Happy New Year! Villa Finale announces upcoming programs for 2015

Although the first month of the new year is nearly ending, it’s never too late to wish you all a happy 2015!  Since this is the our first blog post of the year, I would like to take some time to tell everyone a little bit about our programs in February, beginning with our signature Music for Your Eyes tour on Thursday, February 5th!

Now in its fourth year, this specialized tour has been one of our most popular programs.  Not only do guests have an opportunity to see the home in the evening (the tour begins at 6:30pm), they are hosted by two of our paid staff who engage the audience about music, art, humorous anecdotes and so much more.  The staff provides demonstrations of the music machines in the house – not performed during our regular guided tours – ending the tour with a sit-down performance by our 1921 Bechstein-Welte reproducing piano located in the home’s Napoleon Parlors.  If you haven’t taken this tour, it is definitely a must!  (The program is repeated several times throughout the year.)

Our first family oriented program will be on Saturday, February 7th, Drawing on Experience: For the Love of Art.  The Drawing on Experience program began in England as a way for educators in museums, galleries, science centers and teachers to provide a framework for using drawing as a medium for learning from collections and exhibitions — Villa Finale’s curator, Meg Nowack, brought a version of the program here to Villa Finale to share with children and their parents.  The children and parents will get a brief tour of the home after which they will select an object to draw together inside the house!  This is a great bonding experience for kids and parents or even grandparents!

Finally, we get in a “loving mood” on Friday, February 13th with “Isn’t It Romantic?” at Villa Finale featuring the vocal talents of Ken Slavin.  The intimate concert of popular love songs made famous by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Cole Porter, to name a few, will take place inside Villa Finale’s Napoleon Parlors.  Mr. Slavin will be accompanied on our 1921 Bechstein-Welte by pianist, Barry Brick.  Guests on this special evening will enjoy appropriate refreshments – we can’t forget the champagne –  prior to the concert and at intermission.  Treat your sweetheart, family member, best friend or treat yourself — many of us are just romantic at heart!  For more information about Ken Slavin, click here.

There is much more to come at Villa Finale, including our popular programs for French Cultures Month in March.  More information about the programs mentioned above is located at the end of this post.  Thank you for your support, and stay tuned for more exciting programs and events in 2015!  (Please call Villa Finale Visitor Services for more information or for admissions at 210-223-9800.  Admissions must be paid in advance.  No refunds or exchanges.  Space is limited for these programs.)

Music for Your Eyes tour – 2/5/15 (6:30pm – 7:30pm)
$20.00 general admission; $15.00 members / students

Drawing on Experience: For the Love of Art – 2/7/15 (10:00am – 11:30am)
$5.00 for one child & parent, $2.50 each additional child, general admission
$4.00 for one child & parent, $2.00 each additional child, members

“Isn’t It Romantic?” at Villa Finale featuring the vocal talents of Ken Slavin – 2/13/15 (6:30pm – 8:00pm; gate opens at 6:00pm)
$27.50 general admission
$25.00 members / students

You can always visit our wesbite www.VillaFinale.org for more information.

Christmas with Mr. Mathis

Last year, while cleaning  objects in Villa Finale, I occasionally ran into a problem that occurred mainly with the vases and vase-like vessels: there were remnants of Christmas greenery in the very bottom-most tips of these objects, evidence of USE.  This was pretty exciting, because a lot of collectors don’t actually use their things.  Mr. Mathis did.  Even though it was very difficult to remove the stuff, despite the creation of several different forms of poking devices, I enjoyed knowing he had live greenery and flowers around at the holiday time. 

Now that the holidays are here, I can only imagine the grand display Mr. Mathis must’ve had.   I never saw it first hand, but I know that he purchased dozens of red poinsettia plants that he would pile in the kitchen to give away to his party guests and other friends and family.  Also, hanging in the kitchen was this wreath made of hunting gear, including bullets and the prey, happy together!

Naturally, in proper Mr. Mathis form, sideboards and and other surfaces would have decorations in bowls and urns along with live greens and flowers set atop ribbon-festooned tables.   One of the most amazing Christmas related things I catalogued was a group of Meissen figurines Mr. Mathis had artfully arranged in faux greenery.  The little guys were all attached to the greens so all you have to do is take it out of its box and put it on a table.  To the left is one of the fat little musicians.  For his holiday parties, there was always plenty of food set up in the kitchen and on the dining room sideboards. 

 The piece de resistance was his tree, which was his own creation.  It was comprised of a metal frame in which Mr. Mathis would stick Noble Fir branches to create a very long lean tree suitable for his center hall.  Here is a picture of it circa 1975.

Later, when the large tree became too much trouble, he would place tabletop trees throughout the house.

On display on his dining table was his International Santa  collection, which, along with 276 ornaments, we have already numbered and packed away carefully for the future when we attempt to replicate Mr. Mathis’s Christmas extravaganza.  To the right is one of Mr. Mathis’s Santas, of no particular nationality, but looking very pleased with himself.  In order to accurately recreate the Mathis holiday house, we will rely on photographs from parties, oral histories and some written documentation.

Luckily, the exterior was more austere and we’ve heard he had only a simple green fir wreath on the door, with ribbons, and would also plant poinsettia in his formal garden for a splash of color.

Now, does anyone out there have any other stories or pictures of a Mathis Christmas?  We have a sprinkling here and there, but would like to get our Christmas just right when we eventually go completely crazy all out and decorate.  Please let me know.