Ever since a disastrous house fire, I've been walking a tightrope, unsure about what was once so familiar. All living things thankfully were unharmed but so many memories and cherished objects were in ashes. I fell into a dark hole and couldn't paint. A few birds helped me climb out, starting with drawings of imaginary bird-beings and emerging into the light with paintings that opened into a new creative world peopled by "Orni Sapiens". Theirs is a wonder-filled world of bird-people and their stories, both personal and universal. From poignant to humorous, artworks like "CAFÉ SOCIETY" in this series envision humans with affinities towards birds, those in the process of transitioning, birds with human personalities, and humans with bird-like attributes and insights. For me, they have become psychological and spiritual symbols of our wish to fly, to escape the heaviness of ground-bound limitations, to soar and defy borders and boundaries, to see both close and far from a unique perspective, to fly freely with wings of inspiration. The anthropomorphic "bird-people" that abound the folklore of many cultures seem reflective of such wishes. I am grateful they flew into my life and trust they may enrich and enlighten yours.