By Melanie Kallas Ricklefs
As I approached Chris Maynard’s art studio in Olympia, I couldn’t help but notice the number of birds zipping around over the landscape. When Chris came out, the birds seemed to gravitate toward him. A few moments later I found out why. One of Chris’s favorite pastimes is to blow feathers up into the air from a long tube, and watch as the birds come to compete for them. He has five species of swallows on his property, including barn swallows that use these feathers to build their nests. Chris also raises geese, Heritage Turkeys, and Impeyan Pheasants. All of these birds, and so many more, provide inspiration for Chris’s unique form of artwork.
Chris grew up in a household where creativity was always encouraged. His mother was an artist who painted in watercolors, oil, and Sumi-e before ultimately going blind and turning to the art of poetry. She encouraged her children to paint, and allowed them the freedom to create works of art from any material they could find. When Chris was 12 years old, he visited the zoo and found flamingo and peacock feathers on the ground. He was captivated by the natural beauty embodied in the feathers. The head bird-keeper let him bring the feathers home, where he used them to decorate a lampshade for his little sister. This was Chris’s first piece of feather art.
Chris’s art has evolved significantly in the years since that lampshade. He started by photographing whole feathers in a multitude of designs to showcase their innate beauty, structure, and form. Chris uses feathers as his medium because he wants “to foster an understanding and appreciation of the natural world.” The colors and shapes of the patterns on the feathers intrigue him, as they do so many of us, but the form is what draws Chris to feathers.
When creating feather shadow boxes, Chris allows each feather to retain its natural curve rather than flattening it to its background. In this way, the feather casts a unique shadow on its background, while retaining the form that speaks to its original function. Chris described that “each flight feather curves a bit to form an airfoil,” while body feathers curve differently, like shingles on a roof that can be expanded, or contracted, to adjust for air and water flow. Chris’s artwork is designed to capture the essence of birds, whether in flight, or at rest.
Chris views every feather as a “small bit of perfection that art cannot enhance.” To Chris, feathers represent “flight, transcendence, bridges between worlds, and escape.” He feels that he is detracting from the feathers in a way by cutting them, but he does so to augment the meaning of each piece. We all tend to look for meaning in life, and in art. It is the meaning that draws us to a certain painting, or sculpture, and there are endless ways of manipulating objects in space to create new meaning.
Chris says that when he holds a feather, he often finds himself “in the middle of three spaces of perception: wonder and awe at the form; a small sense of connection to the feather’s original owner; and the desire for creative construction, with the accompanying thought, ‘How can I manipulate this into elegant, compelling, and meaningful art that will make people stop and wonder?’”
When I first saw one of Chris’s shadow boxes, I was fascinated. Not only was it incredibly unique, but he managed to create a sense of movement, of flight, using finely cut pieces of feather, each tiny piece cut to resemble the feather’s original owner. Chris’s favorite tools are his tiny eye surgery scissors, forceps, and magnifying glasses that were passed down to him from his father. His father was an ophthalmologist, and used those tools for an entirely different purpose, but the precision involved in his surgeries and Chris’s art requires the same fine instruments.
Chris gets his feathers from zoos and aviaries, so no birds are harmed in obtaining his materials. He views his art as recycling the feathers lost by birds. While Chris says that turkey feathers are the easiest to work with, his favorite feathers are those of the Great Argus Pheasant, which are large with intricate designs. One of Chris’s photographic pieces is a feather alphabet found in the designs of Great Argus Pheasant feathers.
Chris’s recently published book entitled Feathers, Form & Function includes a collection of his artwork, along with his thoughts about the biology and meaning of feathers. Some of his pieces will be on display in the Lieutenant Governor’s office of the Capital Building throughout July and August. In September, he will be presenting at TEDxOlympia 2015.
To learn more about Chris, view his artwork, or follow his blog, visit www.featherfolio.com. You can also visit his art on display at Childhood’s End Gallery in downtown Olympia.
