Feathers

I love The Notebook, but I may be a bit biased. You see, my name is Ali. So in all of those steamy, heart-throbbing scenes between Noah and Allie, I can simply close my eyes and imagine that Ryan Gosling is talking to me. Pure. Bliss.

My favorite part is when Noah unabashedly exclaims, “If you’re a bird, I’m a bird!” I can’t help but to respond out loud, passionately screeching at the screen, “Yes-yes-yes-yes-yes!” Yes, Ryan, yes. Let’s be birds and fly and have a cozy little nest where we live and play and raise a happy little bird family. True lovebirds!

While my Ryan Gosling crush may be fleeting, I’ve always had a thing for birds. I simply adore them all – swans, elegant owls, dark ravens, proud peacocks, even pigeons! And so when I saw Chris Maynard’s beautiful bird photography, I was immediately smitten as a sparrow.

In Maynard’s work, the subject becomes the medium, and the medium then becomes the subject again, as he skillfully transforms bird feathers into tiny, intricate bird cutouts.

I truly admire the time and finess it must take to create each detailed piece.

And I especially love the round about subject-medium relationship. The feather is the bird, and the bird is the feather. A true chicken and egg piece of art!

Maynard’s work depicts growth, transformation and beauty in a truly pure and unique form.

There is something so whimsical about a feather, so magical about the art of flight. 

I’m quite inspired by Chris Maynard’s work, and might try something similar in my next design exploration. Until then, x