A Short History of Tinybirdman

2017
[Tinybirdman is Born]

Tinybirdman was born on December 6th, 2017, complete with red eyes, yellow cheeks, and a blue nose.
The first Tinybirdman incarnation was a needle-felted doll made during finals.
Tinybirdman proceeded to appear in comics and several paintings made in the following months until on July 16th, 2018, the first three Tinybirdmen were made.

2018
[Tinybirdman is Porcelain]

Fifteen total Tinybirdmen were made in the summer of 2018 - sitting forgotten in a box until November 16th, the weekend of the SAIC Holiday Art Sale.  Despite putting them up for sale as an afterthought, the Tinybirdmen sold out almost immediately.

 

2019
[Tinybirdman in the Sullivan Galleries]

The final semester before graduation was spent preparing for the SAIC Undergraduate Exhibition held in the Sullivan Galleries in downtown Chicago.

A hundred and twenty Tinybirdmen were made, fired, and arranged in a wall installation that reached from floor to gallery ceiling.

Photographs of this installations can be found on the goatpierrot instagram, under "BFA Show 2019"

All but three reserved Tinybirdman were sold during the SAIC Spring Art Sale, many to those who remembered them from the exhibition.

After graduation, only a few could be made until...

 

 

 

Jan. 2020 --> September 2021
[Tinybirdman Earns a Living] 

The newly licensed goatPIERROT business acquires its first studio space and electric kiln!

Work begins in earnest, with a new batch every month, and thanks to the enthusiasm of Tinybirdman fans in Chicago and around the world, Tinybirdman was bringing home the bacon.

New styles such as Pierrot Tinybirdman, Juggler Tinybirdman, Flowerbirdman, Tiniestbirdman, Longestbirdman, the legless Birbaubles, and the pure white Ghost of Tinybirdman were all conceptualized, crafted, and sold in 2020/2021.

 

2022 January - November
[The Kiln-less Months] 

In October of 2021, the lease on the first Tinybirdman studio ends and a year of needle-felting, paintings, and drawing begins. During this time, several wool Tinybirdmen with glass marbles for guts are made.

In the fall of 2022, a studio space at The Digs Chicago becomes the new home of Tinybirdman and production begins in earnest, once more.  

Tinybirdmen become larger on average, and designs become more complex.  The largest pieces yet are made, measuring 3 to 5 inches in height. 

A small installation featuring Tinybirdmen of varying sizes is sold at Grace Jane Gallery during the show "Blood, Sweat, and Tears".

 

 

2024
[Tinybirdman in Scotland]

Armed with only a handful of favorite ceramics tools, Tinybirdman crossed the Atlantic and took up residence at the Glasgow Ceramics Studio.  

Design work continued, resulting in Strawberry Birbaubles, the diminutive Bobblenubbins, Petits Pois Pierrots, further development of porcelain Pantomime Horses, and the introduction of Teahorses.