iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 14h

I sometimes collect hair bands like that (same style, even!), also mysteriously

Reposted by H L Birdsong

Liv “Leev” Rainey-Smith @livraineysmith.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Hey Bluesky hivemind -- I bought this silver pin 2nd hand and the listing described it as a bird, but I think it's clearly an insect. Just not sure what kind. Any suggestions? No maker's mark, which is unfortunate because it looks hand-fabricated to me and I love the weird vibes it gives. #jewelry

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

I am running on ~2 hours of restless sleep and a 10-minute nap. My brain feels like pudding and has apparently forgotten how to sleep, while all my walking muscles remember how to ache

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Russo Lee Gallery has one of these left, if I recall correctly (I’m not opening my inventory document right now to check!) matted and framed. I’m a little sad that they’ll never be together again, but mostly so happy that nearly all were bought by fellow artists. Quite a compliment from my peers.

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Now that the weather is cooling and leaves are starting to turn, I’m remembering this series of little paintings, November Lovesong. Each is about the size of a business card, a tiny love note to Pacific Northwest forests in fall. Even the burned bits. Fall is why I moved here.

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

That’s really sweet. I wish I had more of those books! I do have one tatty old Snoopy book that had been my dad’s when he was a boy. One of the few books I always know where to find on our over-stuffed bookshelves.

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Huge, expensive flop. Though I will say, as an art-loving person who had the misfortune of growing up in Las Vegas, I was glad for every failed attempt to bring museum art to the city. There were a few! I don’t really believe this one will get off the ground either.

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I don’t have a lot of memories of my dad because he died when I was so young, but I do remember him reading to my brother and me (comics, mostly). I felt so loved in those moments. It’s one of the reasons I read to younger relatives. You have to be such a selfish, callow idiot to not value that.

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

My grandfather worked at the test site. They would announce above ground tests, which stopped a year or two after this photo, so people could watch the mushroom clouds. The test site illegally occupies Newe land, per the Treaty of Ruby Valley. We poisoned the desert and much of its groundwater.

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Staking museum programming on borrowing from other institutions hasn’t worked for Vegas before, and I can’t imagine why anyone thinks it would now. Especially from LA! Which locals already tend to visit

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Reposted by H L Birdsong

Timo of Finland @timo-of-finland.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Portland friends and lovers! My friend @queerpractice.bsky.social has a solo show coming up, Sex with Ghosts. I’m very sad not to see this so please attend and give Michael a hug for me: Thursday Nov 5, 5-8pm Open Sats & Suns 12-5pm or by appt. Souvenir Arts, 1233 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR

Long Memory I, Michael Espinoza, 2026. Polaroid of a lake partially covered by cross-stitch.

Long Memory III (time), Michael Espinoza, 2026. A Polaroid of a clock partially covered by cross-stitch mostly greens and greys, creating stretched effect.

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

My high school had a homecoming dance at the start of the year but no sports teams. Though it did boast an award-winning cheer squad that performed during monthly assemblies.

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Ah, I wish so much that I could go see these! Thanks for posting about them so I can glean a bit of this Gwen John exhibition

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I will enjoy answering if someone asks, as someone so often does, “How long did it take to make this?” 10 years 😌

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I love my dolphin legs keychain. I have it hooked on my favorite thumb drive

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I also designed the graphics promoting the exhibition for Russo Lee. You can see them in the current PADA Art Guide. My thanks to Martha & Athena for hiring me as a graphic designer, as well as supporting my fine art practice as my representing gallery. padaoregon.org/monthly-port...

Russo Lee: 40 Years: An Anniversary Exhibitin.. October 1–31, 2026. Opening Reception October 1, 5–7 PM.
A long list of participating artists, and a reworking of the graphic from the previous image to fit on this page, around the text.

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I’m debuting a new painting in the exhibition: You Must Be Mistaken, 2026, gouache on hot pressed paper, 17×20” framed. I started it 10 years ago, tucked it away, and finally pulled it out to finish it this year.

Painting in greens, teals, and tans of two polygon figures facing off in a clearing in a forest. The larger, farther triangular polygon casts a huge shadow across the scene. The little house-shaped figure stands defiant against it, as echoes of itself tumble behind and cast their own shadows. Dark, mossy, bare tree branches reach toward them from around edges.

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

This is why I help fellow artists with studio habits that support the business of being a living artist & create a foundation for legacy planning. Artists are often remembered and their works preserved only because someone cares enough after they’re gone. Make it easier!

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I always enjoy it when you make this

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Reposted by H L Birdsong

Forest Park Conservancy @forestparkconservancy.org · 01/10/2026

A hearing on PGE's reapplication, the previous version of which was appealed 12-0 by City Council, has been scheduled for October 14th. If approved, this would give PGE the go-ahead to remove 4.7 acres of trees from Forest Park, among other ecological harms.

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Reposted by H L Birdsong

Bird Alliance of Oregon @birdallianceoregon.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The Blue Mountains are at risk, and the Forest Service is proposing sweeping changes that could dramatically reshape how more than 5 million acres of public land across the Umatilla, Malheur, Wallowa, and Ochoco National Forests are managed. Act by 9/30! birdallianceoregon.org/take-action/...

birdallianceoregon.org

Urge the Forest Service to Protect the Blue Mountains - Bird Alliance of Oregon

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I use four different search engines now to get results somewhat as useful as what Google used to give before ruining everything with this AI bullshit. Every time a simple inquiry becomes an advanced research effort, I get a little bit more pissed off at the narrow stupidity of capitalism.

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

It was a good day to quite literally stop and smell the roses (not the one with an insect fully lost in its sauce, though). That one with the pink tips really smelled divine though.

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Oh my gosh yes. I will never forget meeting with a prof who had drawn a red line across the last page of my paper. She pointed at it and said, looking me in the eye, “This is where you gave up”. Devastatingly accurate!

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

For sure. But man, one ruined sweater on a tight budget, and I learned fast!

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I had to learn how to care for wool when I moved to the PNW. It wasn’t a material I encountered living in the Mojave desert!

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The Last Supper led Julie to develop relationships with people and orgs working to change the justice system in the US. This, maybe inevitably, resulted in another significant but less known body of work: First Meal, highlighting stories from people following release from wrongful convictions.

osupress.oregonstate.edu

First Meal

Wrongful convictions haunt the American criminal justice system, as revealed in recent years by DNA and other investigative tools. And every wrongfully convicted person who walks free, exonerated afte...

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Happy birthday to Julie Green, one of the kindest and loveliest humans I’ve had the joy of knowing. The Last Supper, which Julie worked on for 25 years—right up to their death in 2021—uses paintings of food to provoke empathy and challenge the use and purpose of death sentences in the US.

thisiscolossal.com

Julie Green’s ‘The Last Supper’ Memorializes Hundreds of People's Final Meals While on Death Row

Green collected an array of mass-produced ceramic platters and plates, re-firing with the addition of cobalt blue mineral paint.

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

She looks remarkably well behaved at the vet, despite her trials ❤️

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Reposted by H L Birdsong

Aimee Cozza Illustration @aimeecozza.com · 21/09/2026

Today is your monthly reminder! Back. Up. Your. Stuff. 💻💽💾 Art, writing, personal photos, etc etc... Back it up back it up! Repost to remind a friend and save a life

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

This print is still available, for a steal! My little love-note to spring in the Pacific Northwest and one of our most iconic forest flowers. The tan of the paper is a bit warmer & prettier than it looks in the pic on the website. Photo from the proofing process, when I was testing green inks.

Three test prints in different green inks on tan paper, laid out on a cutting mat that’s black with white grid lines. The largest test print on the left is still quite wet across the top, showing that the sizing has started to break down because the paper is old

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Reposted by H L Birdsong

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Goooood morning! The 2026 Snail Facts Calendars are OUT! We've got 24 days of scratchable snail fact goodness, designed by Philly artist Kelly Nichols! Advent calendars are cute as hell, a delightful tradition, and keep @skypeascientist.bsky.social funded! Get one at SquidFacts.net Pls repost ❤️

An 11x14 inch poster featuring snails, slugs, nudibranchs, and other snails! There are 24 yellow-green snail shells that you can scratch off. There's a leaf sheep and sea bunny and sea angel and fire snail and banana slug and mystery snail and ramshorn snail and candy cane snail

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Reposted by H L Birdsong

Bird Alliance of Oregon @birdallianceoregon.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

🚨Lights Out Alert! Tomorrow night approximately 4.1 million birds will migrate through Oregon's skies. Help keep them safe on their journey by turning off your outside lights and drawing your blinds between 11p-6a. 📷: aeroecolab.com/oregon

Lights Out Alert for September 16, 2026 - 4.1 million birds will be migrating through Oregon skies. Dark skies help keep birds safe on their journey to their wintering grounds. Migration is happening now through approximately October 19 -- if you can turn off your lights and draw your blinds every evening during that time period to assist migrating birds, that would be appreciated.

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Holbein gouache is lovely, but do watch lightfastness if that’s a concern (especially the acryla-gouache). I haven’t used Nicker but they seem similar in that regard. 15 years ago or so, W&N redid their whole line of gouache to make all the colors highly lightfast, so I default to theirs.

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

And very like her father in the manner of her selfishness

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

"Reverse auction" means prices go down over time—but so do chances of snagging the one and only available impression of any of these prints. The rest of the editions were traded among us printmakers and are not for sale. $ goes to supporting Oregon printmaking resources! See all the prints here:

2026-emerald-print-exchange.myshopify.com

Products

2026 Emerald Print Exchange

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

The #EmeraldPrintExchange Reverse Auction Fundraiser is live! Your one and only chance to buy my sweet little etching of trillium flowers, printed in dark green ink on tan Rives BFK paper—the last of the stock that I got from Manuel Izquierdo's estate, I think.

2026-emerald-print-exchange.myshopify.com

104 — Heather Lee Birdsong

Name: Heather Lee Birdsong Title: Graces Medium: Etching Instagram: @smidgeonpress Website: http://heatherleebirdsong.com/

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

The fact that the many servants doing all of the domestic labor are almost never mentioned, and maybe three (in her entire cannon) have names, is definitely how Austen’s classism is most palpable

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Those spoofing scams are becoming more and more common—and more believable. Makes using a 3rd party service for anything feel a lot riskier

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Reposted by H L Birdsong

Liv “Leev” Rainey-Smith @livraineysmith.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I'm having a 40% off sale on my older stickers and serigraph prints through September 15th! There are 4 different hare stickers included, and some are nearly sold out. Check the sale selection of my shop for the full array! #bsnm #stickers xylographilia.etsy.com/listing/7583...

xylographilia.etsy.com

Leaping Black Rabbit 3" Sticker Indoor/outdoor Vinyl - Etsy

This Stickers item by Xylographilia has 88 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from Portland, OR. Listed on Aug 29, 2026

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I’m so happy for the rain. Walked in Forest Park for a bit just to enjoy the loamy, vegetal scent of damp forest

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I love that quote, even if it may be apocryphal, since the source is the biography her nephew James Edward Austen-Leigh cobbled together decades after her death. I’ve never seen an actual, extant Austen letter cited for it!

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Mine too, though people generally disagree with us on that

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

It looks like a creepily staring eye

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H L Birdsong @smidgeonpress.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

They are displayed like swap meet / shop items, not like artifacts. Or like a literal “touch table” in a kids’ museum. So naturally people feel like they can touch them. The fact that there’s a “no drinks” but not a “no touching” symbol reinforces this implied use

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