Growing up my grandmother had an owl shaped cookie jar, and it was perched on the top of the refrigerator. It was old, and from the sixties, but I always associated cookies with owls as a child. It had large eyes, and for some reason it was peach and olive or avocado green. I sometimes would follow its gaze, and it would stare blankly at the bookshelf of cookbooks across the kitchen. When I sat in her kitchen, I would always feel its presence. It didn’t feel strange or overbearing, it’s one of those cookie jars that you just can’t miss.
Another thing I realized as I was creating this collection is that I have never really seen an owl in real life. I’ve seen a lot of eagles and hawks, but not owls. I’ve heard them though. When I was older, my grandmother passed away, and I would bike on a wooded trail in the evening, and occasionally I heard an owl in the distance. I could tell that it was only one, but it’s hooting carried through the ravine and over the hills. There wasn’t a question as to what type of bird made that noise. Only one type of bird can make the same type of hooting that an owl does. I firmly believe that people encounter things only when they’re ready, whether they believe they’re ready or not. The hooting was haunting but comforting at the same time. I grinned, because rather than noticing the owl in the kitchen, it made the same type of presence only it was hooting this time. Hello, Grandma, it’s been a while!
Yellow Birch Graphics 