Christine Schilling & John Merrell
Glass and Tile Mosaic & Cold Rolled Steel
Location: Southwest corner of Jefferson Ave. and Park Central East
“Wish You Were Here” … thoughts behind the work by Christine Kreamer-Schilling
Wish You Were Here is a bittersweet piece — it recognizes the poignancy of loss.
Not only does it represent the exquisite beauty of two majestic, but now extinct, birds; it also honors important gifts I have received from family and friends. Look closely and you will see very personal mosaic elements, treasured mementos – buttons from my Grandmother’s Button Box, my mother’s black jet jewelry, bits of family dinnerware, treasured iridescent glass and gems given to me by far-away colleagues and friends.
I am a bird lover. My heart soars when I watch birds fly, when I hear birds sing.
More than inspiring and beautiful, “Birds are the planet’s superheroes…
With just the feathers on their backs, they crisscross the hemisphere, dodging hurricanes and predators along the way, arriving unerringly at a precise spot, year after year…
But for all their superhero powers, birds are in trouble — More than 1,300 species are threatened with extinction … “
Wish You Were Here represents the precious fragility of things we take for granted.
It is meant to be, by turns, both enticing and lovely, yet also unsettling.
But, Wish You Were Here is also meant to be a nudge to action, to awake and inspire.
“Like the fabled canaries in the coal mines, Birds warn us of potential hazards to humans. The canaries in the mine are telling us: Time is running out…
BUT we do have the power to make sure birds continue to sing.”
“Birds can recover, if we pay attention to what they’re saying.”
Featuring selected quotes from: Alanna Mitchell, National Geographic, The Winged Warnings series produced by Environmental Health News, an independent, nonprofit news organization, and published in conjunction with National Geographic
Find more works by these artists in Springfield, MO: Christine Schilling at MosaicaRose Studio and John Merrell at Exile on Main Street.
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