Nancy Carroll and her husband Jan have an artistic bent and a developed sense of whimsy, so when they were casting about for an idea that would allow them to participate in the Art Walk of Ontario, California (near Rancho Cucamonga), they hit on the idea of creating a museum for a ridiculous and perishable item: the donut. They have refashioned the downstairs floor of their dwelling, which also doubles as an “art studio,” into a Museum of Donuts. As Nancy says, “The Museum of Donuts was inspired by our love of the roadside attraction, and of curiosities.”

It’s been a challenge to get people to not grab and eat the exhibits. They put up signs telling patrons not to touch, but they do anyway. As befits any self-respecting Museum of Donuts, donuts for the purpose of eating are readily available elsewhere on the premises. However, the patrons’ confusion is somewhat understandable, as the donuts for eating and the donuts for displaying are pretty damn similar. Nancy says that for the exhibits, it’s important to use stale donuts: “Better to buy that dozen a few days before the exhibition and let them dry out and firm up a little bit.  Nothing sadder than seeing all your hard work sagging on the wall because it was floating in a deep fryer a few hours ago.” 
 

 
The museum featured a “cereal/serial killer donut series,” complete with a “zodiac cruller” donut and the Son of Sam “David Berko-Trix” donut. It also ran a popular “extraterrestrial” series. They should have an exhibit of Kenny Scharf’s signature donut paintings one day, too.  If you’re in the area, you should see about stopping by.

Related to the museum only by content, here’s a fun video of a woman making a sweet watercolor painting of some donuts in a matter of minutes, a bit further north at Colonial Donuts in Oakland, California:
 

 
via Internet Magic

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
June 1st is National Donut Day
Perhaps Dunkin’ Donuts needs a better abbreviation for their Coconut Iced Coffee