After 'Black Tower With Sarcophagus' and 'You Make Me Feel Mighty Real' had previously occupied and later disappeared from the same spot, Huddersfield-born artist Pauline Gill's 'Twig Birds' just sort of popped up one day in the crossover between paths on the descent at the end of the Millwood Trail. The birds (two ravens and a crow with an owl flying above them) were woven from branches and in their wooden, glass-sided display cabinet comprised the first piece to be ordered by the Forestry Commision for a good few years.

 

The organisation had decided to take back control of the sculpture project, following the mixed reception which greeted the Grizedale Arts collective in the five-or-so years prior. As a result, 'Twig Birds' feels like a halfway house between the traditional and the modern styles of sculpture at Grizedale - Sally Mathews-esque wooden animals, entombed in a glass case. Gill herself described 'Twig Birds' in the 2006 sculpture guide:

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"Natural forms, particularly trees, with their sculptural appeal and varying individual patterned bark, have long been a source of fascination for me. Trying to capture the spirit of the bird is what I strive to do in my art."

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'Twig Birds was only on display for a while. After that the display booth sat eerily empty, save for a sign which read "Watch this space..." possibly implying that the Forestry Commission were planning to use it as a mini-gallery of sorts to display different artworks at various points. The next time I walked that way, however, the case had gone, so I guess the idea never really took off. 'Twig Birds' was a big deal at the time though; it was at the forefront of Grizedale Arts' re-booting (as it were) of the sculpture project and the installation of the piece was filmed for Border TV.