endings and new beginnings



                         link to Denver Art Museum website




     The "last" bird landing, after two years of traveling with the birds, was at the Santa Fe Railyard Park -- the spot that had originally been the inspiration for me to see the birds outdoors.   
How great to be back in Santa Fe, where we started, with friends dropping by!  







     Another fun development was that people started to buy the birds -- over 50 of them flew off to new homes.  Now that I wouldn't need to keep the flock together anymore I loosened my grip -- I didn't want all those pigeons cluttering up my studio...




     But it turned out that one of the people who saw the birds at the last landing was from the Denver Art Museum, and she called the next week to invite them to come land up there outside the museum, in connection with their summer of clay exhibit.   Meanwhile, most of the nicest birds had flown the coup.

    It wasn't a hard decision to start making new pieces, because the truth is, I felt like I wasn't done with the exploration at all, in fact I was just getting started.  I brought the tour to a close because it felt like it was time and my family and I needed a break.  But I didn't really want to stop making pieces.
     
     So this winter and spring, more than sixty new birds were born.  The form remains pretty much the same (although of course each one is different), but the content has evolved; still looking at war and weapons in relation to the more beautiful instincts and manifestations of people, but trying to stay almost purely visual.  Hardly any words, more drawing, and coming more from my specific point of view as a mother.

     The landings will be the evening of Friday, June 24th, and all day on Saturday and Sunday, June 25th and 26th.  I will also be giving a talk and slide show about the project, at 7:15 pm and 8:15 pm on Friday June 24th.  As part of the "Demo and Do" program of the Museum, I'll be demonstrating silkscreen printing onto clay on Saturday, June 25th, and making a couple of birds on Sunday, June 26th.