Bird-Brain Revisited
Bird-brain or ‘eats like a bird’ are cliches often repeated, but not understood. Let’s take a look.
A VISITOR APPEARS
Some years ago in late June, I was returning up the hill from my country mailbox on the county road.
As I was walking along the pebbled driveway and getting closer to my cabin in the mountains, I noticed an unusual moving speck of blue on the floor at my door. What’s this? As I got closer, I now saw the owner of the lovely mid-tone blue.
There on the doormat stood a tiny young parakeet, blue and white, whose feathers were dirty and his breathing heavy. How he had managed to stay alive in the dangerous desert was a mystery. He had somehow survived predators and a hard time out there in the wilderness. The blue cere above his beak indicated that he was a male.
I bent down. He looked directly at me, ruffled his feathers. I wanted to help him. I reached out and he made a few chirps then immediately hopped onto my finger. Great, I thought, he’s hand-trained. I brought him inside where I placed him in a small birdcage that I happened to have. I added water and seeds to the cups. He guzzled the water with zest. He was completely dehydrated. He left the seeds alone and tucked his head over his shoulder, immediately falling asleep on a perch. As he was hand trained, he must be someone’s pet. I’ll have to check in the small mountain town.
A REVELATION
The next morning my guest was wide awake, nibbling on the seeds. That’s good to see. After a while, I opened the cage door and slowly placed my finger inside. He refused to hop on and moved from me in a calm manner. Not gonna do it was his expression. A bit later, he stepped out of the cage and flew about the cabin, chirping. I tried to get him to alight on my finger, but no. He would flit away from here to there. Eventually, he flew back into the cage.
He was not hand trained at all; he was completely wild.
Later that day, I put up a few posters asking whether anyone had lost a parakeet. A week and then another week went by, but no one reported a missing bird. By now, the parakeet had been eating, grooming, looking very healthy, and was beginning to trust me by hopping on my finger. So, it soon became clear that my rescued parakeet had come to dinner and stayed.
His name was Aldo the Brave.
THE OBJECT LESSON
Although Aldo was wild, he had made a quick decision. He saw me as a port in the storm, a risk worth taking, and hopped on. His bird brain was not an insult but remarkably intelligent. Aldo had played me, and I didn’t mind. Over the years, Aldo proved himself an intelligent empathic creature.
Eat like a bird also means the opposite, as birds are voracious eaters. But birds of a feather does speak true. And dumb or dead as a dodo is not what you think.
Diligence in what you say or repeat increases one’s awareness. And as for artists: if you repeat cliches mindlessly, how then can your art be original?
CONNECTING ON A DEEPER INTUITIVE LEVEL
My art-making is based on the physical flow of spontaneous intuition, which involves a remarkable journey. Impulses of energy and information surge down my arm and, through improvisation, I compose visual jazz with line and color. If the art-making is magic, then the art is magic.
What does the above painting Animal Spirits reveal to you? There is no right or wrong answer. Trust your feelings, not the opinion of others, including art critics and so-called experts. Remember, if you see it, then it’s there. Enjoy. Click on the painting for more details.
To get a better feel for the scope and range of my art, please visit my collection of original Fine Art prints: each signed print features museum-quality materials, permanent pigment inks, plus acid-free matting that I attach to the artwork using conservation best practices.
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Portrait of Aldo the Brave | Eden Maxwell
Animal Spirits | original fine art print | Eden Maxwell