find the birdie

your job is to match the pic with the site...have fun exploring
birdie 1
birdie 2
birdie 3
birdie 4

surreal flashback

god i love Youtube....speak and you shall find...The cabinet of the Jan Svankmajer - Brothers Quay (1984)
this of course looks better on the big screen

alive from off center

i need to find more of these...you catch the very last moments of a brothers quay piece and the ending of the show with this great Laurie Anderson piece!

Alive From Off Center

now for a little performance art ..this show use to be my highlight on Sunday nights in the early 80's as I attempted to get WETA on my bunny ear tv set ...check out the beginnings of William Wegman.

today's quickie

inspiration of the day....download the vintage line....quite cool for such a snooty name

Sondheim Prize Application

spent today getting my application for the Sondheim Prize together. feeling a little guilty not painting these days. but creating bird images work for now...anyway, here is what i sent.

today's inspiration

as i try to figure out what it is i want to do in my life beyond teaching, i spend a bit of time looking on the internet, looking at design and what so many people are doing out there. i am amazed by the people who document their new creations, be it clothing design, hand bags, aprons, stuff animals, interior design, printmaking and recipes. i find myself looking into people lives, how they live and how they share their ideas and knowledge. i've been adding to my links as i hope people will check these out. i also thought i would start to post my inspiration for the day. today's inspiration is lisa Congdon , a self-trained artist who makes wonderful works of art and crafts. I love how we fight so hard to go back into our past to find the images that effect us the most. fighting to "unlearn" what we learned in art school. seeing that Lisa was also borned in the 60's I feel a connection is the imagery that she treasures. i posted images from designsponge. of Lisa's interior. check out design blog for additional pics and commentary by Lisa. i find it funny that we have the same tea green color in our living room.

Otis bag

birdie totes

any feedback would be grateful!

another new find

now on my second full day of being iced in, i've been spending time in my studio producing new birdie totes ( pics to come) and checking out designsponge. and etsy for new inspriations. trying to learn about new printing processes and new innovative ways of incorporating print materials to new products. Here's a great example with these great pencil boxes from the regional assembly of text . check out their sight. if you know what my older works looks like you wil know why i would be drawn to this sight!

Captain Kangaroo: Simon

Another blast form the past

lazy afternoon

thanks to mr. winter i was afforded an afternoon to be lazy. with a nice snow and ice mixture and a small visit to work this morning, i came home to a lazy Patrick and a two hour nap. decided to do something productive and went to my favorite blog designsponge. where I found these great pillows from pillow pillow pillow. that really made me smile. my favorites are moe and scooter. Check out the people with animals picture shots. What fun! Now I just need Aaron Stewart to teach me how to silk screen on canvas!

birdie bags

i am so excited!!!! birds on bags...this time lined

Walking the Line...the pillow stories

i've decided to post my stories that i wrote up for each pillow scene. when you buy a pillow you also get a story line. a little insight to what i see when i look outside at the birds.

Carter is a huge Johnny Cash fan. Walking the telephone line is his daily ritual. Every morning at the exact same time and exact same place he walks along the line. Playing the song in his head with his eyes wide open all the time.

But today, his walk has been interrupted. Patsy, a fine lookin’ red bird bouncing along the line, looking like an open heart, stops Carter in his tracks. Her captivating beauty inspires Carter to serenade her with his rendition of Johnny’s tune, making Patsy feel just like June!

Riff-Raff

Riff-Raff, Bad Seeds, Loiterers, all are familiar names for Troy and Darnell. Some say they abandoned their day jobs. They ignore the green grass, fresh worms, and bird feeders and they ignore the gifts from the two-legged uprights.
But truth be told, they simply have no trust in the good things of life. They simply do not trust the two-legged uprights. They have seen the harm their four-wheeled devices have inflicted on their fellow friends. They see the casualties of the streets.
They fight back with their droppings. Each day picking a different vehicle to
unleash hell upon.

Steady, aim fire!

Special Clarence

Clarence, Clarissa and Clark have been fed by their mother the same way for their entire lives. Clarence, the special one, always got fed first. No matter what! Even if he refused to open his beak and look upward to his mother.
Clarence felt quite conscientious of this and would rebel. Some days he would not even raise his beak. Reluctant to acknowledge his hungry siblings, as they realize their hunger increased with his rebellion.
But why? Why does he have to be special? It seems he has not been able to accept his true color. It certainly doesn’t help that they call Momma’s boy.

Red Rover Red Rover

The games on Holloway Street have always been up to Burt and Bob. They would find some sort of sitting post to conquer. Today’s game was Red Rover Red Rover. Bob would extend his open wing and invite the trespasser to pass. Since today’s catch was in the shade of red, Red Rover seemed to be most appropriate game for the day.
The purpose of the game was to break through Burt and Bob’s blockade in order to gain the privilege of sitting upon their fence post.
Ruby’s friend, Rose, got scared and flew away. Leaving Ruby to fend for herself.

Send Ruby right over!

Monsieur Partridge

Monsieur Partridge is a very funny bird who acquired his name by singing Partridge Family songs with a French accent.
Monsieur was one of the original Partridge birds on the show’s intro. He was fired after reporting to work quite intoxicated. He could not walk the straight line, nor keep his French mumblings to himself.

Periodically Monsieur likes to reenact his part in the Partridge Family intro, gathering as many small birds that he can to walk in a row. This scene consists of the usual players. This also means only one bird, Rubin of course, the good sport.

Imitating Charlie

Otis is an imitator. He thinks he is the owl Charlie from the 70’s television show The New Zoo Review. He was so jealous of Charlie’s very tall tree with elevator service. Otis would retort that his elevator was out due to repairs.
Otis possesses the smarts and the know-it-all attitude that Charlie once had but with one redeeming quality. Otis can take constructive criticism.
In all his admiration for the not so popular Charlie he fails to realize that he is a far superior owl. The things that make him Otis are the things that he should be most proud of. Otis is starting to feel better in his own feathers and with that new attitude it will take him to the top.

New Kid in Town

The neighborhood swimming pool was the coolest hang out in the block, especially during those hot summer days in between the rainy days when worm pickin’ was all the rage.
Calvin and Bernie were regulars at the pool. Even on the rainy days. They would flaunt their contrasting wing highlights as they shimmer in the sunlight. Their petite size made the pool seem like one of the great lakes.
But one day, their sizes became reality, when a fairly large Bloat name Freddy came barging in and splash!!!! empty out half of the water, right on Calvin’s head! Bernie exploded with laughter adding to the fun with his own little droplets of water.
This very moment begins the friendship of the three birds.

Courting Charles Harper

Charles is the name of the black & white bird hanging out on the west side. He is quite sharp in his black & whites. He’s quite the catch!

Isabel, in all her sweet blue, has bribed the other ladies to stay away with a grand patch of fresh worms.
This is that rare moment when only one sweet tweety is present.

He has taken on the name Charles, after the famous illustrator who beautifully created the luscious food drawings in his favorite cookbook: Dinner for Two. Beautifully exquisite and simple. Very modern, just like Charles.

feeling good-n-plenty

...maybe i'm a slow learner. i kept reading on designsponge's blog about finds on etsy . finally today, i checked etsy out. this etsy site is a place where people can sell, or buy hand made wares. i decided to do some research for my bird pillows, and trying to find the best way to get these out...without someone taking 50%.....and perhaps this is the way to go. it's a great place to check out your competition too. I found these great prints by matt stephens. from designsponge.e and wanted to share these. i love the retro feel, like something i know i've seen before...a little like choo choo charlie from the good-n-plenty box.you can find his prints on etsy.as well as on here.

here are the latest of the bird party series. I'm currently working on accompany cards that indlue a story of each scene. A small glimpse of the partial insanity that goes through my head as I watch the little fellas out in my yard.

Gallery Opening

here is the info for the Bird Show in Monkton

More of the bird parties

A gallery in Monkton, Md is having a bird show and my pillows have been invited to the party. Up to nine pillows have been requested..so far six are ready to attend. Thinking of a story to accompanied each with their own little booklet. We shall see how much gets accomplish between work and sleep!
Check out the latest 3..notice Mr. Owl got a new beak.

Hail Hail to the Captain!

I've been searching on You Tube lately for some good childhood memories and I found myself looking at Captian Kangaroo. I wanted to post this episode from 1968. The beginning is so corney and yet strange. I forgot how dry the Captain can be. No wonder I got so mad when my mom talk to us in her Snow White voice! The Captain. didn't patronize nor belittle us...even when we were 3!

i love the pattern of the door! This set brings up such great memories

Mr. Owl

Newbies

My xmas vacation is fastly winding down. I have been quite productive. Started a new line of pillow designs inspired by the bird parties that occur in my back yard. I've had a great time with these. Been drawing out of my bird book, looking very closly at Charles Harper , and reaching back to my childhood, trying to remember how I used to draw birds. I'm hoping to work on a full line of these before spring. Hoping I'll find a venue to get these out to.
Enjoy...
chirp chirp

I've been taking this really great drawing and painting class with Mike Bare. Its a free class if you're a bcps teacher. I've known Mike for long time and I must say he has become a big influence in me taking on my fears. I've been painting these self-portaits. Something I avoided even though college some how. And now its that time to face it and just do it. Now I'm pretty hooked. Realizing that I do seem to over emphasize parts of my face that really aren't that dramatic, ie the bags under my eyes. So here are the most recent ones I've attempted. Our class is now over but we're having a show at the Cazbar on Charles Street. The opening is Thursday, Dec. 14 at 7PM. So come on down and hang out with a bunch of art teachers and remember why they were your favorite teachers.