Love Birds

Bali Mynah Love Birds, hand made, slip and glaze painted ceramic wall platter 13" diam. Cathy Kiffney

May I suggest most gently for the sake of these little birds and so many more please, do not support the use feathers as a decorative accessory, I am seeing them more lately. It has always been a fad and because of that many wonderful creatures are experiencing horrible suffering becoming endangered or are already extinct. Another reason for decline is the pet bird trade and loss of habitat.  The Bali Mynah is one of the world's most critically endangered birds.   In fact, it has been hovering immediately above extinction in the wild for several years.
This is a new platter from my slip painted series, Bali Mynah Love Birds, 13" diam.

The only lasting beauty

is the beauty of the heart.  Rumi

Fireplace Surrounds Commissions

I've been going through old floppy disks and CD's trying to organize old pictures. It is soooo hard! Some of the old pictures are just horrible.  These are a couple commissions from many years ago, I wish I had a better image of it.  I took this shot with my first digital camera that was a 1.3 megapixel! 

Commissions

This project was very exciting for me--I was commissioned to create a series of 22 colorful bird platters and the work was placed in each room of the children's hospital.  Studies support the idea that representational art depicting nature can have a beneficial effect on patients experiencing stress and anxiety.  I just love the idea of each room and each child having its own little birdie. I don't need any studies to confirm this to me, just that the kids are liking them and enjoying them is what is important! This project was for Park Nicollet Health Services, St. Louis Park, MN. The art was handled by Dreblow Fine Art Associates. Mary Dreblow is a joy to work with.  Here are just a few...

Hope is the thing with feathers...

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.    Emily Dickinson

Just listed this little bird on my Etsy site!

Summer Dream

More from my archive, Summer Dream, triptych, 22x30",  circa 2002
Happy New Year!

Have a Warm Winter Solstice and Happy Holidays!

Birdsong can conquer the gloom of shorter winter days-- in case you don't have any birds singing in your yard here is a link to listen to a audio clip. Happy Holidays!

Archive

I've been going through some old slides of work in the hope that I can eventually get them all scanned and edited.  Some of the slides are pretty bad, the exposure is wrong and the color is off, but I hope with photoshop I can fix them up a bit--at least enough to be presentable.
These two pieces are from around 1999-2001. 

Cathy Kiffney, Butterfly and Flowers Fan, 15 x 13 x 2", 2001

Cathy Kiffney, Rabbit and Roses Fan, 17 x 12 x 2, 1999

The Sly Red Fox

The Sly Red Fox, 9 inches diameter

When I see all the new pieces from this winter and fall I can really tell how the look of my work is changing--less carving and glazing and more surface painting with slips. I'm at a place where I am wondering where it will go...exciting but hard!
Just listed this piece on my Etsy site.

Chicken or the Egg?

Chicken and Egg Plate, 9" hand made hand painted ceramic wall hanging plate
Cathy Kiffney