Tupelo, brass rod, card stock (leaves) and acrylics

Dimensions = 10 3/4 inches high x 6 inches wide.
The bluebird itself is 2 2/4 inches long


This piece is intended to portray the rather harsh conditions these birds endure to make their living.
In my area, they are found in both high elevations (up to 9,000 feet) and in lava and sage plain habitats, as shown.
Conditions are often windy and dry, but an astonishing variety of life thrives here.
Look closely and you'll see a lady beetle hiding amongst the sage leaves. Not a particularly tasty morsel, as experienced birds know, so it's uncertain whether the bird will take it or leave it be.

THIS PIECE HAS WON THE FOLLOWING AWARDS:

Decoy & Wildfowl Carvers Association Wildlife Arts Festival - October, 2005:
2nd Place, Open Decorative Miniature Songbirds
3rd Best of Show, Open Decorative Miniature Songbirds

East Carolina Wildfowl Guild Arts Festival - February, 2006:
2nd Place, Open Miniature Decorative Songbirds

It was also the featured work in The Do-It-Yourself Network's "Woodscuplting", a series profiling artists who work in wood, which aired in August, 2007.