“The Gift of Art” show continues (February)

"Details" by Miriam Adams. Graphite and watercolor on paper. A pale brown heart-shaped leaf with a long petiole, two feathers, and a gray and white stone.

“The Gift of Art” is our off-season art show.

This often-changing exhibit displays varied works from previous shows, selections from our gift shop, and elements of our long-term collections. See how art weaves together myriad media, styles, and visions. What’s present in March may be quite different from what we place in November, so consider a repeat visit!

Interested in our next show, Birds and Myth? Check out the call to artists (deadline March 24, 2025 ): https://birdsofvermont.org/2025/01/02/call-to-artists-birds-and-myth/

Explore previous themes, find a gift for someone, and celebrate art in our lives.

Open when the Museum is : From Nov 1 – April 30, that’s by appointment and for special events. Included with admission.

Past Exhibits

2024: The Power of Perspective
2023: Spark! fueling a love of birds
2022: Fine Feathers: at play with structure and function
2021: Expanding Voices: perspectives on birding
2020: Borders: illusions that constrain us
2019: Pollinate This!
2018: Common Grounds
2017: B1rding by the Numb3rs
2016: In Layers: the art of the egg
2015: Birds of a Fiber
2014: Perilous Passages

 

Call to Artists: Birds and Myth

Text over a sepia-toned photograph. Text reads Birds and Myth / meanings metaphors and guides / a call to artists. The background is the bristle-ends of 7 paint brushes, radiating out from the center.

Birds and Myth: meanings, metaphors, & guides

We seek to understand the world. Birds are some of our teachers, not only through our senses and observations, but also through our stories about them. These stories can be factual accounts, broader myths, or something in between. A myth might be a traditional legend, a widely-held-but-false belief, or a representation (or misrepresentation) of something true. A myth can offer insight into who we are, individually or collectively. A myth can offer us ways to behave and ideals to live by. What understanding of birds and humans have you gained through myths you have heard, told, or invented?

The Birds of Vermont Museum’s 2025 art show is centered on these ideas. We invite art submissions that bring birds and their meanings into art to retell an old story, weave several together, represent your beliefs, and/or create a myth for the future.
Continue reading “Call to Artists: Birds and Myth”

“The Gift of Art” show continues (January)

Blue and black stitches on orange fabric create an embroidery piece showing swirling flocks of birds over a line of trees.

“The Gift of Art” is our off-season art show.

This often-changing exhibit displays varied works from previous shows, selections from our gift shop, and elements of our long-term collections. See how art weaves together myriad media, styles, and visions. What’s present in March may be quite different from what we place in November, so consider a repeat visit!

Explore previous themes, find a gift for someone, and celebrate art in our lives.

Open when the Museum is : From Nov 1 – April 30, that’s by appointment and for special events. Included with admission.

Past Exhibits

2024: The Power of Perspective
2023: Spark! fueling a love of birds
2022: Fine Feathers: at play with structure and function
2021: Expanding Voices: perspectives on birding
2020: Borders: illusions that constrain us
2019: Pollinate This!
2018: Common Grounds
2017: B1rding by the Numb3rs
2016: In Layers: the art of the egg
2015: Birds of a Fiber
2014: Perilous Passages

 

“The Gift of Art” show continues (December)

Many translucent white disks with black silhouettes of birds in flight.

“The Gift of Art” is our off-season art show.

This often-changing exhibit displays varied works from previous shows, selections from our gift shop, and elements of our long-term collections. See how art weaves together myriad media, styles, and visions. What’s present in March may be quite different from what we place in November, so consider a repeat visit!

Explore previous themes, find a gift for someone, and celebrate art in our lives.

Open when the Museum is : From Nov 1 – April 30, that’s by appointment and for special events. Included with admission.

Artists might explore our calls to artists at https://birdsofvermont.org/tag/call-to-artists/ — stay tuned for the next one.

Past Exhibits

2024: The Power of Perspective
2023: Spark! fueling a love of birds
2022: Fine Feathers: at play with structure and function
2021: Expanding Voices: perspectives on birding
2020: Borders: illusions that constrain us
2019: Pollinate This!
2018: Common Grounds
2017: B1rding by the Numb3rs
2016: In Layers: the art of the egg
2015: Birds of a Fiber
2014: Perilous Passages

 

“The Gift of Art” show 2024-2025

Painting/mixed media of black birds in a thicket. Birds and shrubs are silhouetted against a flame-tinted background suggesting autumn foliage. Art by Linda DiSante and shown with permission.

“The Gift of Art” is our off-season art show.

This often-changing exhibit displays varied works from previous shows, selections from our gift shop, and elements of our long-term collections. See how art weaves together myriad media, styles, and visions. What’s present in March may be quite different from what we place in November, so consider a repeat visit!

Explore previous themes, find a gift for someone, and celebrate art in our lives.

Open when the Museum is : From Nov 1 – April 30, that’s by appointment and for special events. Included with admission.

Artists might consider our newest call to artists: find past calls at https://birdsofvermont.org/tag/call-to-artists/ and stay tuned for the next one.

Past Exhibits

2024: the Power of Perspective
2023: Spark! fueling a love of birds
2022: Fine Feathers: at play with structure and function
2021: Expanding Voices: perspectives on birding
2020: Borders: illusions that constrain us
2019: Pollinate This!
2018: Common Grounds
2017: B1rding by the Numb3rs
2016: In Layers: the art of the egg
2015: Birds of a Fiber
2014: Perilous Passages

 

October 2024 events

Art, coffee, wildlife festivals, wood carving, migratory birds—even trees! This is a happening month. Events at the museum are below, or check the special upcoming list for a few extras.

The Museum is open Wednesday – Sunday, 10 am – 4 pm. The trails are open sunrise to sunset, every day. The best access to to those on the south, the pond side of the property, thanks to flooding in July. Libraries have passes you can check out, and admission is always free for members (https://birdsofvermont.org/membership/).

=== OCTOBER EVENTS ===

Continue reading “October 2024 events”

September 2024 events

Kid in field with mom, investigating something small

September is for transitions: an equinox, return to school, seasons officially change. Yet, it’s also continuous, with ongoing art shows, new chances to learn, and time to just enjoy birds (and possibly coffee).

The Museum is open Wednesday – Sunday, 10 am – 4 pm. The trails are open sunrise to sunset, every day—for now only on the pond side of the property, thanks to flooding in July. Libraries have passes you can check out, and admission is always free for members (https://birdsofvermont.org/membership/).

=== SEPTEMBER EVENTS ===

Continue reading “September 2024 events”

Power of Perspective: 2024 art exhibit continues in October

A dense flock of snow geese flies in front of forested hills that border a lake. Some are landing on blue water. The many (hundreds?) geese are white; the hills are blues, purples, magentas, and browns. The lake water is light blue shading toward dark blue where it is closer to the viewer. The sky behind the hill is light blue, and more geese fly there also. Snow Geese on Lake Champlain. Photography by Diane DeBella. Copyright © 2024 and used with permission.

The 2024 art show, The Power of Perspective: shifting points of view opened May 1 and runs through October 31.

Visit, and find your own new idea, question, or experience.  Our call to artists for this year’s art show asked,

Consider the scope of an eagle’s eye—the narrow view of a gleaning warbler—the shadowed sight of a loon underwater. We may see birds above us from the ground, or below us from a plane. We may use a camera lens to record from afar, or a magnifier and lamps to perceive what is normally unknown. How does time influence your perspective? What if we “zoom out” from one bird to a species, to an ecosystem, to a planet? What if we “zoom in” to one bird to its wing, to a feather, to a gene?

How does your art reveal a point of view?  …How might a change in perspective alter people’s understanding of the lives and needs of the birds who share our world?

Discover how artists, poets, sculptors, photographers and others have answered. The full list of creators is in our blog post, Power of Perspective.

Image: Snow Geese on Lake Champlain. Photograph by Diane DeBella. Copyright © 2024 Diane DeBella, and shown with permission.

Past Exhibits

2023: Spark! fueling a love of birds
2022: Fine Feathers: at play with structure and function
2021: Expanding Voices: perspectives on birding
2020: Borders: illusions that constrain us
2019: Pollinate This!
2018: Common Grounds
2017: B1rding by the Numb3rs
2016: In Layers: the art of the egg
2015: Birds of a Fiber
2014: Perilous Passages

 

August 2024 events

Two people gaze at distant forested mountains. One is a child with short brown hair and a blue shirt; the other, hunkered down, is white-haired and wears a gray shirt, and is pointing out something to the younger person. Both have their back to the viewer.

Looking for a new way of noticing? Come visit art, try hand work, listen to music, or look for birds. August is a great month for you and a friend to stretch or swap points of view.

The Museum is open Wednesday – Sunday, 10 am – 4 pm (but we are closed July 4th). The trails are open sunrise to sunset, every day. Libraries have passes, and admission is always free for members (https://birdsofvermont.org/membership/).

=== AUGUST EVENTS ===

Continue reading “August 2024 events”

Power of Perspective: 2024 art exhibit continues in September

Excerpt of a painting of two turkey vultures, shown from the "shoulders" up, with golden halos. One is in profile, and the other peers forward at the viewer. Their heads are red and without feathers, their beaks white, and their feathers dark with hints of reds, blues, blacks, and browns. The background is a plain light turquoise. Title: Backyard Angels. Excerpt of a painting by Hannah Mahar. Copyright © 2024 and used with permission.

The 2024 art show, The Power of Perspective: shifting points of view opened May 1 and runs through October 31.

Visit, and find your own new idea, question, or experience.  Our call to artists for this year’s art show asked,

Consider the scope of an eagle’s eye—the narrow view of a gleaning warbler—the shadowed sight of a loon underwater. We may see birds above us from the ground, or below us from a plane. We may use a camera lens to record from afar, or a magnifier and lamps to perceive what is normally unknown. How does time influence your perspective? What if we “zoom out” from one bird to a species, to an ecosystem, to a planet? What if we “zoom in” to one bird to its wing, to a feather, to a gene?

How does your art reveal a point of view?  …How might a change in perspective alter people’s understanding of the lives and needs of the birds who share our world?

Discover how artists, poets, sculptors, photographers and others have answered. The full list of creators is in our blog post, Power of Perspective.

Image: Excerpt of Backyard Angels by Hannah Mahar. Copyright © 2024 Hannah Mahar, and shown with permission.

Past Exhibits

2023: Spark! fueling a love of birds
2022: Fine Feathers: at play with structure and function
2021: Expanding Voices: perspectives on birding
2020: Borders: illusions that constrain us
2019: Pollinate This!
2018: Common Grounds
2017: B1rding by the Numb3rs
2016: In Layers: the art of the egg
2015: Birds of a Fiber
2014: Perilous Passages