S is for.....so many things.....

Hello Beautiful People!

If you're already a backer and reading this missive, you surely already got the message that Alphabird hit its fundraising goal this morning. Yahoo! Thank you so much to everyone who helped me make this book happen. I've had a blast this month working on the first half of the characters and look forward to the next few months when I see it to fruition. I couldn't have done it without you, so please pat yourself on the back for a job well done. If you still want to pledge, you have until 10:30AM tomorrow PST. Click here to be a part of Alphabird!

Are you ready for our lucky 13th bird? Oh boy oh boy.....here we go!

 S is for Seymour
whose beak was two spoons,
which only encouraged
his love of show tunes.

I really had to push to get this one done for you today, but it happened! Here's an early studio shot of our friend Seymour:

 Soon after taking this photo, it dawned on me that I needed to reverse those spoons so they would resemble the awesomely simple musical instrument and not a dumb set of salad tongs. Fortunately, it wasn't too difficult a task. 

I had a great time figuring out how to interpret the gorgeous plumage of the real bird on my piece--above is a detail shot from this morning, and below is the back of the finished piece:

 I have another update on our friend Kevin the Kingfisher. When I posted this on Facebook, a conversation ensued about how the kettle drum looked like a glass of beer. I do appreciate feedback about my work, as well as a fine pint of beer.  However, I've gotta be convinced it's a valid argument before going back in on a finished piece. I think the addition of some minor hardware to this sculpture is a good one, though, so thank you. It still kinda looks like a glass of beer, but that's okay by me because I believe that all good kids books should also appeal to adults. I love your comments and feedback and encouragement.

Of course, it also gave me an opportunity to hang out at my favorite art supply store, more commonly known as a hardware store. I found some sweet little keys that look like tuning keys for my kettle drum. Here's a closer look at them:

I almost hate to do this, but in case there are any of you out there who are still thinking about grabbing one of the five remaining spots at the $350 pledge level to pick first from the original birds, I'll let you in on my present plans for the remaining 13 birds to make:
F - a Flamingo with a fiddle
G - a Goose with a gong
I - an Indigo Bunting with an ipu
J - a Junco with a jug
M - a Magpie with a marimba
N - a Nuthatch with a nose flute
O - an Owl with an oboe
Q - a Quail with a qin-qin
T - a Tanager with a tambourine
V - a Vireo with a viola
X - a Xenops with a xylophone
Y- a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker with a yu
Z-a Zebra Finch with a zither

It's a little risky announcing this now, so please contact me before the Kickstarter ends if you have your sights set on one of these projections because I might change my mind in the next month!

I'll leave you with a video of The Amazing Scotty Brothers on the spoons.  

Take care,

Hilary