Photo: Leah Baker
BY LEAH FAYE BAKER
Tell us a little about yourself. Family? Where do you live and work?
I recently moved from Franklin, Indiana, to a cabin in the woods in Nashville, Indiana. I live here with my husband of almost 12 years and a senior brown tabby cat who showed up on our porch shortly after we moved. I have worked for the Indiana State Bar Association since 2017. We shifted to about 75% remote work after the pandemic, allowing me to spend most days working near my feeders and the mature trees that surround our property. I started painting birds and other fauna in 2020. Currently, I am selling some of my work and have recently been accepted to showcase it at B3 Gallery in Nashville. I hope to someday teach a class about nature journaling to inspire people to explore the natural world through creativity. Additionally, I enjoy traveling, backpack camping, and hiking.
What got you interested in birds and birding?
In my early twenties, a close friend passed away unexpectedly and tragically. I remained close to his family, and his father was using some Native American rituals and lore to navigate the grieving process. Through this, he mentioned that his son’s guardian was a red-tailed hawk. Naturally, I started seeing Red-tailed Hawks everywhere. This led me to actively look for them, observing their habits, and, of course, making observations of other species. Before long, my husband purchased my first birding book and a Vortex monocular. I was captivated and delighted by every new species. Eventually, after watching me take photos with my phone and monocular, my husband also gifted me a Sony a6000, and I slowly began documenting in a more intentional way.
What inspired you to incorporate birds into your artwork?
Like many, I felt like I was losing my mind during the early days of the pandemic. Everything was shrouded in uncertainty, and it was very isolating. I needed something to occupy my time. I’m not sure what possessed me to take up painting, but in short order, I enrolled in a fabulous online course with the amazing artist Liz Clayton Fuller through Cornell Lab. The topic was nature journaling. Over the next few months, I took as many courses on painting or natural journaling as I could find, and eventually, the training wheels came off. I started painting birds and nature journaling on my own. Essentially, I said, how else can I bird? And the answer was through artistic study. To me, it’s another way to explore anatomy, appearance, behaviors, etc. Painting was my sourdough.
What’s your favorite birding destination, both in Indiana and outside the state?
In Indiana, I like birding hotspots that are off the beaten path. I prefer land trusts because they are usually less crowded. Beanblossom Bottoms is my current favorite. I love the variety that wetlands bring. Outside of Indiana, one of my all-time favorite birding destinations is Point Lobos in California. Bird Island houses a huge colony of cormorants, and Blackcrowned Night Herons nest in the cliffs. Peregrines and Osprey soar. Oystercatchers, guillemot, Brown Pelicans, quail… it is truly extraordinary where the land meets the sea.
Do you have a favorite bird or group of birds?
Raptors have always been my favorite. There is something that is just mesmerizing about their piercing eyes, their athleticism, and their resilience. My current favorite bird is the Eastern Screech-Owl. I was lucky to have a nesting family visit my yard each year when I lived in Franklin. It brought me so much joy to observe them each year.
Editor’s Note: See Leah’s artwork via @paintedplumage.
This Q&A originally ran in the February–March 2024 print edition of The Cardinal.
Tags: journaling meet a member Q&A
