A Carver of Fish
by David Kelly
May 1, 2009 - June 30, 2009

David Kelly of Dallas, Georgia has been a fisherman all his life and enjoys few things more than a visit to a choice fishing spot. After moving to suburban Atlanta and no longer living by the water, he didn’t have time to fish. So David went in search of a new hobby.

He decided to experiment with wood and carving tools and see if he could make a fish emerge from the wood. He knew he would have to cut away the background. The first carving was pretty bad but after several more tries he began to see improvement and was having a good time. “It’s not like painting, where you might be able to add a new layer. You can’t put a piece of wood back, and you can ruin the whole thing with a slip of attention,” he says.

After a year of carving, Kelly felt it was time to “make a splash” and get some exposure for his art by donating it. He called the High Museum in Atlanta. Although not invited to donate, he got words of encouragement. He was told that his work was good, marketable and that he appeared to have natural talent. “That meant a lot to me,” says Kelly.

His next step in self-marketing was to introduce himself to the staffs at various public organizations in his community and offer a donation. This strategy was successful; his works are now owned by the Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville, the Mable House Cultural Center (run by the South Cobb Arts Alliance) and the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association.

Kelly makes it a point to donate his time demonstrating his woodcarving technique at events such as “Pioneer Days,” sponsored by Douglas County and the North Georgia State Fair. “I like doing educational things for kids and families; it’s great to see how interested people are in what I’m doing. It makes me feel good about myself, and I like to think I’m inspiring some people along the way. All day long when I demonstrate, I have a crowd around me of kids—from 5 to 80!”

Kelly has progressed from focusing on single items in his carvings—such as an individual fish or bird—to complex and detailed scenes. As an outdoorsman, he likes to depict wildlife and their natural habitat.

Contact David Kelly at (678) 363-7220.

Computer Technology Then and Now

May 1, 2009 - June 30, 2009

The technology we use today to access the computer and the internet is certainly faster, smaller and more efficient than the early equipment associated with the term “computer.” And the internet is really just an arrangement of that equipment to bring together stored data in a fast and organized way to present to the user who asked the question.

Given that the first modern electronic computer dates only to 1943, the equipment has changed drastically over a short period of time. It has become smaller, faster, and uses new ways to store data and new ways to organize that data into useful information. The advent of computer networks (and especially wireless ones) allows us to use a cell phone, (which has also seen incredible changes in size, capability and function) as a computer terminal to access the internet, take a photo and play music or videos.

This “joining” of technologies is the future trend. Rather than having many different pieces of “hardware” to support knowledge creation, knowledge recovery, and knowledge usage, future technologies will continue to join lots of functionality into a single, small device. For example, a Blackberry can deliver audio and video content, takes photos, calculate, send text messages, play games, set alarms, receive sports scores or movie times, get directions, etc. Oh, yes, it also makes phone calls.

Future technology with similar (and more) functions may someday be implanted in us. Already, users “implant” Bluetooth headphones so tiny into their ear canals that it is not a stretch to envision a day where some of the inputs are actually a part of us!

The technology in the display cases shows a progression through time of how “computers” store data, the equipment and media that store that data, and examples of how, over time, access to stored data has improved. You can view the exhibit from “now to then” (right to left) or “then to now” (left to right). On the far left is a timeline of the development of the internet.