I had a memory pop up recently when I was teaching my son a skill all artists must learn... the M birds. You know the birds shaped like the letter M that you put in the sky whenever you make a land or seascape drawing. It brought me back to memories of my Dad teaching me the same thing. I always thought it was the coolest thing in the world and I felt like I knew a big secret. I mean how simple & brilliant was it to make a bird by making a letter M. I think I added those birds to all my pictures for years. 
I had totally forgotten about them until we were painting a house recently and I thought it was missing something. It was the birds. His turned out to look more like S's, but I think he thought it was as cool as I did when I was 5. In honor of my fond memories of the M birds (If anyone knows a cooler name, please let me know) I created this little pendant with a flock of M birds. Who knows where they're going or where they've been, but they will always remind me of my early art years. For those of you who don't have a past filled with M birds, this pendant could also represent or commemorate a journey (literal, emotional, creative, etc...) For me it represents the journey from making M birds to making a living with my art!
Here are some great flocks I found on Etsy:
Artist Credits:
1. Flock Smock by Hende.etsy.com
2. Birds in Flight Print by CuriousZoo.etsy.com
3. Birds in Flight Wall Graphic by oneupdesigns.etsy.com
4. Going Up - Together in Chaos - set of 3 prints FRAMED in 11x5 Silver Vintage Frame by flywithme.etsy.com
5. The Birds- gocco screenprinted flatnote stationery set by heatherjeany.etsy.com
M birds & M birds Pendant- blockpartypress.etsy.com
SBirds - Kyle
4 comments:
I love your M Birds Pendant! Some really fantastic Etsy finds, too.
There's something about bird images that transports me every time I think of them. Maybe it's the wings....
Oh, yes, M birds! I can't remember the last time I added those birds to a picture - I forgot all about them. But, yeah, I remember being a kid and adding those birds to every landscape I drew.
I like the way you interpreted them in clay. (Of course, I pretty much like the way you do *anything* in clay, LOL!)
I love the M bird pendant! In high school I read the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and your pendant really reminds me of that book. I adore the colors as well.
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