There’s a gigantic flock of birds in flight inside the Hadley Public Library right now. A bald eagle hovers above a table of books; a black vulture sits not far away near a binder. Dozens of other birds fly together silently in rows nearby, filling the air with shades of red, blue, yellow, white, brown and black.
The colorful indoor aviary is an art installation called “Take Flight!” Spearheaded by Hopkins Academy art teacher Karen Sause, the project showcases unique papier-mâché birds sculpted by local students in grades seven through 12.
“There have been children just awed by it, adults awed by it and lots of them identifying things that they love. And then when I said, ‘Did you see the eagle?’ and they start looking around all over the place, they’re very excited to see that, flying in his glory, straight at the desk,” said Julia Lloyd, head of youth services at Hadley Public Library.
The birds “took flight” at the library in July of this year, but Sause got the idea for the installation on a trip to Portland, Maine, last July. While exploring the Portland Museum of Art with her husband, Sause was immediately drawn to artist Christopher Patch’s 2015 installation, “Migration” — a striking collection of papier-mâché birds suspended as if in mid-flight.
“I looked at this and went, ‘My students can totally do that!’” she said.
Sause spent the year planning the initiative before introducing it to her classes in late April, aiming for a major end-of-year project to keep students engaged during the challenging stretch of May and June.
“I had students finishing up the last day of school, the last hour of school, slapping some paint on,” she said.
Sause began by using Wikipedia to create a list of all the nesting birds of Massachusetts. She chose to make the options Massachusetts-exclusive. “I wanted to not have a whole bunch of emperor penguins,” she said with a laugh. “And to make kids look at what’s around them.”
She then narrowed the selection of hundreds down to 80, chosen for variety in their home environment, size and other characteristics. “If you give kids 500 birds to choose from, nobody’s making any decisions, ” she said. Sause also included a reference photo with each bird choice to help the students pick.
“It’s funny — I did pick a couple birds in my brain, going, ‘I know there’s this student that’s gonna want to do this,’ and darn if they didn’t choose it!” she said with a chuckle.
As part of the project, students had to papier-mâché over balloons to create the birds’ bodies and heads, then they used cardboard from cereal boxes to make the wings before painting their creations. They also had to fill out a form with information about their bird, which included its common name, its scientific name, where in Massachusetts one could find it, what its eggs look like and whether or not it’s endangered or threatened. The completed forms are compiled in a binder for library visitors, with each bird marked by a numbered sticker that corresponds to its profile. Guests can also leave comments on the birds, which Sause will share with the students in the fall.
As a result of the project, Sause, her students and visitors to the library have been able to identify birds in their own backyards or elsewhere in their communities.
“That’s so much what I wanted!” Sause said.
Lloyd said that the installation is important because it reflects the most important thing about the library: that it is a space for community.
“If it brings people who haven’t been to the library before or haven’t been often, that’s fantastic, because then they can come in and utilize the other parts of it,” she said. “It entertains and astonishes the children coming through, and it’s a talking point. People will have conversations with each other about the birds, and they’ll learn things.”
“I love that they learn things!” Sause said.
While it is unclear how long “Take Flight!” will remain on display, Sause hopes the library will host it through November, despite many students being eager to take their artwork home. After that, she hopes to be able to fill the space with another installation.
“I love that the library lets me put stuff here because, I mean, I could put it up around Hopkins, but no one would see it,” she said. “And I love that the community gets to see what my students do, because I think we do really great stuff at Hopkins, and I love sharing that.”
The Hadley Public Library is open from 2 to 7 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, and is closed on Sundays.
