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Nature is a source of inspiration and a catalyst for my imagination. I love birds and they frequently appear in my paintings. Birds live among us; they are omnipresent yet overlooked. During the lockdown this spring, the city became so quiet that people were able to appreciate the ambient birdsong. When this Lesser Goldfinch died in my backyard, I felt compelled to capture its delicate and ephemeral nature. Whether taken as a metaphor (canary in the coal mine) or literally, birds reflect the beauty and vulnerability of our natural world. The barbed wire is not simply decorative. Although I do appreciate its aesthetic qualities, it is replete with negative associations. 150 years ago, the invention of barbed wire radically transformed America’s open plains, severely impacting native species and indigenous peoples.

Kathryn Selleck

cwaxwing5@gmail.com