Nature Messages From Artist In Residence, Diana Sudyka

In the past two months, artist Diana Sudyka spent a few weekends at Spring Bird’s Cottage as the 2020 Artist In Residence. Not only did Diana work on completing an author/illustrator project, which I eagerly await seeing in print, but she also painted the nature she encountered on antique envelopes. 

The Crow and The Barn owl (in the photos above) are two from her recent series. These prints are very special to me. They have a creative connection to Spring Bird. Crow is a symbol of Martha, the previous dweller of this home and land, when it was called Siloam. 

Crow is also a featured character in a story that I am writing. I love the oak leaves that surround Crow. They are the exact perfect color!

Barn owls visit us frequently and haunt us with their screeching, which Diana even painted coming from the owl’s beak in a green curl.

The envelopes themselves were postmarked in Woodstock and Huntley, two nearby cities. My ancestors had a farm in Woodstock, and it’s where my kids go for their violin lessons. The envelopes were mailed to Chicago and Berwyn – two cities near our former home in Oak Park. 

They were time stamped in 1941 and 1939, and they include the time of day along with their date. I found this curiously precise. I have always loved mail, but I have a new respect for it since my partner became a mail carrier this year! 

These ephemera hold such bits of information – nibbles of memories  and personal histories. Now they are painted lovingly by an artist who captures the magic of nature and its daily presence in our lives. 

Sometimes certain encounters even feel like messages. This morning I saw three hawks. One crossed my path twice. I found myself wishing I was a Roman diviner of birds. What does this mean? A recent cottage guest spotted a Great Horned Owl perched above him in a tree. These encounters come to us as messages and reminders of our interconnectedness with Nature, and Diana Sudyka’s art is a perfect reflection of that relationship! Thanks Diana!

Learn more about Diana’s work as and artist and illustrator here!