Maura Cunningham
Artist Statement

A Heart as Open as the Sky

About a year ago, I was meditating. I opened my eyes to find a peregrine falcon landing on the ledge of my deck, not 20 feet away.

A lightning bolt suspended between earth and sky, she stared into my eyes. 

There was no need for breath. The planets, that were her eyes, took me outside of space and time. Holy, feels too humble a word, to describe her presence.

Those golden feet, that came long before humans ever breathed. Her chest, speckled with the blackness of space. The same dimension that brought her here, now, is all I could think.

Eventually, she turned her gaze away and flew off, silently. But her presence has never left me. She sits with me still. When I see her flying, the truest piece of me, is flying too.

This body of work came from her visit. She brought me to the sky and to wonder and to awe.