birds

Two nice things: a poem by Colleen McElroy and the fantastical photography of Cig Harvey.

~ Katy Kelleher ~ Leave a comment

cig_Harvey_TheBluebird

Sometimes the Way It Rains Reminds Me of You
Colleen J. McElroy

these days I speak of myself in the past tense
writing about yesterday knowing tomorrow
is no more than mist crawling toward violet mountains
I think of days when this weather meant you
were not so far away   the light changing
so fast I believe I can see you turning a corner
the rain comes in smelling of pine and moss
a kind of brazen intrusion on the careful seeds of spring
I pay more attention to details these days
saving the most trivial until I sort them for trash
or recycle   a luxury I’ve come to know only recently
you have never been too far from my thoughts
despite the newborn birds and their erratic songs
the way they tilt their heads as if dowsing for the sun
the way they repeat their singular songs
over and over as if wishing for a different outcome

Read that poem aloud. It is so beautiful—both in the lyrical language and the subject matter (I would like my life to smell like rain and pine and moss, please and thank you). Then, go look at these stunning images by Maine photographer Cig Harvey. Although we live in the same state, and have contributed to the same publications, I’ve never worked with Harvey. So far, I’ve just admired her work from a distance. Her photographs are rich with surreal, subtle magic. I dig it.

Flying so close to the sun.

~ Katy Kelleher ~ 4 Comments

featered friendSometimes I think I’m pretty crafty, and then I see work like Diana Beltran Herrera’s and I realize I have a long, LONG way to go. I can make paper flowers, but she makes paper fly. Her gorgeous series of paper birds can be seen in full on Flickr, but I first found it on the excellent site Colossal. It’s truly amazing what someone can do with colored paper and a little bit of glue. I’m jealous.

lovelylittlebirdsSee more here.

Pretty little winged things.

~ Katy Kelleher ~ 1 Comment

Barbara franc birdsArtist Barbara Franc makes sculptures of animals out of recycled metal. I know turning trash into art is nothing particularly new, but her series of British Birds are really amazing. They remind me of every Disney bird ever—little sweet things flitting around, helping Cinderella or chirping at Snow White or whatever—only this is the robotic, steampunk version (21st Century by way of the 18th). Brightly colored and delicately rendered, they are prefect baby monsters, tiny captains of chirpy industry. Soft bodies in hard metal.Leeds - Long-tailed tits (3)
Or maybe that’s too complicated. The artist herself says the metal is simply the most fitting material she’s found to reflect the fluidity of animal movement: “I have always been fascinated by the shapes and sculptural forms of animals, they present a never-ending source of inspiration to me. I try to capture a feeling of their movement and presence in my sculpture. For this I use wire and other materials in a way that suggests drawing in three dimensions. This allows me greater freedom to add changes whenever I want during the construction to keep the feeling fluid and to reflect the diversity of movement and form.”

A bit dry for an artist’s statement, but it makes sense. Anyway, her birds are beautiful. Check out the entire series here.

{Spotted on Colossal}