art beat / By Katherine Almy

Capturing the Birds

Art is a battlefield at Godwit Days

(April 17, 2008)  It’s easy to forget in this modern time full of bewildering and exotic grist for the artistic mill, that it was wild nature that first compelled human beings to put pen to paper. The wonder that we feel watching the birds in the sky or the colors of a sunset have inspired the artist in us from the time of the Lascaux cave paintings to the present.

And in this present day we are well into spring, the bird migrations are in full swing, and with the birds come festivals to celebrate them. It should come as no surprise, then, that art plays an important part

American Avocet, collage by Catriona Parker, 2007 2nd place winner, Grade 3, Arcata Elementary, teacher Mrs. Backman.

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of them.

The City of Arcata hosts the annual Godwit Days from April 17-23. Of course, the main attraction is looking for birds, and the list of field trips and birding tours available is dizzying. But a natural response to looking at birds is also drawing or painting.

For the past four years, the Student Bird Art Contest has been part of the Godwit Days festival. Modeled after a similar contest held during Crescent City’s Aleutian Goose Festival, this one gives students a choice of 40 birds to choose from for their drawings, paintings or collages. The contest is open to children ages 5-18, and all entries will be up in the Arcata Community Center throughout the festival.

Winners of the contest will be announced on Friday, April 18, at 7 p.m. immediately following the free Godwit Days Opening Reception at the Arcata Community Center, and cash prizes and honorable mention certificates will be awarded.

It is at this point that I begin to chafe. A musician friend of mine once said, when I asked him why he wasn’t interested in the Grammy Awards, “Music isn’t a contest.” I feel the same way about art. Those who engage in it are winners. Those who haven’t experienced the soul satisfying and mind-expanding practice of doing something that excites them, and doing it to the best of their ability, have missed a significant part of life (but it’s never too late to begin).

And so, I am pleased that an art event is a part of this festival celebrating nature, and I am glad that so many children are introduced to both the arts and the birds, but I do wish it weren’t a contest. Recognizing some as winners is terrific for the winners, but what about all the others? Who is it that pronounces a handful of pieces as better than the rest, and on what do they base their decisions?

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