FORT BENNING, Ga., (Jan. 8, 2014) -- I've been in the South for a while. I've acclimated to the weather and when it gets cold, I want to stay indoors. So Friday, when the temperature was in the 30s, I headed to the Columbus Museum. It's been some time since I've been there -- the motto is "always changing. always free." I like free. The marquee exhibit is Feel the Heat: Contemporary Glass Sculpture. Appropriate for the weather and simply amazing.
When I told a coworker I was going to the museum for a story, she started talking about the Chihuly boat, an exhibit of hand blown glass in a wooden boat. Whitney Lackey, the museum's social media and online coordinator, called the work a "tent pole in the collection that ties in with Feel the Heat."
Dale Chihuly is the artist of the sculpture and a prominent figure in contemporary glass sculpture. From the exhibit, I learned there are two schools of glass sculpting in America -- Pilchuck and Penland -- Chihuly is a co-founder of the Pilchuck school. I'm sure there's more to the different schools, but as my coworker said, "Get the interview, snap some pictures, done."
There's one piece by Toots Zynsky, No. 6 from the Bird of Paradise Series, made from fused and slumped glass rods. It's amazing! It has what I call fringe. I don't know if there is a technical term for it. I tried to get a picture of it ... and failed.
Another of the museum's latest exhibits is Greeting from Midtown: Historic Postcard Vignettes.
This exhibit celebrates the area of Columbus known as Midtown. Lackey said visitors can share pictures of themselves at their favorite places in Midtown on the museums Instagram page @museumcolumbus, using the hashtag #greetingsfrommidtown.
If you are new to the area, the Chattahoochee Legacy History Gallery gives you a snapshot of the area through the millennia. This gallery tells the 10,000-year history of human habitation in the area. Amazing.
The Columbus Musuem is closed on Mondays and major holidays. Its hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Friday and Saturday; Thursday it's open from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. The web address is www.columbusmuseum.com and its physical location is 1251 Wynnton Road, Columbus.
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