30 Women, 30 Careers: Celebrating Diversity
Career — Ornithologist
A figure surrounded by birds — arms outstretched, the wild gathering to her. Her flowing hair extends around her body and arms, weaving the woman and the birds together into a single, dynamic expression of movement, connection and freedom.
An ornithologist is a scientist who studies birds — their behaviour, biology, ecology, evolution and relationship with the natural environment.
This sculpture explores the intimate relationship between a woman and the natural world through the figure of an ornithologist.
Rather than presenting her simply as a scientist observing birds from a distance, I wanted to imagine a woman who is completely surrounded by the world she studies. Birds gather across her hair, shoulders, back and arms, becoming almost an extension of her presence.
Her arms reach outward, creating an open and expansive gesture. The birds appear to move freely around her, suggesting curiosity, connection and a deep respect for the natural world.
The extended hair is an important part of the composition. It twists and flows around her arm, creating a continuous movement between the human figure, the birds and the surrounding space. The hair becomes almost like a flowing natural element — part wind, part movement, part living landscape.
Rather than separating the woman from nature, the sculpture seeks to blur the boundary between them.
The ornithologist represents a woman whose curiosity has led her beyond the boundaries of the human world.
Her work requires patience, observation and an ability to notice details that might otherwise go unseen. Through her relationship with birds, she develops an understanding of the delicate connections that exist within the natural environment.
I wanted her to feel both strong and open — grounded in her knowledge, yet receptive to the unpredictable movement of nature around her. The birds are not simply specimens or subjects of study. They represent a living world that she observes, respects and seeks to understand.
Birds appear throughout the sculpture — in her hair, across her shoulders and back, and along both arms. Their distribution creates the sense that the woman is immersed within a living flock rather than simply surrounded by individual birds.
The hair extends beyond the natural boundaries of the figure, twisting and wrapping around her arm. This flowing form creates movement through the composition and visually connects the woman with the birds. It becomes more than a physical feature: it acts as a flowing line that carries the eye around the sculpture, linking the different elements together.
The hair from behindBuilt in long coiled ropes, carrying the eye down the back and out around the arm.
The extended arms create an open gesture of welcome and connection. They also provide a physical pathway for the birds, allowing the composition to expand beyond the central body of the figure.
The sculpture deliberately brings the woman and the birds into close physical relationship. The accumulation of birds and flowing hair transforms the figure into something almost organic — suggesting that the study and appreciation of nature can become deeply woven into a person’s identity.
During the mid-stage construction, the sculpture encountered a significant structural challenge. The figure began to lean forward because of the disproportionate weight loading towards the front.
Both arms extend forward, with birds positioned beyond the central structure of the body. This created a cantilevered mass that shifted the centre of gravity forward and placed considerable stress on the upper torso.
Mid-build, both arms propped while the birds went onThe forward load that had to be answered from behind.
To correct the imbalance, I reinforced the rear section of the sculpture by gradually adding clay — primarily through the extended hair and additional birds. This increased the mass behind the central axis while also developing the flowing visual language of the sculpture. A heavier base was then introduced to distribute the weight more evenly through the vertical axis and provide additional counterbalance.
Working at this scale is as much a conversation with gravity and structure as it is with form. Every addition of clay must serve both the artistic composition and the physical stability of the sculpture.
The challenge became part of the making process — finding a balance between movement and stability, lightness and weight, nature and structure.
Finished — fired & glazed
This piece is awaiting its bisque and glaze firing. Finished photographs will be added here once it comes out of the kiln.
For enquiries about pricing or to commission a piece, please contact lee.anchor@optusnet.com.au.