David Macaulay drawing the Tacoma skyline in the
gallery. Visitors are encouraged to create their
own drawings in this participatory drawing area.
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Get inside the imaginative and engaging mind of award-winning illustrator and author David Macaulay. For more than 30 years, his playful investigations into the underlying structures of buildings, common gadgets, and the human body have fascinated readers of all ages. This exhibition traces the artist’s working process from idea to finished book through sketches, working drawings, and completed illustrations for such titles as Cathedral and The New Way Things Work, as well as his newest book The Way We Work.
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Screening of David Macaulay's
PBS special Cathedral
Sunday, April 12, 1 pm & 3 pm
Screening of PBS special Cathedral, based on David Macaulay's award-winning book. Using a combination of spectacular location sequences and cinema-quality animation, the program surveys France's most famous churches. Travel back to 1214 to explore the design of Notre Dame de Beaulieu, a representative Gothic cathedral. The program tells period tales revealing fascinating stories of life and death, faith and despair, prosperity, and intrigue. Free with museum admission.
How Things Are Built
Second Tuesday, April 14, 10:30 am
Free Third Thursday, April 16, 6:30 pm
Architectural historian and entertaining storyteller Michael Sullivan takes us on a virtual tour of some of Tacoma's great moments of architectural ingenuity, structural innovation, and engineering failure. Free with museum admission.
The Big Draw with David Macaulay
Sunday, April 19, 12–5 pm
Join us for a free afternoon at the museum. Change the way you think about drawing by participating in collaborative and individual drawing projects throughout the building. Live performances, dance, prizes, and art-making will be among the many multi-generational events and activities happening in conjunction with the exhibition David Macaulay: The Way He Works.
Material Image: The Paper Tells It All
Saturday and Sunday, April 25 & 26, 10 am–4 pm
This workshop, led by book artist and Saint John's Bible illuminator Suzanne Moore, is designed for artists at all levels to explore the many possibilities of book design. Cut, tear, sew, emboss, weave, sand, and fold to experiment with key principles of sequence, rhythm, and page design. Each participant will complete a two-section paper-bound book. Cost: $150; $135 for members. Class size limited. Pre-registration required. Clock hours available for educators.
Seattle Architecture Foundation: Family Model-Making Workshop
Saturday, May 9, 1–4 pm
This intergenerational workshop, led by architects and design professionals, gives young people (grades 3–7) the opportunity to be an architect for a day. Working together, participants create an imaginary community and each make an architectural model to take home with them. Cost: $15; $10 for members. Youth must be registered with an adult.Clock hours available for educators.
Pressing Matters: Contemporary Collaborations Highlighting Women in History
Second Tuesday, May 12, 10:30 am
Tacoma book artists Chandler O'Leary of Anagram Press and Jessica Spring of Springtide Press have created a series of posters that feature challenging and inspiring words from women in history. The artists will discuss their collaborative process, which begins with Chandler's hand-drawn illustrations to generate plates for printing a letterpress edition in Jessica's studio. Free with museum admission.
Winding Roads and Dead Ends: David Macaulay Discusses His Ideas and Process
Sunday, April 19, 1:30 pm
University of Washington Tacoma, William W. Philip Assembly Hall
Where do ideas come from and how do they change once a storyteller starts working on them? According to David Macaulay, although he thinks he knows where he's going with a project, the whole thing remains slippery until he's well into it—making it both fun and frustrating. Following his presentation, Macaulay will sign copies of his books at the museum. Cost: $10, $5 for members and students with ID. Email Education@TacomaArtMuseum.org to reserve your seat.
New School Tour: Putting Things Together, Taking Things Apart
January 20 through June 12, 2009
The work of popular author and illustrator David Macaulay provides rich, engaging, and fun connections to subject areas including math, science, literacy, and the arts. In this school tour, students will learn about his process and engage in their own discoveries and illustrations of “the way things work.”
Learn more about this and other school tours themes or schedule your school tour. Online pre-registration is required at least three weeks in advance. Register early to secure your desired date and time.
This exhibition project honors the late
Mary Lund Davis, Emerita Trustee and Northwest architect and designer, and
Alan Liddle, Lifetime Trustee and Northwest architect.
Organized by Tacoma Art Museum with the generous sponsorship of
Propel Insurance,
Russell Investments, with major support from
Helen and Peter Bing and additional support from
Kit Granum.
Also by: 
Community Programming support provided by Target, The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation and The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
Caption:
Illustration from The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay. ©1998 by David Macaulay. Used with permission Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.