I will show you my pigeons! Which is the greatest treat, in my opinion, which can be offered to human beings -Charles Dawrin.

a pigeon, to me, is a symbol of peace. of love, of hope. a symbol of courage in a world much bigger than us. while these things may more commonly be associated with the white dove. I think they should apply to all of humanity's often maligned friend. drawing my pigeons, though it started just as usual artistic expression with an animal I really like, has become almost some sort of ritual. as if, by drawing enough pigeons, we may ever so slightly create a better world (or at least a world with more pigeons in it than before, which is a better world in my books!)

pigeons are messengers, and I have always fancied myself a messenger as well. my greatest passion is in communication. teaching people, performing. I may not be a leader, I may not be the first to act, or the strongest. my body is small, and my blue feathers soft. but my golden eyes are perceptive, and my coo is assured. I am a storyteller, I am a listener, an observer, a documenter. this is, in a way, my job, I feel.

if you watch pigeons you will slowly begin to witness wonderful things. you will see the baby pigeons the internet is so fascinated by, you will see love, and curiosity, and conflict, and care and diversity. pigeons let me see humanity in small. I saw someone call their hamsters their "tiny people" one time, and pigeons are, artistically, my tiny people. they remind me of the complexity and diversity of the human experience, a reminder that though there are challenges, there are also triumphs, that in the ugliset of places, there is beauty. if you begin to watch pigeons, you will begin to witness miracles (in as magical or non-magical of a way as you want) and in witnessing, you will better learn to create them in your life, in your own ways. my way is this sort of pigeon-drawing ritual for optimism.