LAURIE BETH ZUCKERMAN CREATES BIRDHOUSE FOR THE "TASTE" Benefit for LARIMER COUNTY FOOD BANK and NEIGHBOR TO NEIGHBOR

"Barn Owl Barn" birdhouse—Laurie Beth Zuckerman and Tom Mathies

"Barn Owl Barn" birdhouse backside—Laurie Beth Zuckerman and Tom Mathies

"Barn Owl Barn" birdhouse closeup—Laurie Beth Zuckerman and Tom Mathies

Laurie Beth Zuckerman and her husband, Tom Mathies have created a folk art birdhouse for the annual TASTE silent art auction benefitting the Food Bank of Larimer County and Neighbor to Neighbor. This swanky event will take place at the Fort Collins Hilton Hotel on April 19, 2012 from 5-9 pm. It is the classiest benefit in town and extremely popular, due to its vast spread of food, drinks, and desserts from all the best of Fort Collins' eateries, breweries, and wineries. For tickets and info, just click on this TASTE link.

This is the second year running that Tom and I have combined our artistic abilities to create a birdhouse for the arts collectors who come to bid on these and an array of hand-decorated artist plates at The Taste. Our birdhouse is constructed of all found-object materials from two ghost towns in Colorado and Wyoming. The roof is protected with vintage tins and the sides are covered weathered boards, painted up to look like an old barn. Tom carved a barn owl out of cottonwood root, and I painted all of her feathers. On the back of the barn I have painted a tin Hex Sign, typical of barns in the Pennsylvania region. Tom included a battery-operated tea candle to serve as a night light. Or the birdhouse can be used outdoors. A screw off bottom allows easy cleaning at the end of the nesting period.

Tyler Morris Woodworking of Fort Collins has once again donated ten exquisitely constructed birdhouses to be painted and decorated by ten Fort Collins artists. This is the second year that Tyler has contributed his birdhouses to The Taste's auction. Thank you, Tyler!!!

"Aspen" Birdhouse for the 2011 Taste Art Auction—Laurie Beth Zuckerman and Tom Mathies

"Aspen" Birdhouse (back) for the 2011 Taste Art Auction—Laurie Beth Zuckerman and Tom Mathies

To view more photos of our birdhouse from last year's 2011 auction, please click on this earlier post at ICONARTE.

LAURIE BETH ZUCKERMAN'S TROPICAL PAINTINGS FROM PARADISE INSPIRED BY PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO

Laurie Beth Zuckerman's "Banana Moon" Painting

Laurie Beth Zuckerman's "Orange Crush" Painting

Laurie Beth Zuckerman painted large-scale bird paintings back in the 1980s and early 1990s. Here are two of my seven-foot tall folding screens inspired by a couple of birdwatching trips to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, although many of the birds are not from that local. The Scarlet Ibis are from Trinidad, but I had to take a separate trip to see those last year. They are both done in oil, lacquer, and mixed-media on hollow-core doors. "Banana Moon" is still in my personal possession, but it could be yours!

Log on to Rebecca Brooks Postcards from Paradise for more Posts from Paradise.

LAURIE BETH ZUCKERMAN'S TROPICAL PAINTINGS FROM PARADISE (SAN BLAS, MEXICO)

Laurie Beth Zuckerman's "Red Snapper" Painting

In honor of my dear friend, Rebecca Brook's "Postcards from Paradise" I am posting one of my old paintings from the days when I traveled to Mexico, Central America, and South America specifically to birdwatch and soak up the joyous colors and warmth. This painting is from the late 80s, back in the day when I lived in Seattle and needed all of the color and fantasy I could get to survive the Northwest winters!! Hope you enjoy what for me is a blast from my own past.

This painting, "Red Snapper" is a full-size "window" with movable hinged shutters. It is owned by McDonald's Corporate Headquarters in Seattle, Washington. 

Here is another smaller window from my tropical series below.

Laurie Beth Zuckerman "Fish Fry" Painting