I made this while I was thinking about balance, and flight, and what happens when you try to preserve things.

The bones in the frame are from a cormorant, one of only two birds I know that can really swim underwater and also still fly.

Dragonflies have four wings. There are only two on this mobile. I am saving the other ones.

Cicadas spend many years underground as wingless grubs. Then they dig out, burst their shells, and fly, rattling, off to mate. They live as flying creatures for just a few days.

 

The bird silhouettes are based on photographs of pigeons in flight, taken by Eadweard Muybridge at the turn of the 19th century.

The feathers are from the remains of a goldfinch, found near a birdfeeder in Watch Hill, RI. It was probably killed by a hawk.

Maple seeds are shaped like wings. They fall, and the wind carries them away from their parent trees to land in places where some of them will grow.