The Best and Worst of the 50 State Quarters, Part 2

This is my second post rating the designs of each of the state quarters. I suggest starting with the first post, which gives the background and explains my grading criteria. Today we're looking at the 5 quarters from Year 3 (2001) and Year 4 (2002). 

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2001 - Year 3 of the 50 State Quarters Program

The New York quarter features the iconic Statue of Liberty, an outline of the state, 11 stars to signify that New York is the 11th state, and the inscription 'Gateway to Freedom.' Overall, I like this quarter. I love that they etched a line marking the Erie Canal and Hudson River into the map. I personally would have moved the star from the lower right that's almost touching Long Island over to the western part of the state to make it a bit more balanced. I also would have scooted Lady Liberty down just a hair so that her torch is not setting the N or E on fire. Aesthetics 3.5, representation 3, education 1, for a total of 7.5. 

North Carolina's quarter is based on the famous 1903 photograph of the Wright brothers' first flight in Kitty Hawk, NC. The design isn't bad, but it's a bit one-note, if that makes sense. Aesthetics 2.5, representation 2.5, education 1, for a total of 6.0. 

Rhode Island is the Ocean State, so it's appropriate that the quarter shows a sailboat in Narragansett Bay with the Pell Bridge in the background. It's a nice design. Aesthetics 4, representation 3, education 0.5 for a total of 8. 

Maple syrup is everywhere in Vermont, so it's not a surprise that maple sap appears on the quarter. That's Camel's Hump Mountain in the background. The quarter also has the state motto. Aesthetics 3.5, representation 3.5, and education 1, for a total of 8.5. 

The Kentucky quarter has a horse and Federal Hill, aka “My Old Kentucky Home.” I suppose those are two appropriate symbols for the state, but the design is a bit dull. It's a small detail, but I don't like that the horse is facing outward - it leads my eye off the coin and makes me wonder what he's looking at. Aesthetics 2.5, representation 2.5, education 1, for a total of 6. 

My winner in this batch is Vermont. Second place goes to Rhode Island and New York, followed by Kentucky and North Carolina. 

2002 - Year 4 of the 50 State Quarters Program

The Tennessee quarter honors the important contributions the state made to the musical heritage of the US. There are three stars to represent the three regions of Tennessee and three instruments to celebrate each region's distinct musical style. I love this quarter. No notes. Aesthetics 5, representation 4, education 0.5, for a 9.5. 

Ohio's quarter features the Wright Flyer and an astronaut over an outline of the state. These represent the pioneers of aviation who were born in Ohio, including Orville Wright (brother Wilbur was born in Indiana) and astronauts John Glenn and Neil Armstrong. The previous year, North Carolina's quarter came out with a Wright Flyer on it; apparently the two states have a (friendly?) rivalry about who lays claim to being "First in Flight" vs. "Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers." Personally, I wouldn't want to be the second state to put the same image on the quarter, although this is the more attractive of the two. Plus, it includes other elements besides just the plane. Aesthetics 3, representation 3, education 1, for a total of 7. 

The Louisiana quarter has a pelican (the state bird), a trumpet with musical notes, and the outline of the Louisiana Purchase territory with the inscription “Louisiana Purchase.” It's a nice quarter. Aesthetics 4.5, representation 3.5, education 1, for a total of 9.

The Indiana quarter features a race car, an outline of the state, the state motto “Crossroads of America,” and 19 stars marking its status as the 19th state. I like how dynamic it feels. Aesthetics 4, representation 3.5, education 1, for a total of 8.5. 

The Mississippi quarter features the state flower and its nickname, the Magnolia State. The design looks crowded; I would completely eliminate one of the two flowers and a bunch of leaves to clear out space to showcase an additional state symbol. Aesthetics 2.5, representation 2, education 0.5, for a total of 5. 

My winner from Year 4 is Tennessee, followed closely by Louisiana and then Indiana. Next is Ohio and then Mississippi. 

Next up: Year 5 and Year 6. By the time those states made their designs, they had 20+ previous examples to help guide their decisions. Did it help? I'll find out in the next post.

The Best and Worst of the 50 State Quarters, Part 1

I recently finished coloring the last of 50 coloring pages, one for each of the 50 state quarters. Along the way, I developed some fairly strong opinions about the designs each state chose to represent themselves in the 50 State Quarters Program. I thought it would be fun to grade them on a rubric and determine which are the best and worst. 

Before I get to that, I want to share a little about the design process. While the Secretary of the Treasury had what essentially amounted to veto power, the 50 states were in charge of creating their own design, by whatever method they wanted. Most states opted to have their citizens submit designs, with an advisory group selecting finalists, and then either the governor (33 states) or the citizenry (17 states) making the final selection. Each state could choose whatever they felt best represented their unique history, traditions, and symbols, with a few exceptions. No design could include the state flag or state seal, an image of a living person, or a head-and-shoulder image of a deceased person. Also banned were any "frivolous or inappropriate" designs, as well as "logos or depictions of specific commercial, private, educational, civic, religious, sports or other organizations whose membership or ownership is not universal." Instead, the designs should feature "state landmarks (natural and man-made), landscapes, historically significant buildings, symbols of state resources or industries, official state flora and fauna, state icons and outlines of the state." You can read more about the design process and requirements, starting on page 15. 

The 50 State Quarter Program lasted for 10 years. Starting in 1999, five states' quarters were issued each year, in order of admission to the Union. The earliest states had a distinct disadvantage in creating their designs, having nothing to serve as examples. They designed from nothing and pioneered the statewide approval processes. Later states were able to look at already-released coins and learn from other states' experiences when selecting their own quarter design. Not only that, but in 2003, the Mint and Treasury Secretary made some changes to the design approval process, requiring a great emphasis on designs with "an educational value, historical accuracy and artistic beauty." All this to say, it would be unfair to compare the quarters released in 1999 (Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut) with quarters that came much later. For that reason, I'm going to be ranking the state quarters in groups by release date, not in comparison with each other. Each blog post will focus on two years at a time. 

I am considering three factors in my grading: 

• Aesthetically pleasing design that makes good use of the space (5 points)
• Unique design that represents the state well (4 points)
• Teaches viewers something about the state (1 point)

On to the rankings!

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1999 - Year 1 of the 50 State Quarters Program

Delaware's quarter features Caesar Rodney making a historic ride to Independence Hall on July 2, 1776, to cast the tie-breaking vote for independence. I like that the quarter mentions Delaware being the first state, but the design is somewhat plain. They could have incorporated another element to give a broader view of Delaware than just this single event. Maybe the state flower or tree for the horse to run by? I'm awarding this quarter 1.5 points for aesthetics, 1.5 for representation, and 1 for educational value, for a total of 4 points.

Pennsylvania's quarter features Commonwealth (the gilded statue on their Capitol dome, which you can see here behind me), an outline of the state, a keystone (their state emblem and nickname) and their motto. Aesthetics 2, representation 2.5, and educational value 1 = 5.5 points. 

New Jersey's quarter features a rendition of the 1851 painting "Washington Crossing the Delaware" by Emmanuel Leutze, along with their identity as Crossroads of the Revolution. (Here's when the deRosiers crossed the Delaware.) I'm not sure how I feel about New Jersey using existing artwork for their quarter instead of designing something new. It's a nice design, if a little crowded at the scale of a quarter. Aesthetics 3, representation 2, educational value 1 = 6 points. 

Georgia's quarter has an outline of the state of Georgia, a Georgia peach, sprigs of live oak (the state tree) and the state motto. It's an attractive design. Aesthetics 4.5, representation 3, education 1 = 8.5 points.

Connecticut's quarter features the famous Charter Oak, the tree used to hide the Connecticut Charter from British troops in 1687. Unfortunately, they chose an ugly representation of it. Compare this design to how it has appeared on a painting, stamp, and different coin. Aesthetics 0.5, representation 2, education 1 = 3.5 points. 

So for Year 1 (1999), my winner is Georgia! The runner-up is New Jersey, followed by Pennsylvania, Delaware, and finally Connecticut. 

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2000 - Year 2 of the 50 State Quarters Program

The sixth state, and thus the first quarter released in 2000, is Massachusetts. The design features “The Minuteman,” a famous statue at The Minuteman National Historical Park in Concord, Massachusetts (here I am with The Minuteman), an outline of the state, plus its nickname. The design is simple but very well-balanced. I'm giving it 3 for aesthetics, 2.5 for representation, and 1 for education, for a total of 6.5.  

Maryland's quarter features the top of the State House, surrounded by white oak branches and the nickname “The Old Line State.” (We had a great view of the building from our hotel room!) I'm not crazy about using the top of a building to represent your entire state, even if it is the oldest capitol building still in use, and I don't like the way the state nickname is split (The Line. Old State.) Aesthetics 2, representation 2.5, education 1, for a total of 5.5. 

The South Carolina quarter includes an outline of the state with a star designating the capital city (Columbia), along with the nickname and three of their state symbols: the palmetto tree, the Carolina wren and yellow jessamine. I really like this design. It's well-balanced and has a lot of elements without feeling crowded. Aesthetics 4.5, representation 4,  education 1, for a total of 9.5.

The New Hampshire quarter honors The Old Man of the Mountain. It has the state motto, “Live free or die,” and nine stars to mark that New Hampshire is the ninth state. This design feels unbalanced to me. It feels crowded and heavy on the right, light and airy on the left. I don't like having the text on the mountain. Aesthetics 0.5, representation 2, education 1, for a total of 3.5. 

Virginia's quarter honors Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in what is now the US. The design shows the three ships that brought settlers in 1607 and recognizes the 2007 quadricentennial. This seems like a strange choice to me, since the quarter was issued 7 years before that milestone. And 2007 looks like a death date, like they were mourning its impending death. I would have removed the word quadricentennial (and the 2007) and replaced it with Old Dominion, Virginia's nickname. Aesthetics 3, representation 2, education 1, for a total of 6.  

The winner for Year 2 (2000) is South Carolina, my favorite quarter so far. The runner-up is Massachusetts, followed by Virginia, Maryland, and New Hampshire. 

Tomorrow I'll look at the quarters from 2001 and 2002, the 3rd and 4th years of the 50 State Quarters Program.

Monotype Print Cards

 After making name art using some of my monotype prints, I used the rest of the prints to make cards. 

I had so much fun playing with the Gelli Plate (affiliate link). I need to spend a lot more time experimenting to fully understand how to use it and how best to make interesting layers. I don't own one, but that may need to change soon. 

Monotype Name Art

I recently spent a really fun afternoon crafting with my friend, Ann. This is what I made, spread on the floor to dry. 

Those are monotype prints. Monotype is a technique where you add paint (or ink) to a plate, remove some of the paint (via stencils, stamps, etc), and then transfer the remaining paint to paper. Every image is one-of-a-kind (hence the "mono" in the name). You can create similar prints, but they'll never be exactly the same, which is what makes them so special. You can layer multiple images onto the same paper to create even more interesting designs. We used Gelli Plates, a large brayer, and acrylic paint (affiliate links). 

Making monotype prints is really fun, but what can you do with your finished prints besides just admire them? It should come as no surprise that my first thought was to turn them into name art! I started by picking five of my prints and trimming away the excess paper.

Then I cut patterns for the letters in my name using scrap paper. (No pattern needed for the letter I!) I cut them freehand; as you can see, I folded the C and the Y to help with symmetry. I decided against cutting out the center of the D in order to preserve more of the print. 

If you aren't confident freehanding letters, even on scratch paper, try drawing them first. You could also print out the letters or use stencils. 

Before I cut out my letters, I shifted the patterns so that the most interesting parts of my prints would remain. Then I cut. I'm holding the I in this photo, but the letter N is a better example of this. I'm glad I didn't lose that purple stenciled detail. 

Here is my finished name art, mounted on black posterboard. I love how the letters pop against the black. 

Curious what I did with the rest of my monotype prints? I'll show you tomorrow. 

My Favorite Music Museums Across the United States

As you know, I love museums. Music museums are some of my favorites. There are two reasons and neither is because I'm a huge music fan. The first is that music museums are often highly interactive. It's fun to try out instruments or experiment with sound mixing or give karaoke a go in a recording booth. The second reason is that music museums play music. A lot of museums are visually appealing, but a smaller subset are audibly appealing as well. There may be videos playing, but most of the sound you hear in a non-music museum is the noise made by fellow visitors. A good music museum is designed around allowing you to enjoy the experience with your ears as much as with your eyes. 

Below are my favorites among the many music museums we've visited. I've linked each to the post where I originally described our visit. In those posts, you'll find links to the museums themselves.  

National Museum of African American Music 

The National Museum of African American Music is my all-time favorite music museum. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, it is immersive, interactive, and beautifully done. You don't have to know anything about African American music to fully appreciate this museum; it does an outstanding job meeting visitors where they are and allowing them to dig as deep as they want into five different eras of African American music. 

Country Music Hall of Fame

Also in Nashville, the Country Music Hall of Fame is a must-visit, even for those who aren't fans of country music. Or, rather, for those who *think* they're not fans of country music. The genre stretches much further than many people realize. (Any Elvis fans reading this?) The museum has one of the world's largest and most extensive musical collections and the facility is gorgeous. Go. 

Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum

Nashville is home to three major music museums. In addition to the two above, The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum is absolutely worth a visit. It covers all genres of music and it does it very well. The exhibits are fascinating and rich with information. No matter what kind of music you like, it's represented here. The Grammy Museum Gallery is located within the Musicians Hall of Fame and makes the museum even more of a don't-miss. 

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland, Ohio. It has seven floors of records, instruments, posters, costumes, ticket stubs, sound equipment, photos, props, letters, and much more memorabilia from the world's great rock artists. The museum has a great energy and is positively packed with things to check out. One large area is devoted entirely to the most recent group of Hall of Fame inductees, so you can visit each year and see something completely different. 

American Banjo Museum

I highly recommend a visit to the American Banjo Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This museum chronicles the fascinating history of the banjo, from its roots with enslaved Africans in the 1600's through modern times. You'll find no more entertaining way to learn more about what it widely considered the quintessential instrument of the United States. Bonus points because the museum features Kermit the Frog. 

Rhythm Discovery Center 

The Rhythm Discovery Center in Indianapolis, Indiana is all about percussion instruments from around the world. If you can bang on it to make a rhythm, it's probably at the Rhythm Discovery Center. This museum is almost entirely hands-on and it's so much fun. 

Museum of Pop Culture

When MoPOP first opened in Seattle, Washington, it was called the Experience Music Project and was entirely devoted to pop music. Now it has other areas of focus as well. While it is not 100% about music, I still consider it an excellent music museum that is worth a visit. 

Musical Instrument Museum

The Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona is spectacular. Or so I'm told. I actually haven't been there. Steve, Trevor, and my uncle Don visited the museum while I was at a conference with my aunt Vickie. The three of them couldn't stop talking about how amazing the museum was and what a treasure we'd missed. Having been to hundreds of museums with Steve and Trevor, they know what my standards are for a great museum and they assured me that's what this was. So I'm including it on my list. I hope to visit someday.