Inspiration

The Conference of the Birds is a general title of several suites of prints inspired  by a beautiful and complex narrative poem entitled The Conference of the Birds, by 12^th century Iranian Sufi poet Farid Ud-Din Attar.  

 The first suite of prints, Nightingale and Rose 1 to 6  is a series of studies of images on Iranian decorative lacquer-work objects. The prints  reference  my response as a reader to Attar’s poem. 

The bird motif is continued through four more series of prints where I use a wide range of references to explore: the processing of new ideas (Mind Sets), observation and the role of the observed (Points of View), the issue of trust and accepting advice (Sightings/Citings), and the survival of beauty (Peacocks)

 

Contrary to the usual conventions of still life these birds are living creatures; their life is the life of the mind.

Mindsets  ( details)