For the Love of Birds
From 2014 to Present
Bringing birds into my repertoire has pulled me out of terrible dry spells and creative funks. Birds lift me up. They taught me how to meditate. Who can think of anything when observing birds. The mechanics and beauty of their flight is an ongoing fascination.
The reality is that there is an ongoing decline in bird populations around the world. According to a study published in the journal Science North America alone has nearly three billion fewer birds today compared to 1970—that’s more than 1 in 4 birds that have disappeared from the landscape in the past 50 years. It’s not just threatened species, it’s our backyard favorites that are disappearing, too.
The Harbinger
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD
He’s arrived early, on purpose. Having traveled 800 miles from the south, he scouts for territory in the marsh behind our house.
Perched parallel to the water on a winter-worn cattail, he eyes a pair of wood ducks traversing through islands of matted reeds. They have the same thing in mind. Let’s secure a good nesting spot.
When the female red-winged blackbirds arrive in a few weeks, they will have two things on their mind. The fitness of males and the real estate they have secured.
DETAILS
$1250
Watercolor + Archival ink on TwinRocker Paper
Artwork: 18 x 24 in. Framed: 30.75 x 36.75 in.
© Kristin Maija Peterson / 2026
Fences
EASTERN MEADOWLARK
Growing up in west central Minnesota, the melodic songs of meadowlarks were part of my childhood soundtrack. Our home was situated in a new development at the edge of town where there were vacant lots and open fields for these birds to mate, nest, raise their young, and broadcast their presence from an odd tilting fence post or telephone wire.
Both Eastern and Western Meadowlarks call Minnesota home. Their ranges overlap across the state and are the most difficult birds to identify by sight. It’s their song that sets them apart.
It’s been decades since I’ve heard or seen a meadowlark. Since the 1970s, their populations have been declining and are on the conservation radar as species of concern. The reasons are those that plague many species dependent on healthy grasslands: changes in land use, agriculture, pesticides, and climate change.
But I have hope that I will hear meadowlarks again in my lifetime. With many prairie restoration projects happening across the state, the habitat meadowlarks need to mate, nest, raise their young, and broadcast their presence may yet welcome them home again.
The title “Fences” references how humans have marginalized natural wild habitats while taking up the land for our own purposes.
DETAILS
$1250
Watercolor + Archival ink on TwinRocker Paper
Artwork: 18 x 24 in. Framed: 30.75 x 36.75 in.
© Kristin Maija Peterson / 2026
Seven Starlings
WITH DANDELIONS
As if out of nowhere, I was visited by seven starlings (to be exact), one cloudy late March afternoon. Having never seen European starlings (at least not up close), their stunning appearance held my imagination and curiosity, which led to the piece you see on the left. You can read the interwoven backstory here. It’s about birds and our relationship with them, a different kind of immigration, and bringing together two perceived pests into something of beauty. I think you’ll find it fascinating.
DETAILS
$2100
Archival ink on Mulberry Paper
Artwork: 30 x 25.25 in. Framed: 39 x 31.5 in.
© Kristin Maija Peterson / 2022
Choices In Construction
BIRD’S NEST
Visit my studio, and you will see a scattering of used birds’ nests. I like to collect what interests me and is small enough to carry back to the studio. What saddens me is that more often than not, I find nests built with plastic woven in with organic nesting materials and see the practicality of using plastic and at the same time its dangers. In researching bird nesting designs, I believe this is a Northern Cardinal nest.
DETAILS
NFS
Color Pencil on Canson Drawing Paper
10” x 10” (unframed)
© Kristin Maija Peterson / 2022
One Snowy Day
NORTHERN FLICKER
This bird of the Woodpecker family is striking no matter the season, even more so when he happens to land into the snow as if you were waiting for his arrival all along. Alone on a snowy day, I’ve made him a regal general. Though I was nervous about being true to his spotted feather pattern, in the end, I feel I did him justice.
DETAILS
$1200 (SOLD)
Watercolor + Graphite Pencil on 300 lb. 100% Cotton Hot Press Fabriano Watercolor Paper. Painting: 25 x 22 in. Framed 34.5 x 27.5 in. Professionally framed with generous double thick white mat in simple wooden pine frame with lightweight acrylic.
© Kristin Maija Peterson / 2018
for the love of birds
Where It All Started
Three Muses (Flamingos)
Inspired by my visit to the Salisbury Zoo in Maryland
Oil pastel + color pencil on Cason drawing paper
18.5” x 13” / Unframed
© Kristin Maija Peterson / 2014
What Mamas Do (Finches)
Oil pastel + ink on artisan paper.
11.5” x 18.25” / Unframed
© Kristin Maija Peterson / 2014
ABOUT
Terra Kind Studio showcases the creative work of visual artist and designer Kristin Maija Peterson. Growing up among prairies, lakes, rivers, and oak savannas along with her project work with environmental organizations have collectively influenced her creative path. Kristin works in watercolor, graphite, color pencil, oil pastels, and pen and ink, interpreting in detail the beautiful chaos she finds in native wild spaces and its inhabitants who call these spaces home. Kristin sees all living creatures as kin and is always kind to spiders.
Contact
e: hello@terrakindstudio.com
p: 651 318 7100
Follow
Be Kind to Everything That Lives.
