‘BirdScapes’ artwork takes wing in Eden Prairie

Some birds at Eden Prairie’s Outdoor Center won’t be heading south when winter winds return to Minnesota.

A permanent installation called “BirdScapes” depicts flora and bird species found in five habitats across Minnesota. It was a collaboration between ceramic artist Susan Feigenbaum and painter Megan Moore as part of Eden Prairie’s public art program.

 “Public art provides just a moment for people to encounter something that was, perhaps, unexpected in their day, and maybe gives the person a moment of reflection about something they might typically not think about,” Feigenbaum said.

Feigenbaum has lived in Eden Prairie since 2001 and has been part of the city’s art scene for many years. As a ceramic artist, she taught clay classes at the Eden Prairie Art Center when it opened in 2009. She also focused her talents on the southwest metro area as a four-time recipient of a Minnesota State Arts Board Arts Learning Grant. Feigenbaum used that funding to provide hands-on clay learning experiences for seniors in their communities.

She and her husband, Dennis, owned a graphic design business for many years after moving to Minnesota in 1980. Initially in search of a more tactile creative outlet, Feigenbaum ultimately made ceramic art her full-time career.

“I wanted to create with my hands and communicate through my art,” she said.

She creates and exhibits at her studio in the Northrup King Building in the northeast Minneapolis Arts District. She has an exhibit, “Taking Flight,” at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Handbuilding, Feigenbaum’s primary method of clay sculpting, is the technique of shaping clay and creating forms with the hands rather than on a pottery wheel. “I learned pottery and clay on the wheel, but I made the switch over to handbuilding because I just like the freedom of form that I could get,” she said.

Moore painted the habitat clusters and Feigenbaum created the three-dimensional elements on the exhibit, which was installed in May 2021. “We worked together on the composition of each of them,” said Feigenbaum.  

Though birds are common in much of her art, the techniques and materials she used for “BirdScapes” were a necessary but “wonderful departure,” she said. “It was a great learning experience because, as a ceramic artist, I work with clay that gets fired in a kiln and it’s meant for either functional use within the home or purely decorative,” she said.

The outdoor location of “BirdScapes” receives “blistering sun as well as below-zero temperatures,” said Feigenbaum. “This required me to research an entirely new material that could withstand Minnesota weather conditions but also be somewhat similar to clay. It’s much more like concrete when it’s cured.” 

The material is placed under wet towels for up to a few weeks to cure. “So it’s totally opposite – rather than being fired in a hot kiln, it cures at air temperature in a moist environment, so it was very different to work with,” she said. “But it kind of opened up a whole new world out there for outdoor possibilities.” 

Feigenbaum was also challenged by working on a much larger scale.

“As a sculptor, I was used to working in three dimensions, but my work to that point had been relatively small,” she said. “These pieces are taller than life-size and are visible from  360 degrees. We wanted all the pieces to be interesting for visitors to look at from all angles.” 

Feigenbaum and Moore also hoped regular visitors to the outdoor center would discover something new about the installation with each visit. “There’s a lot of activity happening on each of those habitat clusters,” she said. “So it was a very different experience to think on that scale.” 

Feigenbaum frequently works in the abstract or “pure fantasy forms,” she said.

“Yet, we wanted the work to be not just our artistic expressions but an opportunity for education as well,” she said. “I felt in this case, that to serve the viewing public better, the work should be grounded in reality rather than totally abstract. Things are stylized, but you can still recognize a cardinal or a nuthatch, for example.”

Feigenbaum said the outdoor center is the ideal location for “BirdScapes” to instill “an appreciation for wildlife, for nature and for birds in particular.” All of the habitats – deciduous forests, grasslands, coniferous forests, wetlands, lakes and rivers – are not found in the Twin Cities, but exist throughout the state.

“The general message,” said Feigenbaum, “is of awareness of what we’ve got here in Minnesota and the need to appreciate and take care of it.”

“My work in general is meant to elicit a sense of happiness, a sense of surprise, something unexpected,” Feigenbaum added. “I’m happy to have a little place in Eden Prairie that can speak to other people out there in the community. I hope our creation brings happiness as well as understanding about nature and birds in Minnesota.”

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Related: Public art is woven into Eden Prairie’s landscape, enriching spaces and sparking conversation. Learn how city leaders and artists collaborate to make creativity a vital part of the community.