Much to the delight of their fans, the Becorns are back again this year as guest stars for the Fairy Garden Days at Roger Williams Park Botanical Center from now until May 1!
Bursting with whimsy and charm, Becorns are woodland creatures carefully crafted from natural materials, by local artist David M. Bird. Although they’ll be appearing as part of the fairy garden exhibits, a rare and wonderful opportunity to see them in person, the Becorns are usually found in Bird’s captivating photographic work. When we first stumbled across Bird’s work last year, my whole family instantly fell in love with the unique combination of storytelling, nature themes, seasonal references, and beautiful lighting.
I caught up with their creator to talk about all things Becorn.
A former RISD alum and ex-designer for Lego, Bird discovered that he could apply what he had learned about character building and story-telling to acorns, pinecones, sticks, and other items you might find in your backyard. He tells me, “The beginnings of Becorns was when I was designing for Bionical, which are basically buildable Lego action figures. We would quickly arrive at a prototype by hacking parts up and hot gluing them together just to figure out the attitude of the character and the features, and then we’d show it to kids and get their feedback. I learned so much from the kids just watching their reactions and hearing what made a character their favorite. It was just so fascinating to me.”
Bird worked with Lego in Denmark for five years before deciding to return to the U.S. Knowing it would be hard to find a job like that again, he would question his decision. It was on one such occasion that he had what he calls his ‘aha’ moment. “I was sweeping my mom’s driveway thinking about whether I had done the right thing leaving Lego, and suddenly realized that everything I did at Lego in terms of building characters and creating the stories around characters I could do with acorns and sticks. At the time I knew nothing about photography, I just knew how to build characters.”
Bird poses his invented characters in nature and photographs them at their own level alongside birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and other wildlife. In doing so he creates pictures that invite the viewer to imagine a world where magical creatures are born from trees and grow from the ground. In a day in the life of a Becorn, you might find Erol collecting blueberries from catbirds, Flynn perched on a trumpet flower eagerly awaiting the hummingbirds, Ryder dancing to keep his snowdrop alight or perhaps even a lively chipmunk attack.
It’s not hard to imagine the patience and skill that it must take to capture these images.
Bird has to manage variables such as the weather, lighting, and of course, the unpredictable nature of the local wildlife. But far from being frustrated by the obstacles, Bird finds it part of the beauty of what he does, with the animals often doing something more interesting than he would have anticipated. “What’s fun is, because I don’t have control over the outcome of the pictures it’s not just what I bring to it, there’s this random element that I’m forced to react to, so that keeps the themes diverse.”
Of course, it is not without risk to the Becorn themselves. Bird’s favorite character, a Becorn named Joonie, a natural nurturer who holds a basket with seeds that the animals eat out of, is no stranger to the danger of squirrel attacks. When your head is an acorn it makes a delicious lunch for a squirrel and poor Joonie is now on her third incarnation. I am curious if Bird knows how many Becorns he has made and my kids want to know if they all have names: “I think right now I probably have 40 in my collection and I’ve probably lost 40 along the way. Originally I never named them, using random names for the captions, and then, as the process evolved I liked to see them more as characters. There’s a guy Dink, for example, who has his arms in front of him and he’s staring with wonder at whatever I put in his hands, so most of the captions that I seem to write about him are about how he gives into temptation; he’s always doing something he shouldn’t do in order to gaze at some amazing thing in his hand.”
It is this theme of wonder that is one of Bird’s main focuses and perhaps what viewers resonate with the most in his artwork, particularly the adults.”One reaction that I’ve really loved receiving, is that people have said the Becorns remind them of being a kid and exploring the wilderness or doing crafts with their grandparents. So many adults have been moved to tears because it reminded them of a feeling from their childhood that they didn’t realize they had been missing, which for me is so special because that’s what I’m trying to do is recall those feelings of wonder that are harder to access when you’re an adult.”
My five and eight-year-olds particularly enjoyed watching Bird’s process videos. He remarks, “It’s so accessible. We all watch TV and movies and there’s this feeling that it’s done on computers by professionals and it’s sort of out of reach, but there’s something about Becorns because they’re made by hand, using hot glue, and then photographed in the backyard that anyone can do it and in that way, it’s really relatable.”
Nurturing Creativity in Our Children
Bird downplays his own considerable talent, but this does lead me to wonder what his thoughts are on how parents can nurture creative passions in their children. “I loved making things and drawing and building. My mom was always really encouraging and supportive of that. I really think that’s the main thing, is supporting what your kid is into. My mom always said she did her best to figure out what I loved to do and then she tried to provide materials for me to do that. For me it happened to be making things, but if it had been writing or any other thing she would have done that.”
I ask what is next for the Becorns and it’s good news for my children and the many other people who make requests to take a Becorn home. Bird is currently working on casting some of the Becorns in bronze, experimenting with different patinas to make them look as realistic as possible, but also able to withstand the elements and the squirrel attacks. Hopefully later this year it will be possible to own your very own Joonie or Dink; a Becorn to protect your houseplants or surprise the wildlife in your own backyard.
I’m even more excited to see the Becorns again this year after our conversation. It is a treat to see the Becorns in person, but if you can’t make it the photos are equally impressive and prints can be purchased from Bird’s website. They make wonderful unique baby shower gifts, perfect for a nursery or kid’s bedroom, as they are both beautiful and will feed the imagination of a child as they grow. With nearly 200 displays, the Fairy Garden Days are always a magical, immersive experience. It makes a welcome break from some of the realities of life and offers a chance to recapture some of the wonders of childhood. ‘People need that excuse’, Bird comments, and I couldn’t agree more.
If you’d like to meet the artist, David M Bird will be at the Fairy Garden Days in person on Saturdays only.
To find more events in and around R.I. where you can see Bird’s photographic work featuring the Becorns please check his website: https://www.davidmbird.com/
You can also follow the Becorns on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/becorns/ and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidmbird/
