The Story Of Birdie Girl

Birdie Girl

Birdie Girl arrived in late April 2026, when I began work on a new piece. I was cutting out a vintage image of a young girl, removing the face so I could add a bird skull - you know, as one does - when I heard giggling, clapping, and a thin voice exclaim, “It’s Birdie Girl!” Since that day, Birdie has been with me, directing this project.

While we began with the little book, we soon turned to recreating a larger book.

This is as near a recreation of a book that Birdie made as I could help her with. She began her book when she was 9 years old and finished it when she was 10. (I don’t think it took a year; I believe this was just the luck of the calendar and a child eager to grow older.) Birdie firmly led this project - dictated every step, every stitch, and the finding of a stick like the one she had included. My aesthetic preference for a book looking aged, like we had found Birdie’s original book, was deemed acceptable. As we worked on the book, Birdie’s story, as incomplete as it is, began to unfold…

Birdie made her book for her visits at the sanitarium with her mother, whom she always called “Momma.” As the story goes, Birdie & Momma would spend their visits looking out the window in Momma’s room. They would watch birds and discuss which ones Birdie was most like. The nuns did not approve of such “flights of fancy.”

Fearing Birdie would no longer be able to visit with her mother, Birdie’s Maternal Grandmother came up with the idea for this book. (Birdie called her grandmother “Grandmae” because her Christian name was Mae - “Isn’t that just clever!” Birdie would clap!) 

The Owl & The Nightingale, as I would discover, is a religious Middle English poem (twelfth- or thirteenth-century), in which an owl and a nightingale debate who is "most foul." (Birdie loves a pun! Also, she is amazed by the Internet, of course.) While the author of the poem is unknown, scholars believe it was written for - or even by - a community of religious women. 

Grandmae selected the poem because she believed the nuns would approve of such an old poem, as its age would make it “more pure” - & it would still allow mother & daughter to carry on about their beloved birds.

As time was of the essence, and the poem being roughly 1,800 lines (nearly 11,000 words), Birdie & Grandma first had to secure as many copies of the poem as they could for Birdie to cut & glue together. Then Birdie had to sew the pages into a book. “Much tougher than sewing fabric or darning socks!” Birdie exclaimed. The tree branch in her book was from the tree outside of the family home, where Momma loved to watch for the resident owl. The original book also had lace from one of Momma’s old dresses. I asked if the lace was from her Momma’s wedding dress and only received a brief flash of an image of what I believe were notes in Momma’s sanitarium file:

Married

Widowed

Abanondoned

Birdie never mentions her father - any males at all, actually. I don’t believe this family was the result of a trio of Immaculate Conceptions - but Birdie is clearly not going to talk about it. I also get the sense that there was a young baby boy who died… I infer that’s what may have led to Momma’s stay at the sanitarium? Birdie only shares what she wants. Despite asking questions, including about family names & the name of the sanitarium, information I could research, I was unsuccessful in getting any such answers from Birdie.

But back to The Owl & The Nightingale book.

Once Birdie constructed her book, she took it along on visits with Momma. It wasn’t long before they would all recite the poem from memory. Birdie was the Nightengale, Momma the Owl, and Grandmae would arrive from speaking with the nuns & doctors just in time to be the Wren. These visits clearly meant a lot to Birdie.

Once Birdie and I finished our recreation of her book, we returned to the little “picture scrapbook.” Birdie was enthralled by the number of images available. She largely selected the images & found the passages & quotes. She was perplexed as to why I would leave blank spaces. I explained to her that I like to leave little spots for the future owner to add their own thoughts, quotes, artworks - and that it might be especially important if she were to visit the new owner and give them notes. Once again, Birdie giggled and clapped with glee. So, if you purchase this enchanted work, be prepared for a visit from Birdie!

Once the books were finished, I needed a proper place to put them, so I came up with this Birdie Box. Birdie was delighted - and, you guessed it, she giggled & clapped!

Given the thin, higher-pitched voice, almost always accompanied by giggles & clapping, I cannot tell if Birdie Girl is the spirit of the young girl or an old woman telling the story of her childhood. Perhaps, if she visits with you, you will learn more - and I sure hope you will tell me all about it!

PS Anytime I worked with Birdie, I found myself sneezing. I think she may be allergic to cats - well, birds are typically adverse to kitties, right?! So if you have cats, you might find yourself sneezing just as Birdie arrives.