Richard Burke grew up in central Oregon and the Flathead Valley of northwest Montana. Because several close family members explored falconry, some of his earliest memories include American Kestrels and Red-tailed Hawks. Richard was always captivated by birds of prey and the grace of flight. He now creates sculptures of birds of prey in stone and bronze. In a society consumed with new, mass produced and perfect, yet impersonal objects, he explores beauty in brokenness, age and imperfection. He celebrates the natural processes of wear, fading, erosion, and stresses of weight and time. Everything gets old, breaks and perishes. Richard’s work seeks to recognize the beauty of impermanence. Prehistoric and early human work in stone endures and continues to inform us about how they observed their world. It has become apparent in our time just how fragile the natural world is. As our culture becomes increasingly distanced from the natural world Richard seeks to make work more grounded and earthy. In recent years he has trained his attention on sculpting birds of prey in various types of limestone. Each piece aims to convey the essence of the bird, with minimal manipulation to the natural surface of the stone. Only the head is intricately worked to capture the species identifiable characteristics.