Almost Eagles

Kalamazoo artist Karla Wyss Tye has devoted her life to observing and interpreting the natural world. Early on, inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe, she began creating abstract watercolor paintings of plants and animals.

After marrying sculptor William Tye, the couple started a foundry—and Karla turned to bronze. Her sculptures became imaginative hybrids of birds and humans, capturing movement, spirit, and emotion in expressive forms.

“I knew this man once who laughed at my birds,” Karla recalls. “He said, ‘Birds don’t have shoul-ders!’”

Both of Karla’s daughters are dancers, and she often draws inspiration from their choreography. Her bronze birds feel animated—sometimes playful, sometimes reflective—as if engaged in con-versation or mid-dance. Birds, in Karla’s world, are soulful figures and ancient symbols of the spirit.

“You cannot hide from your art,” she says. “It is a visual message of who you are and shows your likes and dislikes. It comes out of life experiences and the ones most familiar to you.” For Karla, that means birds.