Birds of a Feather-We Are One Skate Deck Art

***SOLD at AUCTION for Ottawa Mission and Operation Come Home Ottawa Chapter. Hosted by Beyond the Pale Brewing Company and curated by Daniel Martelock.***

I am constantly thinking about how every other creature on this planet and the flora have figured out the secret to life: coexistence, co-creation, working together is how best to thrive in this biological life. The proteas capping top and bottom of this deck are some of the oldest flowers, with lots of fossilized remains being found of them thanks to their woody outer bracts. Some of these have evolved to rely on mammals more than bugs to spread their seeds, focusing their low level uv fluorescence down near the ground. Little critters like mice can stick their heads in or even crawl right in and those strong outer bracts can support them while they snack away and then spread their seeds around as they scurry off. Gosh, flowers and plants are tops when it comes to befriending others to help their species survive and thrive. The little spotted pardalote is an Australian native, a small species that lives all over, forest and city.. but there are less than 1000 left of them and act as a reminder that other populations are vulnerable to our actions. Of course, in my head birds and reptiles are tied together and iguanas are just such cool reptiles, herbivores made for fast sprinting and extended periods of just chilling and soaking up the sun. I need lots of sun time too. When I chose to add a human face and make it a self-portrait at that, I couldn’t think of a better way to highlight how we should be interconnected with everything that we share this earth with. Perhaps my choice in animals to draw this connection with has a lot to do with the animals that I’m obsessed with too. The birds of paradise plant are not only a direct brain correlation to the title of the board, but also their plant symbolism is of freedom, growth and transformation that can lead to a achieving a higher state of living. And with the way this world is oscillating right now, this is the exact essence that we need to lean into to be the change we want to see... oh and yes my unhealthy crush on Billie and my obsession with her song titled the same was the jumping off point to all of this.