From Burgess's Bird Book for Children:
On each forehead, chin and a line through each eye was  velvety black.  Each wore a very stylish pointed cap.  They were quite dandified.
A Stranger and a Dandy


When I hear the beautiful whispy mornful cries of the cedar waxwings, I know to look close by to trees,  bushes or ephemeral puddlles where they gather, always in groups together, talking and moving together everywhere.

The first encounter i ever had were two at my birdbath-the most exotic looking bired I have ever seen in piedmont NC.  They are captivating and jovial, despite their sad songs and sound like lovely swingsets in the wind.

 

Book excerpt: Barred Owls and Conical Dipoles

Barred Owls on Evening Walks

On Evening walks , I sometimes hear you 

Call your lady from her sleep

The sun crept below

 the Rollin's Apartment edifice,

She answered beautiful and deep. 

The italianate balconies awaited 

The continuos allusion

of the lovers

 that played me,

Darting by in the night

with a silent swish,

Then away into the wood.

Another evening, I told my love

Conditions would be good.

We then were bogged in a mucky mess

talking of earthly scrabble.

Only to almost miss you overhead

Gazing gently down,

My heart skips with  every encounter.

 So the painting, Conical Dipoles depicts
The Owl's prowess, 
if I were you as adept,
my eyes would be like fists.


 Eyes and ears so like antennae
 to sense and see.
A vision of multitudes of information.


I searched for you both so diligently,
On evening walks to no avail.
Not in your tree from days before 
Or where I hear the call.

Just before sunrise then I hear you
She answered then again.
I saw a pair perched in two trees
Saying their morning goodbye.


She rose like a heart balloon
And you swooped down
with wings the same heart  shaped wings
 lifted you to descend.
You darted quickly away.

Leaving Raleigh

Attracting Birds: Sounds and Skies is leaving Raleigh today.  In the next couple of weeks, I will BLOG he book that accompanies the show.  Thanks to Stacey Kirby http://staceykirby.blogspot.com/ for beautifully hand-binding this artist's book. Also,  thanks to all for the support and inspiration.

Leaving Raleigh,

a ghost in the window

brushed the curtain

in the corner of my eye.

Leaving Raleigh,

I felt the breeze pass

and the windsock

in the window shuddered.

Leaving Raleigh,

turn on a light 

in a dark room.

She is on a mirror ,

then you swoon.

Leaving Raleigh,

the  little wren

in our house we spy.

Open the window

and there she flies.

Todays Flower

The Camellia flower

Was going to fall,

But it caught in the leaves.

SHOHA

Flowers for Japan

Japanese art and culture has been a prevalent influence in this exhibition.  My heart goes out to the people, the animals, the culture, the nature and the land.

Here are some flowers for Japan,

  

Hope and healing for their sorrow and struggles.

cedar waxwings gather...

 cedar waxwings gather

 in the treetops talking , eating

 and swooping to and fro.  when do they go?

In our region from October-June

 thanks to map from Cornell Ornithology Lab:http://ebird.org

Exhibition opens!

Thanks to all who visit!

  

Many special thanks to:

Karen Bethune, Curator and NC Museum of Natural Science 

David Crawford

Emily Heller

Stacey Kirby

Rosalie Horton

                                            
Birds Attracted at opening: Russell, Robert and Megan!

New Hawks

 Rain Robins keep robins company

as they wait for the rain.

One work is entitled Rain Robins because I sat watching Robins in the rain on my porch in Raleigh as I painted them.  It was so rainy,  paper itself was wet and the birds were happy.  The recent lack of rain was of some concern as the robins and cedar waxwings started to gather at ephemeral street puddles. 
After days of drought, the robins gather at the last remaining puddle in the gutter in front of my house. One  can't help but worry what might lurk in the street puddles but it is all they have. They refused to gather at the bird baths. I hang Rain Robins in the studio window to greet the robins in the trees, waiting for a turn at the puddle.

I hang the Rain Robins in the studio window

The robins find them attractive and gather in the trees.

Nature Art Gallery Link

Here is the correct link for the NC Museum of Natural Sciences Nature Art Gallery: 
 http://naturalsciences.org/museum-store/nature-art-gallery

Exhibition Preview

Welcome to the exhibition preview of Attracting Birds: Sounds and Skies 
by Lee Moore Crawford. 
All images on this blog are copyrighted by the artist.

Barred Owl, Conical Dipole, collage painting
In my Durham neighborhood, there are a pair of allusive Barred Owls.  The Conical Dipole is a type of antennae, which I think is a fine metaphor for them.

Bird Spaces Two in the Blue, photo painting

In this exhibition there are images of trees and skies.  These are entitled Bird Spaces, relating to the Japanese art of flower arranging, Ikebana, where you have Heaven, Earth and spaces to let the birds fly through.

Rain Cherry Tree Blossoms, photo painting

Mary Boylan's Chickadees, detail, photo painting

More previews to come, thanks for visiting!

Attracting Birds: Sounds and Skies, March 4-27, 2011

Attracting Birds: 

Sounds and Skies

By Lee Moore Crawford

Nature of Art Gallery

Museum of Natural Sciences , Raleigh, NC

March 4-27, 2011

Opening reception First Friday, March 4, 6:30-8:30 pm

Hours:

Monday–Saturday: 9 am–4:45 pm

Sunday: noon–4:45 pm

 http://naturalsciences.org/museum-store/nature-art-gallery

Welcome! This Blog is inspired by the exhibition above.  In the days leading up to the opening and after, you will find  images of the art in the exhibition, "personal bird encounters" and  other inspirations by Lee.

Others are welcome to share comments and their own bird encounters.

"Attracting Birds: Sounds and Skies,"  is part of an ongoing series that

partners bibliographic inspirations with the artist's expressions of

personal bird encounters in collage paintings, photography and recordings.

This most recent rendition is a collection of visual poems about the bird

encounters in residential landscapes of two historic neighborhoods in

Raleigh and Durham.  Also included are “soundscapes, skyscapes and

treescapes that create an environment for Attracting Birds.