Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1365748
Can you describe a time when you first realized that creating was something you absolutely had to do? One of my earliest memories was sitting on the floor in my daddy's studio (he was a painter, maker and fixer of all things). All around me were different shapes of colored paper, glue, paint, pens and pencils. I was like a kid in a candy shop with permission to play and do and make all I wanted. I was so happy and free. Holding on to that feeling is what keeps me at the table, in the chair, head down and happily focused. What inspires you? I am moved by nature in all forms, walking on the beach looking at how the sand forms, the colors and textures of the driftwood, walking in a field of waving grasses, seeing how the trees move and grow. I have a friend who knows every name (Latin, too) of plants and trees in the woods or at the coast. She is an inspiration. When I was little, I spent summer days looking intently how the roots and vines dip in and out of the water, imagining creatures and small people living there. In my garden, deep looking into flowers the tangled vines and wormy dirt, create a visceral response. Reading a poem by Mary Oliver or Stanley Kunitz, especially, can be a stimulating moment to my thinking about our relationship to our outer and inner canvases. Clay is a natural material found in the earth. It is as if I am one with nature's soul having a conversation about real and imaginary landscapes we live in. What kind of creative patterns, routines, rituals do you have? Walking every day with my dog Rosie gives me the opportunity to explore the details of the urban world. I listen to the sounds of the bird's songs, the traffic, see what house is being renovated, look at new plantings or connect to a neighbor's hello. I have several bird feeders; feeding them in my backyard garden and get- ting them to know me, digging in my garden, planting shrubs and flowers and watching the growth, witnessing the ever changing of seasons, accepting the dying and anticipating new life. What's your favorite thing you've ever created? I could say my children, both of whom have happy lives. I could say my garden, for it has given me great pleasure for many years. I could say some great dinner cooked and enjoyed. I could say my home, surrounded by the things I love and the family memories in it. I could say the paintings and ceramics I have made. So perhaps, I will say my good dreams and memories that have nourished me and given me a wealth of knowledge to prime the pump of creativity is a thing I cherish. What are you trying to communicate with your art? I invite you to hear the cardinal sing, smell the roses, imagine bubbles full of stardust in your hair as you engage with my art and me. My work evokes memories of universal feelings of loss of innocence, aging and regeneration. I use images of nature and animals and humans fusing them to witness our changing lives. Engage with my art and I hope you find a moment of sadness, a smile or a good laugh or remember one of your dreams or memories. I hope you ask questions, become curious about fantasy and reality and how the two can connect you to who you are. Above: Ginger Birdsey 5 Which creative medium would you love to pursue, but haven't yet? I would like to learn how to weld. What's the best advice you ever had about how to be more creative? I had a teacher who, instead of telling me what to do, told me in a voice of childlike wonder of the circuses she went to in France, the girl on the horse, the faces of the clowns, the magic in the air. Listen to your 6-year-old self. She will tell the truth and teach you how to play. Who is your favorite artist, and what draws you to them? Frida Kahlo because she used her entire emotional self in her art. The Surrealists because they fused the imaginary with real life. Picasso because he broke rules and took risks. Klee because he never let his child leave his side. What is your dream project? To live a good life, and to keep playing and asking questions.