Sunday, July 10, 2011

Why Birds

I wanted to take some time today and answer the question of why I have themed my shop after birds.  This will take a little background and may be more word-heavy than some of my other posts.  I'll throw in some pretty pictures along the way for you visual people :)

It all started several years back.  I studied biology in school.  In college I actually double-majored in molecular biology and bioethics (that's right, I'm a nerd).  From there, I decided to further pursue my interests in biology through grad school.  I chose a program in animal behavior.  This was different than my earlier studies, but I had always felt drawn to the field and hoped to incorporate my previous biology background.  I joined a lab that studied the social behavior of birds (are you seeing where I'm going now?).

Molecular Card on etsy
Sadly, this program was not meant to be.  It turned out to be a very bad fit for me.  I didn't like the lab I was in or the research I was doing.  As much as I loved studying the behavior, I hated the way we had to treat the animals in the lab.  I still tear up sometimes thinking about it (please don't tell Jane Goodall that I ever had to hurt a bird).

Microscope Shirt on etsy

BUT, since bad things often turn out for good, I left this program early with no degree but two great things.  First, I met my husband while at school there.  Second, I gained an appreciation for birds that I had never had before.  I actually bought a book called "Painting Songbirds" while I was trying to make myself find something good about the research I was doing.  That proved a real blessing because I found I love painting birds.  There are so many gorgeous and unique species out there.

My Song Sparrow Painting on etsy- I studied these little guys.

When I started my etsy shop, I realized that I could combine my love of painting and jewelry making into one big bird-loving shop.  Each collection is named after a bird to give me the freedom to play around as well as continue to learn about more bird species.

Top Left Photo from here.  All other pieces my own.

I hope you enjoyed my explanation.  I hope it helps inspire you to know that even when life may seem like it is sucks, good things can come out of it.

I would love to hear more from you on your favorite birds species.  Do you have a favorite?

7 comments:

  1. I will always cherish our pipette olympics and other AI meeting shenanigans. :)

    And I love that card and tshirt! So nerdy and so perfect.

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  2. Thanks for sharing the background on your shop name! It's fascinating to hear those origins. Things certainly don't always go the way we planned, but I'm glad that things worked out for you.

    I've always loved ducks!

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  3. I'm glad you followed your heart and did what you thought was right in school. Hard to stop graduate study work in mid stream. Glad you met your man! {:-D

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  4. I love birds too! I used to love to watch them when we were in Missouri--so many colorful species there. Here in the NW, we don't have as many species. I think that I love blue jays and chickadees the most!

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  5. Where we live in Florida, we do not have many colorful, wild, birds. What came to our birdfeeders that I loved to see were Cardinal pairs. Often we could hear them before we would see them, it always made us happy. Another that I just love is our Mockingbird. They get to the highest point they can find and belt out their songs at the top of their tiny lungs. They are smart enough to pick up new sounds quickly, such as the ding, ding of DH's truck door when it is open!

    Glad you found your heart in more ways than one. Everything happens for a reason.

    It is facinating to learn more about you & your life.

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  6. I was a bio major at University of Virginia and all my classes were either genetics or microbiology -- I did my senior paper on prions!

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  7. Thanks for sharing your most interesting background! How wonderful that you are inspired by birds. What fascinating creatures. Did you see my posts on re-nesting baby owls. (We re-nested 3 earlier this year.) Just recently, I was privileged to watch a robin build a nest outside my window at eye level. She laid 3 eggs; only 1 hatched. I got to watch that baby develop. It was so cool!

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Thanks for your comments! I love hearing from my readers :)