A CHANGE OF PLANS

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A CHANGE OF PLANS is the second piece of art I am exhibiting at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts during the month of August for the ROAD TRIP show. This piece measures 12" x 14" x 1.5". Photo etched copper wraps the sides and the surface is finished with a cold wax treatment. A nicely worn piece of driftwood crowns the cradleboard, acting as a finial. The image is a compilation of several photos. I like to mess around in photoshop sending various photos through filters, etc., until I come up with an image that is somewhere between a photograph and an illustration.





In July of last year I traveled to Vermont to meet up with my sisters on Lake Champlain. My youngest sister, Lisa, and her partner, Greg, have a wonderful lake house right on the water complete with an osprey nest. Putting up a platform for the ospreys to build on was one of the first things Lisa and Greg did once they owned the property. They were rewarded almost immediately when a pair of osprey started bringing sticks to the platform and constructing their nest. That osprey nest is the center of attention of the property. With a spotting scope you can watch all the intimate details of osprey life...the day in and day out of sitting on eggs...ripping pieces of fish to feed the chicks...a little R&R for mom to just get to stretch her wings...and eventually watching the young ospreys practice flying by flapping their wings and lifting off the nest just a few inches. For the days we got to spend at the lake, we were enthralled by the ospreys. We were also enthralled by a small red-winged blackbird that just liked to hang out near the nest. Every morning we could hardly wait to look through the spotting scope to see if the red-winged blackbird was still there...and every morning, it was. We began calling this little bird, the mascot. Lisa emailed us this spring to say that the ospreys were back...and yes...the mascot was back, too. I just love that.

THE MASCOT

Perched on a branch that extended beyond the circle
of the nest, the red-winged black bird stayed ever so
close to the osprey pair, earning the nickname, the
mascot. On many occasions the mascot would fly out
to meet the male osprey as he returned to the nest, a
fish tight in his talons.

Like a vigilant shadow, the dot-of-a-bird would watch,
the feeding of the chicks...the change in the weather...
the stars as they disappeared into morning. Through
the whole summer, in what could only be called
adoration, the little mascot seemed content to only
watch and wait, a mysterious witness.

A year has gone by and the ospreys have returned.
As they shore up their nest, a small blackish bird can
be seen perched on one of the branches...it looks a
lot like a red-winged blackbird. Yes...yes...the mascot
is back...and we watch and wait in what can only be
called adoration.


This is the osprey platform and nest on Lisa and Greg's property. If you look closely you can see the red-winged blackbird sitting to the right of the nest.


This is my little sister, Lisa. We sometimes call her, bird. It must be because of those skinny legs.


My sister, Mary, on the left and me, Shane, on the right.


Another favorite thing to do at the lake was to wait until dark and take flashlights down near the water and touch huge frogs that were mesmerized by the light....so fun.


Several pieces of steel sculpture are dotted around on the property. This is my favorite, a large rusted steel arrow that has become the symbol of Lisa and Greg's property.