Angela Kuckartz: Why I love Birds

Nature in all its wonderful forms and colours is an important inspiration for my work. Birds have a special place in my heart: it is not explicable. When I heard or I see a bird I feel happy.
Maybe I'm infected with the 'bird virus'.

Birds are special, beautiful, surprising. So much variety in so many different kinds.
But I cannot mention an obvious reason why I love birds. This love for birds is slowly but surely crept in my life. Birds give me always a good mood.

Birds are present everywhere. I love also to know something about birds from other countries. This is why I go to the zoo and read books. Since 2008 I regularly go to Rotterdam Zoo (Diergaarde Blijdorp). In that time I was sad and had disappointments: the death of my parents, loss of a temporary but nice job and problems with my health. Zoo Rotterdam had been a great distraction for me, healing and informative.

The name Blijdorp is perfect: happy (Blij) village (dorp).

I learned and experienced a lot in Zoo Rotterdam:
* So many animals and plant species (Zoo Rotterdam is also a Botanical Garden) and in particular so many bird species. My first impressions were often: is this bird really exists?

* To learn to look good at animals and plants and to draw a lot (I have not done before so many drawings of animals - in my sketchbooks are obviously more drawings of birds than other animals...).

* A lot of inspiration for my artwork and stories.

Also important things I learned:
* To be present at the moment: animals live in the moment, not worrying about the past and future.
* Life is a miracle.
* To have confidence in the process.

Birds from Zoo Rotterdam (Diergaarde Blijdorp)