Poster Image
$20
Item#: 2007SYR03
Purchase Details
11x17-inches, printed on heavy weight (100-pound) Hammermill cover paper. We package each print with a piece of chipboard in a clear plastic sleeve.
You also receive…
An information page with photos of the artist and poet, and hand-written comments from each.
Medium- and large-format posters are available by custom order. Contact us for details.
Ten Below Zero
poster information
Description
Ten below zero
Chickadees go on chirping
Outside my window
Four or five years ago, in January, we had several days below zero, and it was just cold, cold, cold. I was feeling, “Why do I live here? Winter is so long, and just getting a little too challenging.”
Then I had one of those haiku moments. I looked outside the window, and there were chickadees on the frozen grapevines, chirping up a storm. And I was thinking, “Well, if they can chirp in that air, it can't be so bad.” It was a sweet moment, and just lifted my spirits.
A lot of the haiku seemed abstract, or I didn't really understand what they were about. But when I read this one, it immediately created a strong image. I was, like, “Oh, if it's 10 below zero, those birds are going to be mighty cold. They should probably have some clothes on.” So it went from there.
I tried to think of the viewers' age group, the audience who would be looking at the posters. I pictured mostly families, like a mother and her child, or old ladies. So I painted something very P.G. rated. My other work is more about science fiction and fantasy, and I usually do realistic renderings. But here the birds are cartoonish, almost like characters from Roger Rabbit.