This hidden gem is worth finding for a number of reasons!…read more First is the self-guided garden tour with a dozen sections where you can enjoy all manner of growing things from vegetables to flowers to trees native to the area. Next is the community art gallery. This lovely space where one wall is glass offers a rotating exhibit of horticultural-related works of fine art, some of which are for sale. An opening reception is held the evening of the first Friday of each month when visitors can meet the artist. Otherwise, regular hours are 9 AM to 5 PM. Third is the architecture. The main building, once a 19th. century row house, has won awards for its transformational design into the DCH headquarters with a public horticultural library, meeting, classroom and office space, and art gallery. In addition there's a pavilion constructed of recycled timber from the Sardo Warehouse on the Christina River, salvaged balustrades form the Van Buren Street bridge, a 1904 horse trough originally located in Kirkwood Park, lampposts formerly located in Brandywine Park, an old millstone and Belgium blocks found on site during renovation, an artistic garden gate incorporating antique gardening tools, courtyard walls built of 1930's WPA project bricks, and locally made mosaics on the terrace. A not-for-profit organization, DCH is dedicated to cultivating a greener community. Membership benefits include discounts on educational programs and at local garden centers, and opportunities to volunteer. Inside and outside, the garden and center are available for wedding, social, and business functions.

I'm a Delaware Art Museum member so I must say it is one of the best decisions that I have made in…read morerecent years joining. I have visited the museum many times over decades but in the last two years since joining, I've probably visited just as much as I did in all the time prior. There's quality diverse program on top of the standing exhibits in the galleries and visiting ones. I am a born Wilmingtonian and have always enjoyed culture and the arts, which again is why I have frequented this museum many times before, but I think it's a jewel that many locals neglect to appreciate. You don't have to go to the larger regional cities for acclaimed artists as many are here. The proximity to other places of interest in the area, can allow you to enjoy this and many others during a day or weekend trip if you're not local or live outside of the city. Join the mailing list and check the events because there is always something going; the images on my review are from a few of them. I keep saying I'm there so much I should join the team, but this is my way of supporting in sharing this review.

Decided to visit this museum this past Thursday as it was later in the day and a search revealed…read morethat they were open until 8pm on Thursdays (photo attached). Approximately an hour into our visit we were ushered out of one of the exhibits on the first floor and told that exhibit would be closing. Thought it was odd that a particular exhibit in the museum would be closing early, but we complied, simply moving on to other exhibits. At approximately 4:20 we were in a room on the second floor and the lights suddenly went out (pitch black, can't see your hand in front of your face, darkness). We were stunned for a moment before using our phone flashlights to safely exit. We were then met at the door by a confused staff member who stated that the museum had actually closed at 4pm. We began making our way toward the exit, explaining that the website listed that the hours were until 8pm on Thursdays. We were then stopped by a second employee who accused us of having entered the room *after* the lights had been turned off (because, as everyone knows, the best way to view art is in total darkness). She then said that we had already been informed that the museum was closing. ("Exhibit" and "museum" mean different things.) We explained once again that the website listed Thursdays' hours until 8pm. Rather than appreciate the confusion (much less apologize for the communication error), she insisted that we must have been looking at the hours for the following week (not true) and added a superfluous directive to leave (as we were literally stepping toward the exit). Up to this point, we had been enjoying our visit. However, this rude encounter certainly marred our experience

My teen son and I were just exploring while taking my baby niece for a walk. We popped into this…read moregallery not realizing they were interviewing Maurice Evans. We didn't know of this artist before that day, but spending just a few minutes with his art, we became fans. His work is stunning. Like a perfect meal, a great piece needs to have a balance between sizes and shapes, textures and colors. In his latest series, you see him hone his art to precision. Thank you Bridge Art Gallery for bringing such amazing works to Wilmington!

I have taken about four classes here, with two different teachers. My artistic ability is about…read moreaverage. I love looking at mosaics. Therefore, I took two mosaics arts courses. The instructor provided a detailed handout how you do everything, and she was very patient with the class. Later, on my own, I ordered a marble mosaics art kit from Italy, using the skills that I learned from the two classes. Later on, I took two embroidery classes from a different teacher. The two classes had beginner students, and students had some skills. The teacher was very, very understanding with my limited skills. I particularly love to do embroidery. I found a new hobby! If I had time, I would take a class from each of these instructors again.

I have supported the Arts Alliance for years through their craft shows and buying from their…read moreartists. I took my first class here a couple weeks ago to make a dried flower wreath. It was $70 for two hours. We literally did nothing for the first hour. We waited for two women to arrive 20 minutes late. We watched a slideshow about the artist's previous life running a daycare. Then we went around the room and took turns introducing ourselves. We were given a wreath and some sort of twine. There was no demonstration about how to connect the flowers to the wreath. We were given photos of different kinds of arrangements, but those flowers were not there. It was clear other people had taken classes before, and some were quite advanced. I had no idea and had never used a glue gun, as this was supposed to be open to all levels. The teacher would just say things like "attach the flowers in groups" but I didn't know how I was supposed to attach them? I was so frustrated and humiliated. I was going to throw my wreath out but another student took it home to use the materials. The teacher also mentioned another pressed flower class, and a student mentioned that she'd be taking it and was excited. The teacher mentioned they'd be doing advanced techniques bc wildflowers were so boring. The student said she'd never done this before, but the teacher completely blew her off and started talking about how exciting it would be to deconstruct a rose. I contacted the Arts Alliance about my concerns, and they just said that other people liked this teacher and that she was new, but they'd pass on my concerns. I asked for a refund, as $70 is quite a lot of money for me. There was no reply. I think the Arts Alliance is a fantastic place to support artists, I'd just avoid their classes.

The Brandywine Museum has a special place in my heart. Intimate and welcoming, it is set in a…read morebeautiful natural environment, a wall of windows overlooking the river and green foliage. The focus on nature is a fitting homage to the special place the Wyeth family holds for the museum. This family of painters made their home in the area, and Andrew Wyeth - in partnership with his wife Betsy - took the local landscape, architecture and people as his life's work. However, the family produced three generations of artists, and there is usually at least one, carefully curated, Wyeth exhibit on display at the museum at any given time. Each time I come I learn about a different aspect of their art, and fall in love a little bit more. You can also take a tour of the artists' home and studio, as well as the newly installed N.C. Wyeth mural in the Round Barn, constructed just for this purpose. These tours need a reservation and cost extra, but worth it if you are able to splurge.

The museum was free on the Sunday we went. I'm not sure exactly which days, but it was great to go…read morethere when it was free. The kitchen area was really clean. We had a nice lunch overlooking the water and on the second floor they had some cool exhibits and activities for kids. Highly recommended if you're in the area.

In a world of big box stores and online shopping, YBF is a breath of fresh air! This is good old…read morefashioned shopping local like the days gone by. Incredibly knowledgeable, patient and friendly staff. The two lovely young ladies helped me accomplish a bit of a more challenging look. They knew their craft and industry and worked with me until we got to the finished product. We need more employees like these terrific young women and stores where knowledge staff awaits!

Courteous and very helpful. The Keith Harring looks handsome and professional, and the grey dust…read morecover in the back is a very appreciated surprise. Black and red matting fit perfectly around print. I found this piece of art on the sidewalk approximately 15 years ago, so I'm glad it's finally framed and finding itself as a centerpiece in my studio.

I visited Winterthur for the first time with my mom on Christmas Eve for their Yuletide exhibit…read more I'd been mildly curious about the mansion over the years, and it seemed like a fun thing to do on my day off from work. The mansion is ornate, truly massive, and opulent. It's a true peek into the lifestyles of the rich. The Yuletide theme this past year was centered around Christmas and children's books, like Alice and Wonderland, Twas the Night Before Christmas, etc. When we arrived, we were a bit confused on where to park, as my mom has a handicap sticker. We ended up parking right at the visitor's center where the tram retrieves guests. We didn't have a long wait. On the tram, the driver recommended starting at the house and then walking down to the galleries. She didn't mention the enchanted woods/garden, so I didn't even realize they were there until I got home later that night -- bummer. Some of the folks working the rooms were pleasant, others felt like security guards. One chided my mom for leaning her hand against a wall at one point. Some were knowledgeable, and others clearly didn't want to be there. I appreciated the girl in the garden entry room who snapped our photo with the decorated trees before we stepped into the house! I took many pictures while in the house, and then we traipsed over to the galleries. The gallery building had a doll house, a really well-done gingerbread train station, furniture and other exhibits on the ground floor, and a rotating, very interesting exhibit on African American history on the second floor. After the galleries, we stopped by the museum store, and while most everything was dramatically overpriced, I did find a few cool items in my price range. We were on the grounds for roughly 2-3 hours I'd say before having lunch nearby. Arriving early was a good choice. They do offer reciprocal garden access with other garden memberships (I have one at home in Richmond, VA), so perhaps one day I'll use that access to see the gardens that I missed!

This was not on our list of museums to hit but since the weather was so darn hot we changed what we…read morewere going to do after spending the morning at Longwood Gardens. It helped that we got free admission with our reciprocal museum membership. It was 2:30pm we when we arrived so we didn't have a lot of time. We were given good advice on what to do in our limited time from the folks at the ticket office. We took the garden tram tour which was educational and got off at the house where we did the self guided tour. You only see a small fraction of this giant mansion but that was enough for me. While most of the docents had interesting facts the actual contents of the collection were not that interesting to me. If you are really into this era of American decorative furnishing supposedly they have more in-depth guided tours. We still had time to see a bit more of the grounds around the house but with big thunderstorms rolling in we headed out. I am guessing for some this place is a must... I am glad we got free admission.

We just had an amazing experience at the paint and sip at flickerwood! We loved our "teacher" Kate…read morewho was patient and talkative! She was great help! The design was a little difficult with so many lines but we enjoyed it! Enjoyed painting with assistances for very beginner levels!

Gina M. And I bought a Livingsocial deal for a BYOB painting class at Kennett Design. At first, I…read morewas skeptical since my artistic abilities are pretty much non-existant. But I'm happy to report we had a blast and cannot wait to go back! A two hour painting class, which includes all art supplies, costs $39. Not bad when you consider the fact that you get two hours worth of entertainment and a lovely piece of art to take home. Gina and I signed up for "sailing through the tropics" night, so we were given step by step instructions on how to paint a sailboat/ocean scene. The artist tasked with teaching us was absolutely wonderful and so patient. I could not believe how nice my artwork actually turned out...I might even hang it on the wall! Kennett Design is a fun, unique way to spend a night out. They have lots of different theme nights like Van Gogh, peacock feathers, beach scenes, etc. so you can choose to paint whatever appeals to you. I highly recommend Kennett Design and am looking forward to creating my next masterpiece!