Pair of Woodpeckers (2025) Original Clay Sculpture by Elya Yalonetski

These two arrived in the studio as a conversation. I don't always know in advance whether a bird wants to stand alone or beside another, but these two were never going to be separated. They lean toward each other slightly, beaks lifted, mid-sentence. One holds a small green leaf in her beak; the other answers with a bright red pepper or berry, a gift, an offering, a small piece of news from the forest. Whatever it is, it's being passed between them.
I gave each of them a flaming red crown, hand-sculpted leaf by leaf, the kind of red that catches the eye from across a room. Beneath the crown, the plumage cools into soft greens, pale turquoise, and creamy whites, every feather carved by hand and glazed with quiet shifts of iridescence. Look at them in different light and the colors move with you, mossy in the morning, almost pearl in the evening. Their long, elegant beaks are smoky grey, slightly parted, alert. Tiny dark eyes watch the world with that sharp woodpecker intelligence, curious and a little mischievous.
They stand tall on slim legs, light on their feet, almost dancing. From the back, the feathers fall like a long, layered cloak, every line carved with patience. From the front, they're all character: a courting couple, a pair of gossips, two old friends with something to say.
Woodpeckers carry an old and almost universal magic. The Romans made them oracles of Mars and guardians of the fields. The Norse called them Thor's bird, hearing the blows of his hammer in their drumming. The Celtic druids believed their tapping was the heartbeat of the earth itself, and that woodpeckers knew the secrets hidden beneath the bark of trees. Native American traditions see them as lucky birds, symbols of friendship and family, drumming messages from the spirit world. In a Prairie myth, the woodpecker once won the title of protector of humankind, chosen for the safety of her nest. Wherever you go, the woodpecker means more or less the same thing: a knock on the door of the unseen.
And in life, woodpeckers are quiet romantics. Most species form long, faithful pair bonds. They court each other through mutual drumming, a duet on the wood of the world. In some species, the pair will sit on either side of a chosen tree hollow and tap to each other in turn, a slow conversation across the bark, deciding together whether this is the place to build a home. They carve the nest as a couple, take turns warming the eggs, and feed each other through the long days of waiting. If they cannot agree on a tree, they part without drama and try again elsewhere. But once they choose, they stay.
That is what I see when I look at these two. A duet. A choosing. A small spell passing between them in the form of a leaf and a red pepper. They are sold as a pair, and they belong together.
Coins (€) on picture are for size reference only.

Materials used:

clay, engobe, glaze

Details:

• Clay sculpture on Other
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 20 x 20 x 15cm / 20 x 20cm (actual image size)
• Ready to hang
• Signed on the back
• Style: Expressive and gestural
• Subject: Animals and birds

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