Introducing three bird portraits just completed: Loon, Woodpecker, and Crane. Each is about 7 1/2 inches square. I've been poring over my one small bird book and browsing images online to find likely subjects -- the possibilities are endless! I've done nine birds so far, and I have about 15 more small boards to work with from my salvaged shelves. I'm using stained glass, and finishing the edges with black tiles. I hope to place a few at the Baobab Tree and Parkland galleries this fall.
One of the birds, a parrot, is on its way to New York; every year I contribute a small work to an auction that benefits the World Wildlife Fund, hosted by Humanscale, a company that makes ergonomic and eco-friendly office furniture and accessories. They have been hosting this annual auction of wildlife-themed artwork, which they call "Faces in the Wild," every year since 2000. Last year they raised $42,000 for WWF.
Here is the complete "Four Seasons" mosaic. I won't be able to install it for a few months--the remodelers are just getting started at my client's home--but I'll take an "official" photo when I do. I met with the client's designer, Pam Holladay of Siebert Architects, to help choose the border tile. Both the client and I had thought that the border should contrast with the light travertine that will surround it, so I ordered several samples ranging from mahogany to golden brown, and, almost as an afterthought, the ginger-colored glass tile that I ended up using. I find that when I have a choice to make, the answer almost always shows itself if I just "stand back" and watch and listen, whether it's in the studio or in life. In this case, as soon as I saw this light ginger glass tile between the mosaic and the travertine sample, I knew it was the one, and so did Pam. It's almost like a taste sense when it is right. It feels satisfying and complete. It's a message of intuition, always there ready to let me know what direction to take.
