Liz Magor's Assemblages
Hi Friends,
This week I wanted to introduce you all to the marvelous work of Vancouver-based artist Liz Magor. Magor’s assemblage practice hinges on the casting, manipulation, and configuration of found objects, often employing stuffed animals, worn sweaters, cardboard boxes, and cellophane. Her sculptures manage to invoke the humorous and the elegiac, dancing between strangeness and nostalgia.
A number of Magor’s sculptures also feature taxidermied birds. Looking at these pieces, I don’t experience that eerie revulsion I feel in natural history museums or beneath a deer head mounted in someone’s home. I find Magor’s work incredibly tender—they seem to honor or ennoble the creatures they include, reminding us of their preciousness.
I urge you all to watch to Art21’s marvelous mini-documentary on Magor’s work. You’ll see her at work producing the pieces above, casting gloves with polymerized gypsum, adjusting the position of birds atop them. Discussing her process she says, “My main talent is my ability to pay attention.”
Get your copy of Turning to Birds
A paperback edition of Turning to Birds will be released on May 5. The book is available for purchase in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats everywhere you find books.
Turning to Birds in the Wild
A list of my events and collaborations in the United States (Austin, TX; San Diego, Santa Rosa, and Santa Cruz, CA; Oregon, OH; Wellfleet and Provincetown, MA; Manhattan and Brooklyn, NY; Miami, FL) and Europe (Amsterdam, the Netherlands).
Save the date for a special conversation with illustrator Walton Ford to celebrate the paperback release of Turning to Birds. The reading and book signing, hosted by Arader Galleries, begins at 6:00 p.m. (Registration details coming soon.)
I’m thrilled to be joining David Sedaris for a few evenings of readings and book signings. Join us at the San Diego Symphony at 8:00 p.m. Attendees who purchase a copy of Turning to Birds will be given priority in the queue for signatures. (To secure your tickets, click on the date heading.)
I’m thrilled to be joining David Sedaris for a few evenings of readings and book signings. Join us at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts at 8:00 p.m. Attendees who purchase a copy of Turning to Birds will be given priority in the queue for signatures. (To secure your tickets, click on the date heading.)
I’m thrilled to be joining David Sedaris for a few evenings of readings and book signings. Join us at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Attendees who purchase a copy of Turning to Birds will be given priority in the queue for signatures. (To secure your tickets, click on the date heading.)
Save the date for the Biggest Week in American Birding. I’ll be doing a Q&A session, a reading, book signing, guided excursion, and judging the tattoo contest. (Full event schedule and standard registration coming soon.)
June, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Suzanne Bocanegra’s Honor, an Artist Lecture will be travelling to The Holland Festival this June. (Full festival schedule and registration details coming soon.)
August 14, North Kingstown, Rhode Island
Save the date! My good friend Victoria Redel and I will be reading and signing books at The North Kingstown Free Library, beginning at 6:00 p.m. (Event details coming soon.)
August 17, Wellfleet, Massachusetts
Save the date for a reading and book signing hosted by the Wellfleet Public Library, beginning at 7:00 p.m. (Registration details coming soon.)
August 18, Sandwich, Massachusetts
Save the date for a reading and book signing en plein air at Titcomb’s Bookshop, beginning at 6:30 p.m. (Registration details coming soon.)
August 19, Provincetown, Massachusetts
Save the date for a special reading and conversation with musician Billy Hough, followed by a book signing, at The Provincetown Bookshop, beginning at 4:00 p.m. (Registration details coming soon.)
It’s an honor to be joining the exceptional list of authors gathering for the 2026 Miami Book Fair. (Registration details coming soon.)
A Note on Graphics
I’d like to mention the delicately rendered illustrations used for our headers come to us from the immensely skilled artist Anna Koska, whose work is essential to the design of Turning to Birds. You can learn more about Anna’s work on her Instagram (@gremkoska).
Thank you 🫛
“Assemblages”
I learned a new word today! How do you say it in bird talk?