Tricolored Heron in Cuban Mahogany Photograph

PHOTOGRAPH Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor) Easily identified by the long white stripe down the middle of its neck, the Tricolored Heron, once known as the Louisiana Heron, is a beautiful bird. They tend to dance around when hunting, darting back and forth in shallow water when tides are low, but in a more controlled, seemingly choreographed manner than their Reddish Egret counterparts. In a more lazy, but undeniably smart move, they sometimes trail behind a hunting Cormorant or Grebe and snatch up any fish that escape the clutches of the first mouth. While growing up, Tricolored teens can get quite uppity. They commonly snap and lunge at their parents when they arrive with food, behavior that compels parents to arrive with sticks as gifts, perhaps in an effort to mellow out the kids. Nests are also made of sticks as they build platforms in the tops of mangroves or other trees. FRAME Cuban Mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni) Cuban Mahogany is one of three species of Mahogany and it was originally the most widely used of the three. Nowadays, Honduran Mahogany is the much more prevalent wood and what most people would recognize as Mahogany. Native to the Carribbean, Cuban Mahogany’s northernmost range does include the far south of Florida, including the Keys. I happen to get all of my Cuban mahogany from a salvager in the Keys who removes the trees from construction sites before cutting it into slabs and drying it. THE ELEMENTS Fire, Water, Earth, and Air In the display case in the bottom of the frame, four items are preserved glass vials. The items represent the elements: fire (wood charcoal), water (mineral oil), earth (soil), and air (a milkweed seed). I include these items in my work as a symbol of the interconnectedness of all life on earth, and as a reminder that humans must do better.

Photography:Color on Glass

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:61 W x 52 H x 2 D in

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