This piece centers on a leucistic crow of my imagination also known (to me) as Lucinda—its pale feathers set it apart in a world where sameness often feels like safety. In crow communities, a bird that looks different can face rejection, not because of what it does, but because of how it looks. It’s a mirror of how we humans react to visible difference—how quickly we judge, exclude, or fear what doesn’t fit our expectations. Leucism becomes a symbol here for all the ways people stand out: by body, by background, by belief. But this crow also carries something else: resilience. Despite being marked as ‘other,’ it survives, adapts, and, sometimes, is accepted—not because it masked itself, but because it persisted. This work is a call to see beauty in imperfection, to challenge prejudice, and to consider what it means to truly belong without erasing what makes us unique.

I like to think we are all perfectly made, and our differences do not need to be perceived as imperfect but as strengths. Our very differences can add to a community and strengthen it. In a perfect world we would all be embraced for our imperfections.

I wanted to capture the beautiful blue black of a crow without using a solid color by combining a variety of black fabrics. It was challenging to add the white feathers in a way that seemed natural so I cut the white feathers and dropped them from above…. where they landed was where I stitched them down.

I wanted the crow to off the surface of the background in order to cast some shadow and give a 3D appearance. This shows in person but is hard to capture in a photograph.

Another challenge that occurred was my first set of crow feet were too small. I was reminded of the Aunt Pitty Pat character from Gone With the Wind. I tried to embrace the comically small feet but could not let them stand ( pun intended).

During the creation time of this piece our little murder of crows was teaching fledglings how to forage, the babes were pretty raucous and belligerently grabbing food out of the beak of its parent…. the adults were so patient with them. It caused me to wonder if one of these babes had been leucistic would it have received the same treatment and teaching from the parents? I would like to think so and still the obnoxious behavior might have given a second thought especially if behavior determines acceptance. Thankfully, our fledglings have learned to forage and Baby Squawker ( worked extra hard to learn) has begun to pick up and even stack peanuts and fly them away to eat later. It was a long noisy month!

On the Rocks… Lucinda

41 x 35.5

This art is raw edge applique collage, thread painted and beaded.

Materials: Commercial cloth, thread and beads. Inspired by a photograph of Dennis ( Hopper) in the rocks below our Wych Elm.