Owling

     Today I went to Keene State College's Rhodes Hall--a wonderful building filled with floor to ceiling illustrations from famous children's book artists. I was visiting my mom before giving a presentation to her class and like always, as I wait for her to wrap things up in her office, I find myself wandering out into the hallway to look at the collection of owls. Dr. White, the "curator" of the gallery, has set up a tradition where illustrators could contribute their own interpretation of an owl to support the literature festival as Keene's mascot is the owl. 

     Often I admire the owls, observing the uniqueness of each be it David Shannon's owl with it's bulging eyes, and desperate clutching of a coffee mug, to Betsy Lewin's very soft sketchy Barr Owl--a style I don't typically associate with Lewin (illustrator of Click Clack Moo). I love the diversity of the owls. I love the way one hundred people (they celebrated their 100th owl this year) can create such different images when all provided with the same subject. I also love guessing who did what based on styles, just as I like being amazed at how one looks so foreign from the artist's style that I am struck, intrigued if you will, that other people, other artists, also might share my challenge of multiple styles. And secretly, I love feeling like my artistic sense can have a place amongst these owls--that I can create as well as some, and learn from many others that share a space on the wall.