Poster Image

Three blackbirds one white fly against a purple sky

$20

Item#: 2018SYR07

Purchase Details

11x17-inches, printed on heavy weight (100-pound) Hammermill cover paper. We package each print with a piece of chipboard in a clear plastic sleeve.

You also receive…

An information page with photos of the artist and poet, and hand-written comments from each.

Medium- and large-format posters are available by custom order. Contact us for details.

Blackbirds Choose One Day

poster information

Description

Blackbirds choose one day
when they prefer to wear white
to see how it feels

There were a few poems I wrote about the blackbirds, but for me this one represents one of the more overwhelming experiences I had coming to Syracuse. I would go pick my wife when she got out of work around dusk. I remember sitting in the parking lot and seeing a gathering of birds flying out of the edge of town into the trees within the city. I saw that incident at least a dozen times; blackbirds would come into Syracuse and settle in the trees for the night. I was overwhelmed by the community of the blackbirds themselves and how they treated each other. I thought it was an extraordinary example for human beings to follow. Blackbirds wearing white references each life finding comfort in a city beneath the wings of each other.

During the haiku selection process, I found myself drawn to ones that had clear visuals, a language that conveyed emotion, on which I could build upon. When I found the right one, I knew that I had to create the image that could show the feelings that I get while reading it.

As an illustrator, I pride myself on my use of color, a blend of hues that carry out the tones and feelings of the illustration. The strong image of birds changing color as the sky brightened was one of the images I received when reading the haiku—of birds transitioning at sunrise. Black to white, darkness to light. A harmonious moment frozen in time.