We were invited to be part of an Artists' Group Show in downtown Chicago.  Much to our surprise, the curator could only accept drawings that hang on walls.  Our artwork usually appeals to the lesser used spaces such as that under the stairs, or under a beam, so we were surprised at this request.   We can always find something.  Moreover, since they already reached their quota with photographs, they were specifically seeking drawings or paintings.  We had to bend our brains, and this is our submission.

 

My son Christopher, 5 years old, designed this birdhouse from the set of small sticks with which he plays.  He named this birdhouse design the "USS Bird", with reference to the name "USS Ship".  This was in honor of his godfather Maestro Ruggiero Ricci who played the violin for the military during World War II.

 

This birdhouse design is simply a very difficult object to draw.  There are many many small pieces that need to be represented in the drawing.  Each of the perspectives must be absolutely perfect.  We perfected a technique that gave us fantastic results.  High Intensity Reflecting tape is placed on the ends of the beams in order to fully develop the design.  When these bits of tape shine, they light up the entire birdhouse drawing.  The background is a collection of photographs of the depths of space.  This is a very realistic and robust Mock Up of the "USS Bird" Birdhouse.