Animated Events: Butterflies are Blooming, part 1

It's March and that means two things: taxes and butterflies!

One of the things that I teach my students during my end-of-semester professional development lecture is the importance of having a good accountant. I understand the desire to save money and do things yourselves, but I cannot stress how important it is to have someone double-checking your numbers. I manage my own books for Smudge Animation, but my accountant is the person who keeps me from making mistakes. So the drive to Grand Rapids every year is well worth the time.

Now, if I'm going to be on the west side of the State, I like to visit some artistic venues and recharge my batteries after the long, cold winter. I normally maintain a yearly membership to the Detroit Institute of Arts. This year though, I decided to let it lapse and reallocate those funds to the Frederik Meijer Gardens. Nothing against the DIA, but they're doing a lot of construction and it's affected a number of the displays that I like to frequent. Some have been moved to less accessible rooms, others taken off exhibit for the time being. So, I'm kind of staying out of the way while they get the renovations completed and the artwork back to their usual rooms. 

Looking for alternates, I reviewed what Meijer Gardens was offering this year and quickly determined that there were four upcoming events that I'd like to see. There was my two yearly visits to see the butterflies which coincide with the meetings with my accountant. However, this year they're bringing back the indoor/outdoor Chihuly exhibition. Last time Dale Chihuly's works were on display at the Gardens, I didn't learn about the exhibition in time to drive out there. So, I'm not missing out this year. I won't say that I'm an expert on his artwork, but I fondly remember seeing the glassworks that the students were producing back in the '90's when I was at R.I.T. and that fondness for glass and ceramics hasn't dulled over the years. Look for those photos later this year. So there will be more than enough going on in Grand Rapids to justify the cost of a one-year membership.

And for the rest of this post, here are some of the best photos that I took with some very agreeable butterflies.

Zebra Longwing
Heliconius charitonius

Doris Longwing
Heliconius doris

Tiger Longwing
Heliconius ismenius (possibly)

Postman
Heliconius melpomene

Doris Longwing
Heliconius doris

Banded Orange heliconian
Dryadula phaetusa

And here's the obligatory lunch photo from the cafe. They've done some remodeling recently. Not sold on it yet, but the menu is still solid.

Yup. That was one tasty burger. Granted, it wasn't a Kahuna Burger, but still... And I always appreciate how they go the extra mile for the butterflies event. Usually it's butterfly-shaped cookies, this time it was a flower-themed chocolate cupcake with a gummy butterfly.

Feeling the internal artistic batteries charging.

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Animated Events: Butterflies and Lanterns, part 1

It was Spring and time for the yearly drive out to Grand Rapids to drop off my yearly taxes binder to my accountant. As always, my yearly pilgrimage yielded a wealth of butterflies and Chinese lanterns. On the initial trip, I spend an afternoon at the Frederik Meijer Gardens, hunting butterflies with my camera.

This year, the Meijer Garden's cafe played up the Butterflies are Bloomin' event with shortbread cookies.

And there were some really beautiful flower arrangements in the greenhouse and parlor rooms leading up to, and including, the Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory.

This year though, I was in a different headspace. In prior years, I've spent copious amounts of time tracking butterflies, trying to find the correct angle, and waiting for them to spread their wings so I could photograph the vibrant colors. This time, I specifically focused on butterflies with their wings closed. A couple years back, one of my friends did this beautiful colored pencil sketch of a butterfly on a black background. Rather than the usual 'wings out' pose, this sketch had a butterfly with its wings closed. And the black background provided a nice contrast to the colors--they really popped off the page. It made me wonder if I was missing something special with my photographs. Well I wasn't disappointed, especially as this new perspective drew my attention to the shape and form of their wings in addition to some colors and patterns that I had overlooked. 

Tiger Longwing

Golden Helicon

Postman

Julia

Of course, I did nab a couple good photos of the butterflies in their 'wings out' mode when the opportunity presented itself.

Zebra Longwing

Postman

And there 'were' opportunities for the obligatory silly pics of butterflies.

* nom nom nom*

But I couldn't leave the venue without taking some photos and videos of the event's motion graphics projection for my class. Between Meijer Gardens and the DIA, I'm harvesting lots of good references where animation and live-action videos are being used to entertain and educate visitors. In my class, we cover a chapter on animation in the art world. Based upon the answers written in the final exam, installations and projections have been difficult concepts to get across to my students. So the more examples I can show them, the better.

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Animated Thoughts: Art Comes in Many Forms, pt. 2

I had a rare weekend off so figured I'd take a day and feed my soul. Fortunately, there were opportunities here in-State. But rather than drive down to Detroit or over to Flint in order to appreciate an art museum (or two), this time I drove in the opposite direction to see what Grand Rapids had to offer. I was not disappointed.

First stop: the Frederik Meijer Gardens in order to see the butterflies before that particular exhibit ends for the season, then a little hiking around the grounds. Gotta get those steps in. However, before the other events, as I'm on the quest to find the perfect egg salad sandwich, I had to take a moment and fuel up at the cafeteria.

Not bad. About a 6 out of 10. A little too heavy on the greens.

Then, it was off to go hunting for some butterflies!

Next, I went hiking around the grounds to see the Japanese garden. 

It was still early in the season, but there were some flowers in full bloom.

And I spotted an escapee from the indoor butterfly exhibit.

"Fly, be free!"

I had plans to visit the John Ball Zoo and experience their Lantern Festival, but I really wanted to go there closer to sunset in order to get the full effect. Which left time to stop over at Max's South Seas Hideaway, a tiki bar in the heart of Grand Rapids.

The food and drinks are tasty. And while I'm not really into the "tiki bar" scene, Max's has some really beautiful artwork in what looks to me like the Midcentury Modern style, and that's what I go there to see.

After taking a bunch of photos (and finishing off the Pu Pu Platter), it was time to go walking again. Which meant a quick drive over to the John Ball Zoo. This was the first "lantern festival" I'd ever seen first hand and it was pretty impressive. The Zoo had timed entry in order to manage the flow of foot traffic, however once you got in, you could go around the Zoo as many times as you wanted. The exhibits themselves were arranged by environmental themes: prehistoric animals, undersea animals, insects, etc. Most were a set color and pattern, but some had undulating lights, some would move, and others had some interactivity built in such that if you stepped on a pressure plate, they would move or change color. They even had a flower that was hooked up to a smoke machine so when the kids stepped on it, it would blow a burst of "pollen" at them. And three times a day, they had a troupe of chinese acrobats doing traditional performances--like balancing acts or magic tricks. Fun stuff.

In looking at the displays, I enjoyed all the shapes and colors and forms of the "lanterns", but if I'm being honest, I would've loved to be a fly on the wall when they set up and tore down the displays just so I could see how they were done. I'm sure that a lot of it was basic LED lighting but the animatronics and the interactive components add a lot to the show. 

Art comes in many forms.

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Animated Thoughts: Art comes in many forms

It was tax time and my accountant works an hour away in Grand Rapids. So it was time for my yearly pilgrimge to see the butterflies at the Frederik Meijer Gardens... oh, I mean drop off my taxes binder to my accountant--then go back and sign documents, submit paperwork, and pick up the binder. Yeah, you won't find any real substance or epiphanies in this post, just a bunch of photographs that I took during a period of the year where it's a lot of busywork and maintenance to keep my LLC going and not much else. Fortunately for me, there are opportunites to appreciate some (natural) art, if you're willing to look for them.

Grape hyacinth muscari

Hey, this isn't sugar water, it's vodka!

Postman (Heliconius melpomene aglaope)

Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charitonius)

Postman (Heliconius melpomene plesseni)

Postman (Heliconius melpomene aglaope)

Was taking a picture and this butterfly stopped by to say 'hi'.

Common Morpho (Morpho peleides)

Blue and White Longwing (Heliconius cydno)

Tropical Ginger (circuma)

Well worth a visit... or two.

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