Reimagining the American Kestrel
In admiring John James 探花精选鈥檚 trio of American Kestrels, paper-cutting artist saw drama. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very visceral, and so I de铿乶itely wanted my bird to have some element of motion, too,鈥 she says.
Instead of diving or pecking, however, her creature hovers, a behavior common to kestrels on the hunt. Pausing above its vista, the falcon evokes grace and possibility, says White, who is based in New York鈥檚 Hudson Valley.
To create this piece, White 铿乺st sketched a faint design on lightweight, semi-translucent paper. The lines guided her incisions, applied with a No. 11 American Line blade.
In striving for visual balance, she stylized the wings and tail with an array of tiny slits while silhouetting the torso. A 铿乶al cut liberated the bird from the page. 鈥淚t鈥檚 quite a relief to see her,鈥 she says.
White has crafted many other avian species (铿乶d more in her book ). She enjoys birds of prey generally, but the聽watchful eyes of the American Kestrel especially intrigue her.
Suspended in space, her creation聽encourages us, White hopes, to 鈥渟tay in the present moment. This is where you are. You鈥檙e not in the past, you鈥檙e not in the future. Just be.鈥
This story originally ran in the Summer 2018 issue of听础耻诲耻产辞苍. To receive our print magazine,聽