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• 1 media/Screen Shot 2021-04-14 at 11.11.17 AM.png 2021-04-23T15:29:14+00:00 Ornithology Slide 21 Object 3 Submission plain 2021-05-13T03:33:05+00:00

  By Catherine Raupe

  Herbert Keightley Job worked as an economic ornithologist in Connecticut from 1912 to 1924. Ornithology is a branch of zoology that is the scientific study of birds. Job established an ornithological station in Amston, Connecticut, and also served as a field agent for the Audubon Society in South Carolina. Herbert Job was an early promoter for bird conservation. He saw birds as creations of God and believed that citizens had a “holy obligation” to protect them. Job followed in the footsteps of John James Audubon; however, instead of hunting the birds, he took pictures of them. His 1905 book Wild Wings gained the attention of Theodore Roosevelt, who then created the Key West National Wildlife Refuge in Florida in 1908. Job was able to accompany Roosevelt on a visit to the breaches of Louisiana. On this trip, he took pictures of birds which are now archived in the Library of Congress.  
  
  It was quite challenging to choose only one slide from the collection as there are so many wonderful birds in it. Realistically I would not be able to include the whole collection in our cabinet as there are 770 slides. I ultimately settled on a slide of purple finches titled “Purple Finches Eat Sunflower Seed, Derby, Connecticut.” I was initially drawn to this photo because of the bright red head of the bird in the foreground. I found it quite striking, and it immediately drew my eye. As I looked at the slide in more detail, I noticed how there is quite a bit of photographic layering. The green plants (which I think are evergreen sprigs) layering combined with the layering of the four finches, was something that my eye thoroughly enjoyed.
  
  I recently have wanted to try my hand at specimen and bird sketches. My original thought was to create a collection of bird sketches in response to the slides; however, I remembered a new form of art I had recently stumbled across called tea spill art. The process is simple, you make tea and spill it on paper of your choice. I used a cold-pressed watercolor paper so that the piece would have some texture. I used Irish Breakfast tea for a rich color and poured it onto the paper, trying not to pay attention to how the spills were forming. I wanted the spills to be natural and not manipulated by me into specific shapes. 
  
  After spilling the tea and letting it dry overnight, I sketched some in my sketchbook. I wanted to practice sketching the birds first as I mainly focus on the human figure in my drawings and was not well versed in the figure of the bird. When I felt I had a reasonable understanding of sketching birds, I used a black gel pen and sketched birds on the tea spills. I had a few birds that I wanted to include in mind such as the finches, barn owl, and young mallards. I would look at the tea spills to see which bird would fit in which spill best. It was a very enjoyable process and something I would enjoy doing again. 

  Lantern Slide citation

  Job H. Keightly, "Purple Finches Eat Sunflower Seed, Derby, Connecticut overall," 4 x3.25 in, Watkinson Library.