A Story painting by Rebecca Lee Kunz from her 2021 Exhibit STORY PAINTINGS: A Mythological Narrative told by the Creatures of the Anthropocene
at the Lloyd Kiva New Gallery at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts ©2021
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“Call it Owl’s Song” is a mixed media monotype painting that tells the story of an experience I had with an owl. On my 45th birthday, I was walking down a familiar path with my dear friends when I looked over my shoulder and spotted a deceased owl perched on a fence post. Its body still warm, we picked it up to look at it. The most perfect and little soft Saw-Whet owl lay in our hands.
With the help of a friend, the owl’s body and wings were cured and brought to my house. The owl’s body resided in a box outside my home for months as I decided what to do. In the weeks that followed a series of stories began to unfold in my personal life. As I tried to decipher the lessons before me, I began to work through some difficult patterns from my life. Would I choose to hold onto these old patterns or would I choose to make changes and do some hard work? This uncharted path meant setting boundaries and protecting myself, and this was uncomfortable! The day the owl came into my life I felt my whole trajectory shifting.
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Since that time I have continued to open some dark and dusty old doors and to look inside. I still have a lot of work to do, but am glad for the opportunity to continue to change old dysfunctions and to practice a more restorative path forward.