The PHOTOGRAPH

Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja)

A more common tenant of South America, the Roseate Spoonbill is one unique bird. Its name of course comes from the shape of its bill which is undoubtedly spoon like, and from the general color of its feathers. As were many other birds, the Spoonbill was nearly driven to extinction by plume hunters, but has made a remarkable comeback. That being said, they are facing another threat that I have witnessed first hand. Spoonbills are an indicator species, they are affected by changes in climate first and serve as a warning to other species. I used to see flocks of hundreds of Spoonbills on Sanibel Island when I was a kid and now you are lucky to get a glimpse of a handful at one time. Ironically, the changing climate that has overall hurt the population and has altered their range of habitat has also helped them in a convoluted manner. While environmental degradation, thanks to human development, is also limiting their habitat range, the warming climate has expanded their range north, giving them new areas to flock as well.

The LOCATION

The Wakodahatchee Wetlands

The Wakodahatchee Wetlands park is located in Delray Beach, FL. It spans across a fifty-acre lot, with a three-quarter mile boardwalk that includes multiple gazebos, benches, and informational signage. There are open ponds, marshy areas, mangrove islands for roosting, as well as a wooded area. Formerly utility land, the wetlands were developed as a natural means of managing wastewater. Palm Beach County’s Water Reclamation Facility pumps around two million gallons of water into the park daily. This water is treated, yet still contains excess mineral content. Here in the wetlands the water is naturally purified by the flora of the park and released back into the surface water supply.

Every visit, I see so much life and have yet to be disappointed. Over 150 species of birds have been spotted here as well as turtles, rabbits, and alligators. In the spring you can see large numbers of roosting Wood Storks with their young as well as many young Snowy and Reddish Egrets and Tricolored Herons, stumbling about in the tops of Red Mangroves. Anhinga are ever present, diving for fish or sunbathing atop a perch, wings outstretched. Red-winged Blackbirds chase each other through the tops of tall grasses while Swamp Hens and Gallinules weave through their stems, probing for their next meal.

The 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 Caribbean, 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 in 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.

THE PLAQUE

Magnetic Information Plaque

I engrave a wooden information plaque for each work. The plaque includes what the photograph is of, the location of the photograph, what type of wood the frame is made of, and where I sourced the wood. The plaques also explain why the vials are included in each work. The back of each plaque states the meaning of my logo: “The circle represents our home, Planet Earth. The hourglass represents time. The five horizontal lines in the bottom of the hourglass represent the five mass extinction periods that have occurred in the past. The single line falling through the hourglass represents our current mass extinction period, caused by us.” The plaques are attached magnetically and can be removed to read or to store on the back of each frame if you prefer not to have it displayed on the front.