Starting Small
Works featured in the Little Museum at University of Virginia's Fralin Museum of Art, Aug 27-Sep 23, 2021.
In May of 2021, we moved from Chicago to Charlottesville, VA. The first neighbors we met were birds.
House finches at the feeder outside my studio window.
Just a few weeks earlier, we’d lost our cat of 19 years. But now we had birds. So we catered to them. Then we had squirrels, mice and bears. We’re mostly back to feeding just birds now. Thanks to the squirrel-proof feeder and the gate (bears can hop fences, but ours is lazy).
It would have been way easier to take the feeders down. But I was starting to get why so many people got into birding during the pandemic. You never knew who you might spot. And when a newcomer arrived and you learned its name, it was like making a new friend.
So it was a no-brainer when I needed a subject for the Little Museum.
Basic anatomy of the miniature birds.
The 1:12 scale requirements meant the birds could be no more than 3/4" long. I’m sure the pros achieve this kind of smallness with tools. I was stuck with my hands, however. I learned to put a lump of clay onto a piece of wire, then shape it using the “stick” as a handhold. Binder clips and foil kept the birds from falling over in the oven. Once they were cool, I sanded off the ridges left behind by my fingerprints.
Birds ready for baking. In the deep-dish pizza pan, of course!
The birdseed is made of ground mustard seeds, black pepper and coriander. The spices were mixed with white glue until pliable, molded into cakes and left to dry.
Spice mixture before adding glue.
To get the proper 3D look on the hanging feeders, they had to be suspended somehow. The easiest way to make a stand that looked gallery-ish? Wooden letters from Michael's! They had three lowercase "L"s in stock- two for stands, one for practice.
Game of Cat and Mouse, actual size 1-1/2” x 1-1/2” x 3”.
Like the tiny free libraries that inspired the Little Museum, birds were a bright spot for many during the pandemic. These mini versions will be up for grabs at the close of the exhibition. I hope they bring a smile to someone in Charlottesville that needs it.