Wuollet made a beautiful and delicious cake for the occasion. Dad-to-be Dan ate the cake slice with the baby on it.

The gray primer coats on The Spinner and Octopus:

Calder “signed” his sculptures — something I just discovered earlier this week. I’d never noticed it before.

Garden conservation isn’t just about painting efforts — there’s fire involved, too. Noah was hard at work hot-waxing a couple of bronze works. This process seals bronze in order to protect the patina from the elements. First, a blowtorch is used in a localized area. After it’s hot, a formulated mixture of waxes are applied with a brush. After the wax cools, it’s buffed to a glow.

Unfortunately, it broke last weekend. Reckless swingers? Intentional damage? Who knows?

One of the brackets that supports the swing broke. The bracket is being fixed in Burnsville as we speak, and it should be back and functional by Monday.

Hanging down from the Loring Park northbound side of the bridge was a sunflower and twig mobile, just swinging in the breeze.

From above:

I believe the artist used the sunflowers growing in the median of Hennepin Avenue.

I liked the resourcefulness of the artist, and the fact that it was installed in close proximity to the found materials. Plus, it was located in between the Walker and the Loring Park Art Festival — great timing!

Fellow blogger Paul was kind enough to send me a much clearer photo of the bird family, taken by Walker photographer Gene Pittman. I bet Gene didn’t fall off the swing platform while taking the photograph.

In my nearly six years as a Walker employee, I’d never seen a wedding take place in the garden, though I’ve seen countless prom kids come by during the late springtime dusk to have their photo taken. That all changed last Friday when my longtime friend E.L. decided to get married in front of Spoonbridge and Cherry. What a gorgeous day for a wedding — bright, sunny, and warm with a cool breeze. Afterwards, we headed inside to have a post-ceremony late lunch at 20.21 Restaurant and Bar by Wolfgang Puck. General Manager Mark Latz was fantastic about accommodating our last-minute lunch reservation (for a party of 14, no less!) and our entire party agreed that the food and service were superb.

Last month, Eric blogged about Weblog Usability, specifically, how Walker blogs do not contain author bios nor photos. I’m taking the plunge now — that’s me in the white and red dress, second from the left. Hi, I’m Masami and I’m from Japan. My educational background is in modern European history, musicology, and French language and literature. I drank the Walker Kool-Aid in July 2000 and I’ve worn a number of hats here: Sales Associate, Assistant Manager, Membership Associate. I currently work in Development and am also a volunteer Tour Guide.

I’d venture to guess that many feel it’s the former and not the latter, but perhaps you’ll reconsider? Take a look at the varied and colorful flora in the Sculpture Garden.

The timing couldn’t be better! Visitors to July’s First Free Saturday in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden will have the chance to view the newly renovated Spoonbridge and Cherry. July’s Free First Saturday marks the 15th anniversary of the popular family program. It’s just two days away — pack up the sunscreen, hats, blankets, and picnic lunches — we hope to see you there!

Spoonbridge and Cherry is as good as new again! The above is one of the last photos I took of the repainting stage. But not all of the conservation projects are large in scale — sometimes, all an artwork needs is a quick wash ‘n’ dry.

Taking some sudsy water and a mop to David Nash’s Standing Frame:

Or just hosing down the fingerprints on Dan Graham’s Two-Way Mirror Punched Steel Hedge Labyrinth: