The Oscines

My Sanctum Painting show came down last month, and I went right into the new series, the Oscines.
My new bird sculptures are almost done.....I will post pics online at the end of the month. 

There is an opening reception on October 6 for Downtown Olympia's Artwalk. My work and 6 other artists will be on exhibit. Crows and Ravens are the focus.

I call my series, 'Oscines' as this is a subspecies term for songbirds, or birds that vocalize. So I made ravens and crows, but also some small birds like blackbirds, wrens and chickadees. The little birds will show in the galleries 'gift' area. 

For hundreds of years people have associated symbology to plants, flowers and animals. Using this research in my artwork,  each raven & crow piece is an expression of the experiences I had of caregiving for my grandparents these last 7 years. They both passed away recently.

Many people believe ravens and crows represent death,  but they also symbolize change and transformation.
Each piece is constructed from clay, copper and china painted porcelain. The botanical aspects take hours and hours of careful forming and braising work. There are many aspects to each piece and so much sanding, then firing, sanding more, layers of paint and more sanding!
Despite all the labor, its worth it. So much fun making......