Lady Love Bird Artistry
When I took some time off from tattooing, I wasn’t sure if I would ever come back to it. One day I woke up and said to myself, “Ok, it’s time.” Most of my tattoo career I have worked for myself, and on this day when I woke up, I knew, that if I was going to start tattooing again, I’d be my own boss again.
Instead of stressing about renting a store front, I set out to find a simple private space. Ultimately, I chose a salon suite in Salons By JC. I run my own business here, with my own private room, but I also get to be around other like-minded entrepreneurial service professionals. We have a great location here in Greensboro, with plenty of parking.
During my break from tattooing, I had named my little online art shop Lucky Bird Ink, and I had intended to keep that as the name for my tattoo studio space, however it is just so commonly used. I really wanted to keep the bird theme in honor my sweet little cockatiels, and general admiration for birds, cut to - Lady Love Bird Artistry.
I was always very much a cat lady, and still am. But when I went off traveling the world I started paying much more attention to the birds. Hummingbirds were always fluttering around the park in Quito. While I was there, I was blessed with great big windows looking out above and beyond the city. Just 16 miles south of the Equator, with an elevation of 9,350’. Every morning, I enjoyed my coffee and enjoyed my view. One morning something spectacular happened, I had the opportunity to watch an Andean Condor glide over the city. His wingspan easily over 10 feet, he certainly left a great impression.
Paracas Peru is also home to some gorgeous birds, cruising along the coast, birds dove into the sea, bursting back up into the air with a mouthful of fish. But the pelicans for sure stole my heart. Because they were used to people feeding them, they were a friendly bunch. What absolutely broke my heart - plastic, plastic everywhere. Plastic bottles, trash all along the coast. While I hung out with the pelicans on the shoreline, I cleaned up what I could. In the past I have done some volunteering with some great people, What I learned from them is that I need not wait for a scheduled beach clean-up. If there is plastic around, I clean it up. If everyone makes more conscious decisions, it will help. The problem does not solely exist along the coast of Peru the problem exists around the world. I will never ask anyone to be perfect, I know I am not. But I do ask everyone to do better.
In Ireland and the UK, I fell more and more in love with the crows. The Magpies and Hooded crows quickly became my favorite. I even have a decent size Magpie tattooed on my thigh. I spent most my free time during lockdown hanging out with birds in Hyde Park. If you get the opportunity to visit, not far from the Peter Pan Statue, there’s a large creepy tree where large crows call home. A lot of them, and big ones. They are beautiful. Not far from that tree, across the walking path, lives a flock of gorgeous colorful parrots. They are somewhat friendly, and many people bring them fruits, nuts and seeds. I’d find a place to sit in the grass and all kinds of birds would gather around. Mostly they were curious to know if I was sharing snacks. They were good company.
I ended up back in the states and shortly after ended up with my two little darling birds. It was 100% a mistake and I do not recommend anyone own birds. If you must then I urge you to do as much research as possible and try to rescue one. Parrots are the #1 most re-homed pet. Now that I live with them, I can see why. They are loud, messy, needy and destructive. They can be tamed and trained, but they will always be wild, never domesticated. Their behaviors that are going to drive you mad, that’s just them trying to be a bird. I took my birds on, and I intend to give them the best life I possibly can. I love so I am committed to trying my best with a small number of resources. When I got the first one, I read some misinformation that cockatiels live for about 5 years. Cockatiels can live 30 years. Other Parrots can live 80 years, outliving their owners. It seems my birds and I will grow old together, or at least I hope so! Our lives change sometimes beyond our control and a backup plan should be in place in case your unable to continue to care for your flock. In our hose we vacuum 3x a day. 1x daily cage is wiped down, food and water bowls are cleaned and replenished, bottom paper is replaced. 1x a week a more advanced deep cleaning is done throughout the cage. The birds need enrichment, they need activities, and a lot of foraging. I’m not going to lie; Zeph loves to watch movies. We do not clip wings in this house. The cage is like the bedroom, and I have set it up, so they are comfy and enjoy it. It is a flight cage. As far as I’m concerned, they don’t have enough space, but they have as much space as I can give them. Zeph also came with a lot of issues, and it has been a lot of work getting him to come out of the cage, build trust and feel safe. When I am home the doors are open, they are free to fly around. I try my best to let them have time out at least 4 hours a day. They can’t be out of the cage unsupervised; the cage helps keep them safe. It is very easy for a bird to get itself injured or even killed. If you get a bird, you will likely have to change your lifestyle. You will have a healthier lifestyle ridding your home of toxic chemicals from candles, air fresheners, Teflon etc. Most of my cleaning is done with veterinary disinfectant. We also use vinegar for light cleaning. Anyway, it is a lot of work, don’t take on the responsibility unless you are going to stick with it!
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