Blackbird singing in the dead of night...........

There is an old amusement park up on Van Dyke in Utica. To my knowledge, it's been closed for a very long time. I remember bringing my girlfriend's daughter there when she was around four years old. That was over 30 years ago. At the time, the park was fairly run down. I'm not sure when it closed down, but I'm always surprised to see the sign in place and the property undeveloped all these years later. The equipment is rusted and tangled succumbing to the damage brought about by Michigan winters. There is something haunting and lonely about a broken distressed carousal . Is it possible that on a bright moonlit night, when no one is looking, blackbirds take a spin on the eerily beautiful magical ride of so many yesterdays?

And of course, baby birds!!

Here is another of my silly birds!

"Cheep" Thrills

Okay, maybe it's the sunshine, maybe it's the warm air, maybe it's the flowering trees...not sure...only know that when Spring finally comes to Michigan, my thoughts turn to birds, nests, and eggs. I know what you're thinking, we just celebrated Easter Patti, of course you've been thinking about eggs! True, but I actually started thinking about birds well before Easter.

Each Spring, I tend to think about birds. My art begins to reflect those thoughts and I have to get it out of my system before I can move on to other projects. I think birds represent more than Easter basket "peeps" to me. I think they represent rebirth, starting anew, second chances....Isn't that what spring is? Each year we get a whole new set of opportunities, sort of like a clean slat washed clean by the rains and melting snow. The birds reappear (after summering south), build new nests, and lay their eggs. It's as though through that simple act of procreating, they send us a message of hope and possibilities for the coming days.

Though I've made a variety of bird projects over the years, this year my birds took a decidedly comical turn. I've come to think of them as my "goofy ass looking birds". I'm thrilled with the way they've turned out .............