2023 update:  

I decided to submit 6 not yet shown Bird Collages to 2024 Smith and Vallee's Annual Bird Invitational. Read on to see the 2020 back story to this project, which birds are still available for sale and which have sold. 

chickadee, chimney swift, phoebe, screech owl, golden crown kinglet, yellow warbler ( image resources are dated 1900, and from the bird book created by 9 yr old bobby zimmerman in 1935. bobby was the father of a gal I know!  ) 

ChickadeeChickadee Chimney SwiftChimney Swift PhoebePhoebe screech owlscreech owl golden crowned kingletgolden crowned kinglet yellow warbleryellow warbler

Labor Day weekend I set aside an afternoon and pulled out a variety of magazine sources looking for birds. I was thinking ahead to the 11th annual Bird Invitational, a large group winter show hosted by Smith and Vallee Gallery in Edison. Be sure to follow them on Instagram. This will be my third year participating. I had no particular plan that weekend, I just began making merely for the love of collaging and to see what bird works I could come up with. 

Note: this post has a lot of images in it. and many different birds. I thought rather than make this post any longer than it already is. I will title the birds over at the album I made. you can click on and peek at it here.

It took me a year to perfect this particular collage technique. It mimics quilting, particularly, crazy quilt style, but with paper. 

Each stitched collage is constructed with multiple layers much like a quilt, and finished by adding a backing that is then folded over to the front and stitched. This offers a framing to each unique piece. 

Backings are mostly from fashion magazines and selected usually for their bright or matching color.

this backing has the title of the bird "crow" stitched in and pulls out things blue. this collage SOLD

These four 8x8 stitched collages are what I first made that Labor Day weekend. 

Guadalupe carcara - extinctGuadalupe carcara - extinct loonloon pyschobird - westernscrub jaypyschobird - westernscrub jay seagullseagull

I had been gifted an old ledger the summer before. In it was stationary from a chicken breeder with letters written in 1919! Chickens are birds...yes? There was also handwritten communications between her and her niece from 1922 with the sweetest bird rendering. Get a load of the vintage advertising.

The three of these were made from those materials:

Ads_Ledger_1913Ads_Ledger_1913 ledger_letter_1922ledger_letter_1922 ledger_plymouthrocks_1922ledger_plymouthrocks_1922

But then a friend of mine completely surprised me with a package in the mail.  In it was a variety of torn magazine pages, something she sends from time to time. Plus a remarkable treasure of a bird book, hand-made in 1935 by a 9 year old boy, Bobby Zimmerman - the father of a dear and mutual friend.

Also included were 2 envelopes of vintage bird and floral illustrations.

I could hardly believe it!!

She had no idea that I was working on a bird theme!

I know it takes a little something to tear apart something so dear, but the bird book was sent to me for that reason. And so I began to make. I did so in an order that I thought honored and grouped the like looking resources within that book.

I first made these three. The blue are strips from the cover of the original bird book. Each has similar strips from a variety of sources making them look quite wonderful all together. These have since SOLD.

purple martinpurple martin SOLD red headed woodpeckerSOLD red headed woodpecker wood thrushwood thrush

I made these two which delightfully ...SOLD, to a collector for her holiday gifting!

SOLD ovenbird and warblerSOLD ovenbird and warbler

I actually had a lot of interest in these 8x8 stitched collage pieces as I was making them. Which I loved so much. But, I decided to pause that interest until I knew what I planned to submit to "BIRDLAND" and what the gallery selected. This was the first time as an artist that I had to do that. 

These 5 bird illustrations are dated back to 1900:

ChickadeeChickadee Chimney SwiftChimney Swift PhoebePhoebe screech owlscreech owl golden crowned kingletgolden crowned kinglet yellow warbleryellow warbler

I turned the one below into my holiday greeting for 2020, later the original was SOLD:

tufted tit mousetufted tit mouse

I then began to develop a plan for the 20 bird illustrations. I planned to make all 20 in a row. I cut the one inch strips in advance, including strips from the wildflower illustrations. I selected backings ahead of time. I did that so that the making would be seamless and complimentary to each other. These were way way fun to make. 

As a collective once finished they sure made quite the grouping! Which is what showed in the BIRDLAND exhibit!

Since 2021, the Crow SOLD, The Blue Jay was published in a literary magazine at UC Davis, groupings showed at Smith and Vallee ( as i've already mentioned ), at Allied Arts Gallery,  the quail and brown thrasher showed at Schacktober Fest 

NFSNFS NFSNFS NFSNFS NFSNFS NFSNFS NFSNFS NFSNFS NFSNFS NFSNFS NFSNFS NFSNFS NFSNFS NFSNFS NFSNFS NFSNFS NFSNFS NFSNFS NFSNFS NFSNFS

mock 8x8 squares quiltmock 8x8 squares quilt

These below were the last three 8x8's made from the bird book.

SO MANY BIRDS!!

w_crayon_age9w_crayon_age9 Robin in the rainrobin in the rain Bobolink PairBobolink Pair  

Finally, I had to decide what to do with two larger illustrations. I was OK cropping all of the other birds but these needed to be whole. These two 12x12 stitched collages are what transpired - Both SOLD

The blackbird one had immediate interest and once I heard back from the gallery - it SOLD! On the back of it I had put the title from the original bird book and the paper fastener that young Bobby used to hold his book together.

SOLD - mama bluebird and babiesSOLD - mama bluebird and babies

SOLD - blackbirdsSOLD - blackbirds Bird Book 1935Bird Book 1935