"All creatures spirit me away from my thoughts into the real and present world. Because birds fly, they don't need to be unnoticeable and hide like mice do, so I, like most birders, notice them. The first time I really observed feathers was when I was twelve years old entranced by the flamingos at the Seattle Zoo. When I saw them shed orange/pink feathers on the ground and floating in their pond, I was so excited that the head bird keeper let me pick them up, put them in a bag and take them home. I sat with these feathers for hours, exploring their structure, dropping each one to watch as it twirled and floated to the earth. I still do that." 'Spark Birds' artist Chris Maynard shares more...
