“The starlings, they were flying earlier today, doing their maneuvers, clouds of feathers on display. Makes me want to kneel and pray, but I’ve forgotten what to say. I’ll just name all the birds in Ohio.” - All Over Ohio, Over the Rhine

This series came to me from a line in a song. I absolutely loved the idea of being moved to prayer by the astounding beauty of the natural world, and not quite knowing or remembering how to connect to the spiritual anymore. And the idea of just listing every single bird in a state as a way to start.. Well, I took the idea quite literally. My apologies to Linford and Karin for using the birds of Kentucky rather than Ohio, but our states are neighbors. I figured they would understand.

And so I began. It was really as simple as that. A list of every single bird that can be found in the state of Kentucky. This project gave me a chance to practice the beautiful, looping calligraphy with embellishments and flights of fancy that had been one of my favorite things about my previous career as a pastry chef. And I began to imagine a medieval monk, writing a list, a book of prayers or hours or devotion, illuminating the calligraphy as she went. Because of course, in my imagined version of the past, she was a woman.

And as I wrote and illuminated, these paintings became my prayer. A noticing, a naming, an appreciation of the many remarkable details, the sheer creativity and joy of nature.

Prints available for the Book of Birds series. Archival ink, museum-grade paper. 16x20. $75.