Plum Creek art exhibit offers colorful, whimsical look at America’s state birds

Visitors to Plum Creek Nature Center will be treated to views of birds inside and outside of the nature center this summer.

Starting Wednesday, June 3, and running through Sunday, Sept. 6, the nature center will host a “Winged Ambassadors” art display in its bird feeder viewing room. 

The display consists of 28 paintings created by Chicago-based artist and writer Marcia Whitney-Schenck. Visitors will see creative interpretations of state birds and learn about their significance to the states that chose them.

Whitney-Schenck portrays her subject matter in playful ways. She illustrates state birds and adds visual word puns and unexpected associations.

Using watercolor, fluid acrylics, collage and even embroidery, the artist creates paintings that are far from ordinary.

“The joy Marcia finds in both birds and the artistic process will be clear to all who visit,” said Heather Van Zyl, facility supervisor at Plum Creek Nature Center. “After viewing the exhibit, visitors may see the birds in the preserve and their neighborhoods in a new light thanks to the personality on display in each piece.”

And Plum Creek is a great location for the artwork because of the many birds that flock to the outdoor feeders that are visible through the large windows, she added. 

Visual scrapbook

Whitney-Schenck said she knew she wanted to paint birds, but she wanted to make her artwork unique, so she chose to paint state birds.

“The project was to show state birds in a creative light, even amusing, not an imitation of Audubon,” she said via email. “Seven states have the same bird — the cardinal — for example. So I didn't have to do 50 paintings!”

Whitney-Schenck also infused the paintings with playful themes and imaginative storytelling. One piece, “Halloween Eve: The Return of the Thrasher,” depicts Georgia’s brown thrasher in a spooky Halloween setting complete with a cemetery and a gunman. Another, “Stealing the Limelight: The Ring-necked Pheasant of South Dakota,” shows the brightly colored bird standing on a pedestal on a fashion runway while a female model wearing a similarly patterned dress waits off to the side.

“Hopefully, the viewers might be amused and entertained — a few happy moments in a world that seems increasingly tense and sad,” Whitney-Schenck said.

The artist said many of her techniques and materials incorporate subtle personal connections and family memories. One piece includes embroidery, which reminded her of her late mother, who once tried to teach her the craft. In another work, she layered a painting over a photograph taken by her husband, who died last November. The artist described the works as containing “little bits and pieces, here and there” and called them “subtle mementos woven into a personal visual scrapbook.”

Creative connections

Plum Creek has hosted art exhibits in the past and will continue to do so in the future, Van Zyl said.

“We seek to meet visitors where they are through our programs and exhibits and inspire them to make new connections with nature,” she said. “Artists have unique ways of viewing the world around them and expressing it in different forms. Connection in any form is valuable, and we appreciate different perspectives and how others may draw inspiration from them.”

The free, all-ages exhibit also offers a fun learning experience for adults and children, she added.

“Many people are familiar with our state bird, the northern cardinal, and flower, the violet, but what about our state animal, snake, amphibian, fossil and even snack,” Van Zyl asked. “Digging into our state symbols can give the curious-minded of any age a deeper look into our state's history and present.”

Those who would like to take an early morning hike to look for birds and then view the exhibit can sign up for a "Winged Ambassadors" Avian Amble on Thursday, June 4. 

Kids interested in learning more about state symbols and creating their own art inspired by those symbols and the “Winged Ambassadors” exhibit can register for the Forest Preserve’s It’s Giving … Illinois program on Wednesday, July 8.