A birdwoman is a being—part human, part bird—influenced by bird-like intuitions. She has instinctive skills of nest-building, navigation or song. She first came to me when I began building large scale nests for myself in the park, and since then I have made dozens of these forms - small homes - out of materials found nearby, in a curious and playful quest to feel grounded and feel held. The nesting is an inquiry seeking to reimagine what it takes to feel safe, connect to the earth, and to, as Donna Haraway says, “make kin with other creatures”.

Birdwoman Essay published in COSMOS Feminist Art Practices & Research (Taylor & Francis)
We, the they published in EcoTheo Collective


Watching Bird, 36x36", Cardboard, paint and sticks, 2024
Held from the sky and the ground, Installation of Branches & Mirror, Forest for Trees Collective on Governors Island, 2024, Photo by Paul Rho
Stone Nest, High Desert Sites at A-Z West, 2x5x7’, 2024
Excerpt from my essay Birdwoman, published in 2025 in academic journal Feminist Art Practices & Research, Taylor & Francis.
Nest Woman, Oil, Snail Shells and Dogwood flowers on wood, 86x45", 2025
Excerpt from my essay Birdwoman, published in 2025 in academic journal Feminist Art Practices & Research, Taylor & Francis.
Collection of Nests, Gathered sticks or other materials, Human-scale nests, 2021-2024
They held each other (Nesting Project), 2 minute video, 2022 (with Char Jeré)
Swan neck, 13.5x13.5", Drawing on Wood, 2025
Opening, Oil and Plaster on Mirror, 28x21", 2025
The one who got free, Paint, graphite and dogwood flowers on cardboard, 2025
Birdwomen's Garden, Mural made in collaboration with the residents at Wanda Patterson Women's Shelter, 2025. I was invited to paint a mural at the newly opened BRC Women’s Shelter in Far Rockaway in collaboration with the residents. The motif of the birdwomen feels uplifting and offered a joyful activity.





© Meaghan Elyse 2025meaghanelyse.studio@gmail.com