Everything Under The Sun: Counting The Crows

Some of the images from Erica Hansen's book.

A varied background in the arts and education has led one woman to research exploration, one venture being a multidisciplinary focus on crows. In fact, Erica Hansen has been exploring the world of crows for more than ten years. Much of her work does involve observation, which she can then share in various formats.

Most people may not realize how much crows have been connected to human beings, yet most of us rarely focus on them. So, Erica's work strives to familiarize people with the world of crows through art and historic traditions. The hope is that people will realize the complexity of crows' lives and help to conserve this species.

As Ms. Hansen said, "Crows have always lived in close proximity to human made environments. Crows, are common, distinct, and complex. I want to explore our relationship to them again, and offer something of value to artistic and scientific communities by examining the culture of crows in a creative and collaborative mode."

Her latest project in her work with crows is Crow: Mirror Muse and Sentinel. This project is part of Erica's ongoing investigation and research into the tradition of counting crows. The work is depicted in images of crows and how much they can figure into everyday human life. Some of these images have been installed as large murals, illuminated panels, and projected images. It includes a multimedia exhibit that includes photos, videos, and performance art. A limited edition book on this series is being compiled, with a planned release date of November 1. In addition, there will also be a smartphone app, through which fellow lovers of crows can access and add to an ongoing conversation about crows.

There was also a series of workshops scheduled between November 2015 and March of this year that were designed to get participants thinking about their own human experience with crows and then creating their own predictive processes based on their future wishes.

First, attendees participated in a crow observation experience and then created field guides based on crow behavior and sightings. Then the group explored the mythology of crows and created paintings based on sacred geometry and the sightings. Finally, in a writing session, the group investigated the history and tradition of Counting Crow rhymes, summing up by creating their own rhymes. All of the creations would be collected in a book and placed at a location within the community. Participants could be children or adults, with the maximum number of participants in each session limited to 20.

Counting Corvids on a glass wall in Baltimore.

An interesting part of these workshop concepts was that they were designed to meet Common Core Standards for Mathematics: looking for and using structures and also English Language Arts standards for reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Ms. Hansen was providing the workshop as a gift, part of the gift economy, and in return, the organizations which received the workshops could choose an appropriate gift to give her in return.