Drawn to the Earth, Like a Bird

All 30 pieces of my art for the Drawn to the Earth exhibit are ready to hang. As these visionary maps unfolded in my mind, I came to see them as a bird would. My longtime love of drawing and painting birds truly gave me a bird’s-eye perspective of the series. And yesterday, for the Equinox, we embedded tiny seeds in the freshly amended soil outside the studio, hoping the birds would spare them, even though the insects probably won’t. (By the way, we spread diatomaceous earth in the planting zones to handle insect pests.)

Blue Planet Closeup, Diatoms, watercolor, drawing collage by Kathleen O’Brien, 7.5×7.5″

Do birds, such as the springtime Robins hopping across the lawn, think of our terraced gardens as full of good luck? I certainly do, but maybe that’s my bird’s-eye ability to spot the occasional four-leaf clovers as we briskly walk the trails around the farm!

“Blue Planet Closeup, 4 Leaf Clover Garden“, watercolor, drawing collage by Kathleen O’Brien, 7.5×7.5”

My fantasy is that the high-flying Eagle also sees the earth this way. When I painted Blue Planet Closeup, River Ocean, it captured my desire for the earth’s water to be restored to a pristine state that would allow all critters to flourish.

“Blue Planet Closeup, River Ocean“, watercolor, drawing collage by Kathleen O’Brien, 7.5×7.5”

Please stop by the gallery during the show and share your words & images in the community journal, We Are All Geographers. This journal will capture everyone’s answers to the question, “Where on Earth are YOU?” After the exhibit, a PDF of the journal will be emailed to all attendees. However, if you can’t attend in person but still want to contribute, contact me during the event and I’ll add your thoughts to the journal.