"Ten for a Bird You Must Not Miss"
Playing off of the last line of the magpie rhyme (read below), this large charcoal drawing shows ten magpie feathers from the clever bird ... that you just missed seeing. The open space and falling feathers leave room for hope and imagination.
 
68"x42"
Charcoal on archival paper
 
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Having broken down the magpie rhyme "One for Sorrow" into a series of ten pieces, I focus on the attribution of fate and chance to Nature. According to the superstition of the magpie poem, dating back to late-1700s Britain, the number of magpie birds seen tells if one will have bad or good fortune: 
One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a girl
Four for a boy
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a secret, never to be told
Eight for a wish
Nine for a kiss
Ten for a bird you must not miss