The Porcelain Mouse

Predator and Prey – adjacent

This is a barred owl, believe it or not, but s/he is rotated a bit so the bars don’t show as they normally would.

This creature fits nicely into a theme I’ve been slowly researching – on those who live their lives as both predator and prey. It was supposed to explore human nature, in particular gender roles, but the barred owl also slides into this niche theme. The barred owl is being culled on an explosive basis here in Washington state, among other places, simply because it is successful. Yes, it’s dominating local wildlife…but it’s not as if animals recognize borders and boundaries, or as if they kill for the thrill of it. Barred owls adapt with relative ease to increasing population and habitat destruction, which is one reason they are thriving. I’m not happy about the fact that some local owl and other bird species are struggling to coexist with them, but killing them to meet our understanding of balance is a brutal approach. It’s far more like what humans do to each other…singling out a group and decimating them so that everything is in perceived order.

The porcelain mouse….was an attempt to modify my work for public consumption, after a couple people strongly encouraged me not to include the original, natural, prey- because I might not be able to sell it. I’ve grown quite fond of the porcelain mouse. Necessity is the mother of creativity here. Unlike most of my works, which come either from my own photos and experiences or from imagination, this one is inspired by a photo by Terry Birch, to whom I give my thanks for letting me use his work.

When I was about two years old, my parents took me to a castle in Austria. No one remembers the exact location anymore, unfortunately. But, the story goes that I was fascinated by an owl in a large cage in the center of a rotunda type reception area. I would toddle up to it and stare, and reach up to slip my fingers in the squirrel corpse riddled bottom of its cage. I think I can still smell it, actually, and feel it…a kind of blend of fear, curiosity, and respect. I do actually have a couple memories going back to when I was two or three years old regarding sock textures and struggles with toenail clipping, so that owl impression is probably real, to some extent. “Owl bite fingy” was an affectionately teasing term I grew up with, because I repeated my parents’ warning so solemnly and so often..

Owls have appeared often in my dreams, a key one being as a portent of physical threat in a school setting (also, oddly enough, in a school rotunda); or as a giant owl ripping off the ceiling of a library. Owls have had extended calling sessions with me in Turkey, looking me in the eye, before someone passed. Our local PNW barred owls have swooped by a few feet in front of my face carrying large forest rats on multiple occasions here. They fly so silently, and blend in so well with their surroundings, that it is always a gift to pass a few moments with them.

Above, my trio of birds at Millstream on Bainbridge Island

One day, I’ll publish a thumbnail of the mouse; for now, my internet connection out here in the forest is terrible, and it’s refusing to upload another image. My best to all…