Friday's lunch was spent in the butterfly house at Franklin Park Conservatory, located in Columbus, OH.. Perhaps a bit too hot and humid for this time of the year, but gorgeous and enchanting none the less.
flamingo
How can you not love to see flamingos? They are simply beautiful. Don't you wish you could tuck yourself in for a nap like that?
bat wing
As you know, I visited the zoo over the weekend. One of my favorite exhibits was one featuring these enormous bats. They were hanging from the ceiling, wrapped in their wings. Its the semi-transparent wings that really stand out for me.
i went to the zoo and all the animals were asleep
it ate columbus
Close up of a Dale Chihuly piece. What can I say? Sometimes I am in the mood for a little color.
its a mystery
Why is a pilgrim's hat painted on this little paving brick? I looked around and it was the only one of its kind within sight. No others could be seen. Nothing in the vicinity seemed to warrant the little painted symbol. Why is it there? Maybe just to get me to wonder? I don't know and apparently I am easily confused about the random placement of stray images on paving bricks.
Why is this the only dry brick?
there is a squirrel in the palm house
While visiting the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, I was thinking about the butterflies that I saw the last time I was there and decided to use the 70-210 beer can. I was thinking that the insects never let me get very close and the lens would be perfect. The problem? The butterflies are not in season & I ended up with a long lens while shooting flowers and plants.
On the bright side, their was a big fat squirrel in the palm house & I was the only one with a lens long enough to get a good shot of it. The little varmint was up high in the trees, licking the leaves on one particular tree. I figured that with all of the cold winter raging outside, he must have been pretty happy in the warm palm house.
If I were a squirrel, I would be after the tiny oranges that were obviously ripe and ready to eat. This little rodent preferred the palm leaves. To each his own, I guess.
Enjoy your palm leaves Mr. Squirrel. I'll come back and check on you in February when the winter is in full force. I wonder if I could find him a little Hawaiian shirt?
chihuly’s balls
You've probably heard about them. Chihuly is famous for them. Mostly because his balls are so big. I thought that you might like to see them. While at the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio, I had the chance to see them. Isn't it nice how I share these things with you?
Don't think that these are all of his balls. He has a lot of balls and he leaves them all over the world. At the conservatory, they have a lot of Dale's balls on display. I didn't photograph them all, just his big balls. If you want to see more of Chihuly's balls, the conservatory would be a great place to start.
Don't be shy. You are allowed to touch Chihuly's balls. Just be careful, you don't want to hurt them.
Here is a fine pair of balls. I like the way they float in the water. Float? Float…. oh yeah, I am sorry, Chihuly calls these floats, not balls. Sorry. I don't know what I was thinking.
Balls! Sheesh.
don’t eat the art
The sign said not to eat the art, so I didn't. However, I did consume a lot of art in just a couple hours.
There was an incredible Caravaggio exhibit. The man knew how to paint awe inspiring lightscapes.
Something that I have never seen before. CMA had a gallery committed to whittled sticks and carved canes. There were dozens of really interesting examples. However, this little general caught my eye and, in the end, proved to be my favorite. Who knew that whittling was an art form?
When was the last time you visited your local art museum? Here in Ohio, we are lucky to have several world class museums and I try to regularly visit as many as I can. I encourage you to find the hidden treasures in yours.
the installation
When it comes to art museums, I am more of a painting & photo guy. Installations are not my thing at all. However, This particular installation captured my attention for quite some time.
Maybe it was the way the glass shapes looked like egyptian barges floating down the Nile. It could have been the way the glass was lit from above, making the shapes glow, dispersing the light as they did so. Certainly the dimly lit room added to the impact of the artwork.
Yes.. an installation that I like.
tim mcmurdo 