Birds of Wisdom

The Birds of Wisdom are a flock of whimsical, hat-wearing, music-loving, book-reading, world-traveling birds who have taken up residence in my Paper & Whimsy world, showcasing enchanting artistic bird designs. 

They began many years ago with one funky little handmade bird that kept appearing on my handcrafted greeting cards. I loved that bird so much that I eventually imagined an entire flock forming a band, traveling from place to place, and putting smiles on people’s faces with their whimsical bird illustrations. 

The idea sat quietly in the back of my mind — nesting, you might say — for more than nine years. 

Then, finally, the Birds of Wisdom began to hatch, and today the flock includes singers, musicians, travelers, readers, photographers, a navigator, a style icon, a chef/baker, and several other birds whose exact purpose may not have revealed itself yet. There are currently more than 60 Birds of Wisdom in the flock. Apparently, once these artistic bird designs start hatching, they are difficult to stop. 

So, the Birds of Wisdom have become an ongoing Paper & Whimsy story. 

Sometimes they’re rehearsing with the band. Sometimes they’re preparing for a world tour. Sometimes they’re reading. Sometimes they’re baking backstage. Sometimes they’re visiting the Hats of Wonder shop. Sometimes they’re drinking wine. Sometimes they’re appearing on bookmarks that are quietly left in libraries as Random Acts of Art. 

They'll do these things by gracing handcrafted greeting cards, postcards, tags, journals, and bookmarks. Throughout the year, the flock will celebrate some very unusual and obscure "holidays" — because apparently the world contains far more reasons to make somebody a card than I ever realized. You may find them celebrating Thinking of You Week, Mad Hatter Day, and whatever delightfully odd occasion catches our attention next. They'll share some Words of Wisdom, and hopefully create some wonder and joy.  

What matters most is that each piece feels like a little unexpected gift — something created to make another person smile. 

Their adventures continue to evolve, largely because I keep having ideas. 

If you'd like to get your hands on some Birds of Wisdom art, please email me at wendyg@paperandwhimsy.com or DM me on Instagram @w.greenberg.

The Birds of Wisdom are part handmade art, part digital collaboration, and part whatever strange idea occurs to me next.

For many years I’ve made greeting cards, painted papers, collages, journals, tags, bookmarks and all sorts of other paper creations. I used that work — along with my own visual style, favorite colors, sense of humor, handmade papers, old bird designs and creative preferences — to develop the Birds of Wisdom with AI as a creative partner. I like to say that I taught AI to think a little more like Wendy. 😉

Together, we developed the visual language of the flock: collage-like bodies, patterned papers, enormous expressive eyes, quirky proportions and, of course, their very important hats.

But the digital imagery is only the beginning. I print, cut, layer, glue, emboss, stitch, tear, tuck, fold and embellish the images with real papers, fibers, ribbons, tags, pockets, tickets and anything else that seems like it belongs.

The finished artwork is a hybrid of digital creativity and traditional handmade paper art — which means every project eventually ends up back on my art table with scissors and glue. Exactly where I like it

Check out the gallery below to see some of these wonderful bird images and some of the handmade items I've made with them thus far.