha advertising Monaco and Monte Carlo, with a woman in a white dress and red hair in the center, wrapped in fantastic swirls of vines.
May 14, 2025 at 8:51 PM
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A couple examples of street art/protest stickers I saw in downtown DC today:
Sticker: “No one voted for the Muskrat” in letters surrounding Elon Musk’s head (with distinctive muskrat features), set inside a red circle with diagonal line. Sticker: “I’d rather be a pig than a fascist,” saying ascribed to “ Porco Rosso,” printed above a drawing of a pig in aviator’s gear with goggles on his forehead and a jaunty sash, giving the thumbs-up sign.
April 4, 2025 at 1:16 AM
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I attended the 2025 Philadelphia Flower Show earlier this week, wanting to enjoy a break from winter. The show runs through Sunday March 9th. If you love gardens and plants, this is the place to be!
Centerpiece of the 2025 Philadelphia Flower Show, featuring a 4-sided open red cube with purple hanging flowers in the center, sited on a pool of water and surrounded by yellow and blue flowers with lush green foliage. A panoply of colorful tulips in red, yellow, pink, orange and white featured at the 2025 Philadelphia Flower Show. A whimsical floral sculpture of a poodle with red body and tufts of “fur” made from roses and other flowers, posed on a yellow table. There are a few bubbles by its feet, as if the dog was just bathed at a grooming salon. A rural scene imitating a backyard with a grassy base and several undershirts and linens hanging on clotheslines, seen at the 2025 Philadelphia Flower Show.
March 7, 2025 at 11:02 PM
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This past January I visited New Orleans’ Mardi Gras World, where some of the parade floats are created. It’s a fantastic warehouse where you can wander around, watch the crafters at work, and see a lot of wacky and gorgeous sculptures. Happy #MardiGras!
Seen at New Orleans’ Mardi Gras World: part of a parade float featuring Trombone Shorty. Seen at New Orleans’ Mardi Gras World: A blonde woman in a catsuit with mask and ears with a house cat draped around her neck, resembling Taylor Swift. Other parts of floats are nearby including a mermaid in white and a lion mask. Seen at New Orleans’ Mardi Gras World: various colorful parts of floats, including a large beer mug, a walrus wearing a derby hat, and various human faces. Seen at New Orleans’ Mardi Gras World: a flirtatious yellow and black striped bee with purple eyelids and blue eyes.
March 4, 2025 at 11:10 PM
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Sticker seen on a traffic pole in Arlington, Virginia: “Fork Off! I Support Federal Workers.” Thank you, whoever made this and posted it.
Sticker on a traffic pole, showing a red and white-striped hand with white stars on blue fingers, holding a fork. The text says, “Fork Off! I support federal workers.”
February 28, 2025 at 1:53 AM
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Quote post with a picture you took in a National Park.

#NationalParkService America’s Best Idea.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, South Unit, North Dakota.
Five bison grazing on a grassy hillside with rounded rock formations tinged with white and pink in the background. Theodore Roosevelt National Park, South Unit, North Dakota.
February 25, 2025 at 1:14 PM
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The #Hirshhorn Museum also has a multimedia installation “Four Talks” by artist Laurie Anderson in a room filled with her written and drawn musings on various subjects. Sculptures of a raven, a parrot, a canoe and a shelf represent each story. The effect is almost hypnotic.
A part of Laurie Anderson’s room full of stream-of-consciousness texts and drawings on the wall and floor at the Hirshhorn Museum. A couple of her thoughts here: “Who Owns the Moon?” and “Are Mountains Awake?” A green parrot sculpture in the room full of Laurie Anderson’s stream-of-consciousness texts and drawings. A couple of her sayings here: “Fame is the Sunshine of the Dead” and “I’m Lying in the Shade of My Family Tree.” A large black raven sculpture sits in the room full of Laurie Anderson’s stream-of-consciousness texts and drawings at the Hirshhorn Museum.
February 25, 2025 at 2:50 AM
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I visited the #Hirshhorn Museum this afternoon and saw two exhibitions. Here are some photos from “Basquiat x Banksy,” on view until October 26, 2025. …
Title panel for the exhibition “Basquiat x Banksy” (black block letters on an orange wall) at the Hirshhorn Museum in DC, on view until October 26, 2025. Portrait of Jean-Michel Basquiat, a photo reproduction by Dmitri Kasterine taken in 1986. Basquiat is shown sitting, dressed in a suit and tie with bare feet, with items from his studio around him. Large, colorful painting by Basquiat titled “Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump.” The boy resembles a skeleton standing with raised arms with the black dog baring its teeth by his side. They are standing in the spray of an open fire hydrant (the johnnypump). A later (2018) interpretation of Basquiat’s “Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump” by the street artist known as Banksy. The boy is standing in between two police officers who are frisking him and taking down his name, while the dog snarls at one of the officers.
February 25, 2025 at 2:50 AM
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Finally a sunny, less chilly day in DC and signs of Spring are around. I wandered through the Smithsonian’s Haupt and Ripley Gardens on the National Mall and found some pretty blooms (and there were even bees buzzing around!).
Small yellow flowers with many petals called “Adonis amurensis” with a background of gray mulch and fallen leaves. Pink flowers with green leaves called “Lenten Rose,” a variety of Hellebore. They are surrounded by gray mulch and bare ground. A group of yellow Narcissus (daffodils) with green leaves, against a background of piled up logs. A patch of white snowdrop flowers with their green leaves.
February 25, 2025 at 1:02 AM
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When I was sorting through some gallery ephemera at the art library, I came across these two posters from the Trans Altar exhibit at the Leslie-Lohman Museum in 2018. The messages are still relevant: Trans Rights are Human Rights, and Trans is Beautiful.
Two small posters, one printed with a pink unicorn and the caption, “Trans Rights are Human Rights,” and the other has a photo montage of various Trans persons embracing, with the caption, “Trans is Beautiful.” Both posters are from the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, created for the 2018 exhibit of the Trans Altar by Sol Aramendi & Lunicorns and the National Association of Latino Arts & Cultures. Information for the two posters: Acknowledgements: This publication is part of the exhibition Trans-Altar at the Leslie Lohman Museum. The publication design is by Clarisa Diaz. The wallpaper for the Trans-Altar installation is designed by Andrea Chiney. The project engagement is a collaboration between artist Sol Aramendi, LGBTQ group L'unicorns and many collaborators. Thank you for the stellar participation of writer Claudia Prado and artist Camilo Godoy. Thank you for the awesome artists and filmmakers: Kenia Guillen, Genesis Mancheren Abaj, and Christina Li that documented the project. Thank you Gonzalo Mercado, Executive director of La Colmena Community Job Center, Staten Island. Thank you, Marla Figueroa, from The Worker Institute at Cornell. Thank you Liaam Winslet from Collectivo Intercultural Trangrediendo. Thank you to all the trans individuals that participated in the video. The Workers Studio by Sol Aramendi is supported by the National Association of Latino Arts and cultures, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Ford Foundation, Southwest Airlines, and the Surdna Foundation through a grant from the NALAC Fund for the Arts Grant Program. Additional Funding is provided by the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundation. Poets & Writers funded the writing workshop in Spanish by Claudia Prado through public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. LA COLMENA LESLIE - LOHMAN MUSEUM OF GAY AND LESBIAN ART NALAC national association of latino arts and cultures
February 6, 2025 at 12:13 AM
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A pretty blue insect (genus Chrysis, I think) on a milkweed leaf, for Blue Monday.
An iridescent teal and dark blue flying insect (genus Chrysis) on a green milkweed leaf.
January 13, 2025 at 9:53 PM
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I also recommend “Into the Inferno: a Photographer’s Journey Through California’s Megafires and Fallout” (2022) by @stuartpalley.bsky.social
Cover of the 2022 book, “Into the Inferno: a Photographer’s Journey Through California’s Megafires and. Fallout” by Stuart Palley. The cover photo show Palley in protective garb holding an SLR camera in his right hand and another camera mounted on his hard hat. Behind him flames and smoke fill the air.
January 10, 2025 at 3:54 PM