Hummingbirds

I have been feeding hummingbirds at my home in Woolwich for almost 20 years. They are the most delightful little beings. I adore them. After my daughter Lisbeth became ill in 1988, I started having dreams about them. Before then, I'd never given them much thought. The dreams became so insistant that I decided to buy some feeders and hang them on the front of my house. Ever since, the hummingbirds have been returning each May. I researched hummingbirds and began to make art about them: their hinged wings beat out a figure eight, which represents eternity, and in Native American lore, they symbolize Joy. I realized that hummingbirds showing up in my dreams at the onset of Lisbeth's illness was God's way of telling me that there would still be joy in my life even in the midst of great hardship. I still dream of them often. Just last week I dreamt that one landed on the back of my neck (probably to tell me to relax - I hold alot of tension there!). This image may be the start of a new art piece. I have been invited by a Portland gallery to make work to show in one of their windows for the month of May, and as this is the time when the hummingbirds return, I've been thinking I'd like to make a piece about that.

Last May, I was thrilled to see hummingbirds in the apple tree at our apartment in Portland! So I hung a feeder there as well. Country hummers and city hummers! Sweet.

Lisbeth Miller

Hummingbird, 2007
colored pencil on paper, 12" x 18"