Flight of fancy

Booger and I had the chance to swing by the Mississippi Museum of Art this week to catch their Audubon exhibit. It's substantial, beautiful, and interesting. They had several depictions of Audubon himself on display - a bust, some portraits, etc. - as well as many of his creations and a few of his personal effects. I found it really fascinating to see things like his calling card and case, his ledger for expenses (you can see how much he was spending on things like paper and paint when creating Birds of America!), and his personal seal. He was also a taxidermist, and they even have one of the birds he mounted on display - a beautiful snowy owl.

Plus, his renderings of America's birds and wildlife are beautiful, and there are lots of them there to see. They have a couple of interactive areas, too, where you can listen to CDs, post your own ideas to conserve America's natural heritage, and put the events of Audubon's life in chronological order.

The exhibit is very well done, and I encourage you to go see it!

If you make it over there during the Christmas season, you can see the Christmas creche on display. (It's in the main lobby area; you don't even have to pay to see it.) It is gorgeous. They had the ceremonial lighting of it a while back, but I was unable to attend that event. Suffice it to say, though, that the creche consists of an impressive collection of Italian figurines surrounding the holy family. There are many many angels positioned in the evergreen branches which make up the pinnacle of the display, and a veritable town of people filling up the outlying corners. It is meticulously arranged, and Clay loved looking at all the townsfolk and thier "stuff."