Birds to help heal

This spring, a local hospital purchased a few of my bird prints. The pediatric ward had been recently re-modeled and the hospital's art consultant wanted to give the space a cheerful, playful decor with a connection to nature. She was familiar with my work and thought a bird focus might work well here.

Each room with assigned a songbird identity. Thus, there is a Blue Jay room, a Chickadee room, A Cedar Waxwing room and a Goldfinch room! Every room has a set of prints of the boy and girl birder from my "Where Do Bird Live?" picture book. There is also a poster sized print of an Iowa wetlands landscape with heron (from the Iowa Nature Calendar), the "Wilson's Orchard" indigo buntings piece and several other miscellaneous bird portraits.

Today, I had a chance to see the work, now framed and hanging in the pediatric wing. It is unique to see so many of my pieces together as a collection. I loved the room identification birds! It's great to see the larger sized wetland piece; the heron is a welcoming, friendly face in one corridor.

It is also satisfying to see my art interacting with the functional aspects of hospital care-giving. My red-winged blackbird is poised right over a fire alarm. This is perfect. He is a good alarmist! All in all, I am honored to be part of this healing place and hope my birds bring some brightness to a child's time there.

Jackie's Ruby-breasted grosbeak

My friend Jackie saw two Ruby-breasted grosbeaks in her Mt. Vernon, Iowa back-yard yesterday. Another friend Mark reported last week that he'd seen a Ruby-crowned Kinglet here in Iowa City. Both are somewhat uncommon summer dwellers to this part of the state. They may be travelling north soon, but perhaps the cool spring has given them pause to stay awhile locally.

I was envious of both sightings. Mark said he planned on keeping a list of the birds he sees now. Bird-watchers of course keep a "life-list" of birds they see world wide. Even though I've written and illustrated a book on birds, I don't have an official list of birds from in my own garden. So I started one. The list sits next to my drawing board. I keep an extra eye out at the feeding tree for new-comers. Especially those with the word "Ruby" in their name.

So far:

Winter visitors:
Northern cardinal
American goldfinch
House sparrow
Blue Jay
Junko
Black-capped chickadee
Mourning dove

Summer visitors:
Ruby throated hummingbird
gray catbird
White-breasted nuthatch
chipping sparrow
American robin

Art on the Fly

If you're in the mood for some great art exhibits and a little entertaining soul-bearing about making art, please stop by the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art this Sunday. At 1pm, I'm giving a talk on the birds book. It's in conjunction with a wonderful exhibition entitled "Taking Wing", a collection of children's book art involving flying creatures. And while you're there, check out the pop-up show as well, featuring Robert Sabuda's coming-at-ya creations.

For information, go to the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art website-
www.crma.org/Event/Detail/310/Presentation-and-Book-Signing-by-Claudia-McGehee.aspx

Sphinx moth in the Yard!

Ever seen a sphinx moth? Maybe you have and thought it was a hummingbird. They are about the size of humming birds, move fairly fast and feed from flowers in the same fashion. BUT, they are distinct little guys from the insect world! I caught a couple photos of one yesterday in the same territory that I usually see hummers, right outside my studio window. Last summer, when I was finishing my bird book, a late afternoon sighting of a ruby throat would give me much needed inspiration. Although I didn't see any sphinx moths last year, I knew of their coolness. There is information in the book comparing the two creatures. Check out the moth's stripey backside!

Find the moth and the hummingbird in each photo if you can.