looking4lilly: Amazing Hummingbird Feeders

My grandparents recently moved into a retirement community. I wanted to purchase a bird feeder for them as a move-in gift. My first stop was Etsy. I stumbled on this seller (kristin from Birdartist) and thought her work was worthy of sharing.

Here's a portion of her profile on etsy, thought this was interesting as well:

"I've always loved science and art. It's only natural for me to blend the two together. I graduated from Oberlin College with a degree in Biology, but quickly found myself earning a living as an artist by producing identification signs for zoos. I've gone on to illustrate for scientists, and have published bird art in three major field guides.

There's also a practical side to my nature. I've worked as a zoo keeper for 3 years, and I have studied birds in the wild as a field assistant. I've hiked the woods, lakes, streams, and mountains of Pennsylvania, observing and videotaping birds for my artwork. In lean times, I've even turned to house painting and renovation work to earn extra money.

More recently, I've gotten into hummingbird gardening and have devised a way to make hummingbird feeders from polymer clay and mini glass liquor bottles. Quite a bit of thought and study has gone into making them safe, practical, and attractive to the birds. The flowers are highly realistic, and the birds have taken to them enthusiastically. "

Redbud on Clear Glass Bottle with Graceful Neck

When I initially saw her listings, I thought that she'd simply used real flowers in the feeders that she made from bottles. It wasn't until I finally clicked on one of her listings that I realized that the flowers are made out of polymer clay. They are incredibly realistic. So much so in fact, that her first copyright application was denied because the folks at the copyright office thought that she was taking photos of real flowers as well. She explained things to them and was later approved. Just take a look at these clay flowers!