David Montgomery

artist’s statement

I think of each Aviary as a thin slice of a world, a window that leads to somewhere you've been or a place you'd like to go. The scene is never about birds, but the birds are nonetheless essential; they are your guides into my imaginary world.

A couple of years ago I began sketching ideas for dioramas and shadowboxes, around the same time that I found a pair of hundred-year old Audubon posters and some antique hardware at a local auction—the sole Saturday night entertainment near our rural home. These bits of the past provided inspiration for what were to become the Aviaries. In them I slightly alter the natural world, creating a place of mystery, romance, and occasional magic.

The Aviaries are limited edition or one-of-a-kind shadowboxes made of wood, brass, paper, glass, antique hardware, and various other materials. Backgrounds are sometimes ephemera collected in my travels, or are hand-painted in gouache, ink, acrylic or watercolor. The birds I cast in resin, using molds made from my original carvings, then I individually shape and hand-paint them. I carefully consider color, pose and placement of birds as the final step in construction.