gathered and lost

Over the years, I have become custodian to a small collection of nests. The largest one, with many of the support twigs still intact, was gifted to me from a neighbor who found it on her lawn one morning. Another was discovered by my husband, somewhat implausibly, in the driveway across the street. I consider them absolute treasures. These fragile little abandoned homes hold a distinctive array of grasses, straw, leaves and whatnot previously gathered by some industrious little bird.

These have inspired a number of paintings, including 'the nest' from the kingdom series.