The Birdhouses of Holly Manon Moore: “Put A Bird In It”
Holly Manon Moore arrived at MIU with a BFA in printmaking from West Virginia University (WVU), where she studied with renowned printmaker Will Peterson. While working on MIU staff, Holly was able to complete the art department core courses. “Everything I learned at WVU fell into place,” she tells me. Holly was the first person at MIU to mount a one-woman show in the Unity Gallery, and completed her CV with an MA at MIU in Education Administration.
Holly Manon Moore
“I fully embraced that I’m an artisan,” she says, “that’s why I studied printmaking. I’m drawn to arts where form and function integrate art into life. Even my small paintings will probably end up as trays or birdhouse roofs.” For this interview, we are in her home fabric/arts studio where she creates ‘bespoke’ birdhouses, furniture and public art installations.
Holly prefers to work small because it’s quick. “I might also be a little ADHD,” she laughs. Holly’s work is hard-edge and saturated with color. She often paints in the style of famous artists. “I’ll do a birdhouse in the style of Magritte, and then rather than churn out more Magrittes, I switch to one in the style of Van Gogh, and then on to Monet.”
Holly’s interest in birdhouses began at a tender time following her mother Kitty’s death. As a naturalist, Kitty could identify birds from their calls and taught this skill to local Girl Scouts as a leader in the Pennsylvania Girl Scouts. She was also instrumental in creating The Lou Henry Hoover Ranger Program at Camp Roy Weller in Western Pennsylvania.
“The spring my mother died,” she says, “I woke one morning – still working through my grief, and saw a wren in the red bud tree outside my window. I remembered a birdhouse I had, and instantly left my bed and hung it there. The wrens moved in.”
In 2002, Holly began to paint birdhouses for the thousands of wrens migrating through Iowa each summer as a creative project with her sister and their kids. A neighbor suggested she sell them at a local crafts fair. She sold out. “If my legacy is a thousand birdhouses, I’m good with that,” she says, “Actually, I might be close to that.” The houses are a beautiful homage to the influence of her mother.
Later, we walk together in the wooded outdoor spaces around her home. Holly points out the birdhouses (18 in all) in nearby trees, while explaining the migration and mating behavior of wrens, who can nest two broods starting in April and ending in late July. “The johnny wrens arrive first, jamming sticks in the cavity. Then, jenny wrens arrive, and male shows off the nests he’s created while sitting nearby and singing. The female checks out each one, and when she starts picking up soft material to line a nest, I know they’ve moved in.” “While I’m painting,” she adds, “I feel connected to all of that.”
Holly’s birdhouses move quickly each time she sells them. The next sales in late fall, but there are always houses available in her studio before then.
Mo Ellis is inspired by art, issues, and progressive ideas. Mo Ellis’ online and print contributions as a writer, editor, website & mobile app project manager, PR and online media director have appeared at: "O" magazine, The Huffington Post, The New York Times, The Des Moines Register, Surface Design Journal, The Iowa Source, KRUU-FM, Iowa Public Radio, Dr. Mercola and Dr. Oz.