the new york times: magnetic poetry

T. S. Eliot had it wrong. April was not the cruelest month—at least not for me—unless you count the weather in NYC. In addition to getting into some illustration competitions and being selected “Pick of the Week” by Illustration Friday, April was National Poetry Month and brought with it a new collaboration with The Learning Network blog at The New York Times. For the second year running, editors Katherine Schulten and Holly Epstein Ojalvo held their Found Poem Challenge. And what you see above is my illustration for the announcement of the winners this week. A reinterpretation of the old novelty gift magnetic poetry, the hand-lettered words represent the wide range of subjects submitted by student poets. Many thanks to Katherine and Holly, and congratulations to the 10 poets whose work will be featured on the blog.

ornithoblogical day 300: bird call for entries WINNERS!

Day 300 of Ornithoblogical is upon us! At noon EST today, the winners of the Bird Call for Entries were announced. Congratulations and thank you to everyone who participated.

Entries were received from four continents, and as you can see below, that global scope is reflected in the winners. It has been very inspiring to me, especially as I enter the latter part of this year-long, bird illustration marathon.

I’d especially like to thank my distinguished jury—Matteo Bologna, Alex Mathers, Martha Rago, Stephen Savage, and Larry Smith—without whom the Bird Call for Entries would have been as flightless as an emu.

Enjoy the rest of the year!

1ST PRIZE  Winner of a portfolio of ten signed, digital prints of her choice from Ornithoblogical.

“Re-tail Featherpy”—Elaine Hurford, Prince Albert, South Africa

5 RUNNERS UP  Winners of an official Ornithoblogical button.

“Sacs in the City”—Anne Louise Tate, Cleethorpes, England

“Tweet Street”—Richard Harrison, Montmirail, France

“Birds of a Ferragamo”—Monica Mayper, New York City, USA

“Carrier Pigeons”—Mark Rosenblum, Temple City, CA, USA

“Chickin’ Out the Competition”—Anne Louise Tate, Cleethorpes, England

ornithoblogical news

The birds of Ornithoblogical are pleased to announce the publication of Ornithoblogical: Selections from the Showcase of 365 Birdies on My Brain. Featured in this 7" square paperback are 22 illustrations from the first part of this year (hence “volume one”) including such favorites as “Swami,” “Scribe,” and on the cover, “Dot the Chicken.” Take a look at a preview of the book by clicking here.

Also this week, birds-watchers have been flocking to the new Ornithoblogical Facebook page to share the love. If you are on Facebook, and would like to get highlights from the blog in your news feed, click here. Select the “Like” button next to the heading.

You can also subscribe to receive a bird each day by clicking the orange RSS feed button located on the upper left-hand corner of my bird blog home page.

I’ll be hatching more bird-related events in the coming weeks, including the “Bird Call for Entries,” a contest to celebrate the fast-approaching day 300 of this year-long project. And there will be prizes! Details coming soon...