Blue Heron

After performing our first exercise yesterday as our animals, it has become clear to both me and Matt that the White-Faced Saki simply won't work. We did an exercise in which we began to inhabit our animal - I worked with one of the 3-legged tables in Studio A to try to replicate the swinging off the branches that I saw at the zoo, but it just wasn't happening. A big problem is my broken thumb - that really limits my mobility and thus my possibilities.

So I tried something new, and Thomas Moore and I went to the National Aviary! It was an incredible experience. It kicked the zoo's ass by a factor of like 12 to 1. The birds were much more active, much more fascinating, very social, and I enjoyed spending time with them very much. I went there specifically looking for the Great Blue Heron, a bird I once saw in coastal Georgia that caught my imagination, just because it's so badass - it's huge and beautiful and graceful. However, they didn't have the Great Blue Heron. They had herons, but not the Great Blue. Set on performing the heron, I decided to spend my time watching the pelican instead, which provided me with lots of specific movements that I think I can transfer to the heron. A video I took (too large to be uploaded) that I will continue to watch in order to find movements for the bird has really informed my practice. What seems key is that, like the White-Faced Saki, the bird also preens, except it preens itself with its beak - it turns its head 180 degrees!

Because the Blue Heron wasn't at the aviary, I have been forced to watch lots, and lots, and lots of Youtube videos. Here are a few that have helped me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXqhrRdtl4I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO7Uunk-nfg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUM7vdGWid8&feature=related

Notice the way the legs are separate from the wings/upper body, and the way the heron naturally likes to stand still. I will try to incorporate these natural tendencies in my work. Another part of the body that is isolated is the head - it moves separate from the wings and body as the heron (with eyes on the side of its head) looks out for possible danger. Isolation is a very good tool I will use to structure my work with the heron, because then I can improve my specificity - working on every body part separately.