Bessie Bird Post Card Bead-Bellied Block Feather

Bessie is one of my small friends, the whimsical creatures who visit or inhabit my studio. She is featured in the "Small Friends' Chronicles," a 70-page collection of whimsical creatures' portraits and stories available at http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3479674. She was an undistinguished grey bird who changed her life in a cabin in the North Woods when she met a Committed Crafter, whose toolkit and workbench are the envy of all. The always-busy Crafter keeps to herself while quietly creating work that is beloved by small children and adults who wish that they were still small children. Bessie flew into the window and landed in a pot of orange dye. Shaking herself dry, the dye showered onto a silk scarf, creating a beautiful, unpredictable pattern which was the beginning of a great partnership. They collaborate on silk scarves, incorporating Bessie's Dye Shakes, and on ceramic tiles that capture her Dance Tracks. Bessie is a champion at the Cha-Cha and an innovator in Hip-Hop. When practicing new dance steps in front of a low-temp glue gun, she tripped and fell into a bowl of bright beads. "Wow!" In addition to changing up her beads, she often changes the colour and shape of her Block Feathers with hair gel. Bessie's rumoured "other career" as Undercover Avienne may be the subject of a major motion picture in 2016. Find the original watercolor for Bessie and more of Susan Gainen's small friends at http://www.susangainen-nanoscapes-smallfriends.com/.