My Grandpa, the artist

For those of you who don't know, my grandfather builds houses. Not only that, but he is a very talented, yet humble, artist. As a gift for little H, he wittled this amazing wooden sculpture for us to hang in the nursery. It's also something that little H can keep for the rest of his life, and it's beautiful. My grandfather has always loved birds, and for the majority of my life, he's always had numerous birds that he raised himself, yes, all the way from the egg. It's incredible. He's always built large cages for them, and always had multiple birds at a time. And all kinds: pheasants, cockatiels, canaries, you name it. Because of this, birds have been a constant theme in his art work, paintings or carvings. And by carvings, I mean more like sculptures, not etchings. Here's a sample of his painted work that I was lucky enough to snag for my house...it's been with my family for as long as I can remember. It's a painting of pheasants:That was just getting you warmed up. For little H, he wittled us a series of birds, one for the daddy (H) and one for the mommy (Me), and thanks to the brilliant suggestion of my grandmother, an egg to represent little H. The birds he wittled are painted buntings (or pops, if you're a Cajun), and they are gorgeous. Here's a look at the entire thing in the nursery:It's kind of hard to see in that picture, so here are some close-ups of the whole carving:
Here's the daddy bird, watching over mommy and baby: And the mommy bird, caring for her lovely little egg:My favorite part about the whole thing is that tilt on the mommy bird's head. It's so loving and caring, and for some reason, it makes the bird seem so real to me. My grandpa also painted this great family tree on the back side of the wood--which was a piece of driftwood that washed up after the last hurricane in Louisiana--so that little H can know where he comes from (I probably should have taken a picture of that too, darnit!). Having that carving in the nursery, and to pass on to little H, is such a blessing, and it will always be there to keep him connected to his wonderful family. I think, actually, that after seeing it in the nursery, we might go ahead and get him a few real birds for his room. Then, if we're lucky, he really might take after his great-Grandpa, not only in the artistic sense. :) What a talented family I have! Little Henry will be one lucky, and super-loved, little boy!