I wanted to share some of the figures that are coming to life in the studio and are part of my project for the Spirited Birds workshop this April in Kansas City…

 

 

I made the early forms for these guys over the summer but never found time to finish working them out. Once the gallery closed for the winter I began to spend time to work more in depth and find my connection to them …

 

 

Gallery?? you ask??

I now live in the town of Lunenburg Nova Scotia. Last winter we, three friends, decided to create a gallery on Lincoln Street amongst the other wonderful galleries and gallery shops along this street. We called our place THE SWAN …

 

 

We did not look up until December when things finished for the year. After eleven months of finding space, creating the space, filling it with our art, managing the hours, time, books and events, we closed our doors to be able to do other things over the winter.  Things like make art, travel, read, knit, create studios and storage …

 

 

Back to the Spirited Birds story.  I  began with the protoype for my upcoming workshop, the idea of a bird that is also a person, or a person becoming a bird, or perhaps just someone with a great sense of humour dressing up as a bird … this one will still be evolving until I leave for Kansas City to teach the class. As straight forward as I try to make the classes, there are many months of working on a particular piece to find the right mix, method and sentiment of what I try to bring to my students.

 

 

Several other patterns I had made became flying seagulls. I am fascinated with these birds because I hear their cries now instead of the loons calling from their nest on the lake behind my old farmhouse …

The seagulls fly so there had to be spirited riders … which I hope expands and adds ideas and inspiration for students when they arrive to make their Spirited Birds with me in April

 

 

Here is one more …

 

 

there are more, but I will save them for another day …