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DANZA DAVIS

@danzadavis

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NATURE: Art & Education
illustration & design @inkdwell

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I wandered into a gallery today with no agenda… and left with a little more inspiration than I came in with.

The best kind of luxury isn’t always something you can take home. Sometimes it’s simply taking a moment to notice beauty.

One beautiful day at a time. ✨

This exhibit goes down next week, so hurry into Andra Norris Art Gallery | Burlingame CA

#TheStaundard #BayAreaArt #QuietLuxury #CollectedLiving #CaliforniaLifestyle

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So thankful for my wonderful, supportive artist friends and collectors that show up for these special reception moments ( they even show up with camera lenses that are not weirdly shattered like mine 💕)! I am so grateful to be represented by Andra Norris - who is such a fantastic gallerist and I’m so honored to be exhibiting with these amazing artists: Gary Bukovnik, Danza Davis and Terry Thompson!

SPECTRUM June 24 - July 31

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@garybukovnik
@danzadavis
@terry_thompson_artist
#spectrum
#andranorrisgallery
#mariecameronstudio
#contemporaryart
#curiocabinets

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Cannot express my gratitude and excitement about being a part of this upcoming show with Andra Norris Gallery. Please join us for the opening reception, two weeks from today!

@andranorrisgallery
311 Lorton Ave., Burlingame, CA
OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, June 27th, 4-6pm
Show Dates: June 24 - July 31, 2026

#savethedate #andranorrisgallery #spectrum

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It's spring and that means migration! I created Ink Dwell in 2012 as an art studio dedicated to exploring the wonders of the natural world and part of that exploration includes exhibit illustration and imagery. This is one of my favorite types of commissions. I love nature centers and the supportive role imagery plays in audience experience and engagement. We are pleased to share some murals we created for the @rowesanctuary in Nebraska. The space and exhibit were designed by @edxseattle. Our murals highlight sandhill cranes descending onto the Platte River and the seasonal changes of Nebraska's tall prairie ecosystem. The center is taking reservations now to witness the great Sandhill Crane migration. Can't wait to one day visit!

Included are some close up details of the two murals with some of my favorite moments. Thank you to my team, Danza Davis (@danzadavis) and Fiorella Ikeue (@fioikeue).

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The interpretation and the experience of observing, understanding and knowing birds is something that these three artists honor in their works.

ASH FERLITO (@ashferlito) reminds us to enjoy the elements surrounding birds like habitat and their songs. Her work is rooted in the observation of the natural world. The direct engagement with it generates information for a practice that spans painting, sculpture, printmaking, and gardening. Her piece "Desert Paintbrush and Sagebrush Sparrow" is part of a series inspired by birdsong called
‘Harmonics.’ The paintings reflect the sonic exuberance of the ecosystem. Made by arranging foraged plants and natural dyes on muslin fabric, which is rolled and then boiled in a bundled dyed technique to create a repeating pattern reflective of the spectrograms of the vibrant trilling songs of many of the
representative birds of the sagebrush-filled habitat of northeast Nevada, where this series began.

CHRISTOPHER REIGER (@christopherreiger) explores bird color in his Field Guide series. These posters highlight a single bird from a single photo. Painstakingly mapped, the fields of colors are sized by the frequency this color can be seen on the bird. Here he maps San Francisco's official bird, the Red-masked Parakeet (or the Cherry-headed Conure in pet trade speak) and a Steller's Jay. The rigid bar of color reminds me that classification is just that. It cannot account for the nuance that is the living world. Take a moment to read his process in slide four. I have long enjoyed this poster series and am so happy to share them with you in Yay Birds!

DIANA TREMAINE (@dianatremaine) is part of Andra Norris's roster of artists and I first came to know her gull paintings captured with so much life. Her paintings for me capture the feeling of seeing birds in real life. There is a fleeting or passing moment, a blur if you will and every so often you have the honor of being in stillness with the bird. Here she captures that moment in her painting "Glimmers."

This is the last week fo see Yay Birds! at @andranorrisgallery. And check back for my daily Yay Birds! posting through which I feature the work of each participating artist!

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Here's one of my new works for Yay Birds! to kick off the week!

“He said he would not ransom Mortimer,
Forbad my tongue to speak of Mortimer.
But I will find him when he lies asleep,
And in his ear I’ll hollo “Mortimer.”
Nay, I’ll have a starling shall be taught to speak
nothing but “Mortimer” and give it him
To keep his anger still in motion.”

-Henry IV, William Shakespeare

Just as European Starlings follow one another in tight formations known as murmurations, the European Starlings of America are followed by myth.

More than a century ago, an amateur ornithologist by the name of Eugene Schieffelin released 100 European Starlings in New York’s Central Park. As part of the American Acclimatization Society, Schieffelin sought to populate the new world with exotic biota. In the 19th century, such acclimatization societies were fashionable and supported by the scientific knowledge and beliefs of the time. The impacts of non-native species on the local ecosystem were still not well-understood.

In 1948, more than 40 years after Schieffelin’s death, a nature writer attributed his starling release to an apocryphal desire to populate the new world with all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s works. Despite its falsehood, the romantic notion was embraced by the world and the myth follows these birds to this day.

In modern times, when a lie can travel around the world before the truth gets out of bed, the bookcase canvas—filled with literature that inspired this show’s artists—is an ode to the power of literature and illustrates the effort required to separate fact from fiction.

Books mean the world to me and as a kid who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, I came to love nature through books at my local library where I spent most weekends. Thanks to a commission highlighting European Starlings, I came to fall in love with this bird who throughout our American history has become the perfect allegory for the divisive part of our human nature.

"MORTIMER" on view at Andra Norris Gallery (@andranorrisgallery) until this Friday. Stay tuned for my daily Yay Birds! posts. So many more delightful works to share!!!

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Last year, @danzadavis and I created temporary installations for @jordanwinery to highlight the estate's dedication to sustainability and land stewardship through an installation called "Pollinator Pairings." This year, we were so excited to be invited back to celebrate "Four-legged Friends." Here are some pics from our last day on the project. Like last year, we used chalk pastel and gouache paint to create this series.

1. Coyote + Grapevine
2. Jackrabbit + Rolling Hills
3. Black-tailed deer + Coast live oak
4. Grey Fox and Racoon + Lake and oaks

Thanks, @jordanwinery for another great experience!

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Visited the new office spaces of @midpenopenspace to see the display that we helped create. Our studio developed the art for this dynamic, multi-layered interpretive mural of the incredible open spaces that Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District protects and manages. From the informational signs to the little Easter eggs you can interact with, this display has physical and educational depth. It was so satisfying to see how thick the various layers are.

Art: Ink Dwell @inkdwell | Illustrators: @danzadavis, Jane Kim
Exhibit: EDX Seattle @edxseattle

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I can't believe today is already the last day of Human Nature: Desire. Here are some of my favorite moments from the opening reception. THANK YOU to everyone who came and visited the exhibit. Ultimately, I make this work to engage and to be in conversation with all of you. It is connective tissue and I felt that power.

📸: @adamtookyourpicture

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"Prairie wall" celebrates the native flowers of Illinois a.k.a. the Prairie State. Let me tell you, sealing this wall was a bitch but painting it was so fun!

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"Life Cycles" at sunset

I loved painting the leaves on this one! I also drew a good chunk of the blossoms and let me tell you.... it was a challenge. This is the 10th mural of @inkdwell Monarch butterfly "Migrating Mural." This wall highlights the lifecycles of both the Monarch butterfly and the Common Milkweed which is crucial to the survival and growth of Monarchs. This wall was 42'ish x 40'ish (I can't remember the exact dimensions😂)

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Bee-hind the scenes from @inkdwell ‘s latest Monarch Migrating Murals in Springfield, Illinois. Thank you to the city of Springfield, @kidzeum, the insects, and the birds for welcoming all of us throughout our time there. 🐝

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