"The Sounds of Spring" Kite by Michael Thompson

Chicago-based artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites crafted from split bamboo frames covered with stretched muslin and a collage of vintage Asian ephemera - including fragments of fabric, scrolls, drawings, and books collected during his travels.

In "The Sounds of Spring," a gestural line drawing plays with positive and negative space to great effect and instills the kite with a sense of fluid motion. The sinuous linework resembles a cluster of oyster mushrooms, like trumpets emerging from the thawing earth to sound the call of spring. Shaded by dark pigments and free-flowing watercolors in a palette of cool blues, the kite uplifts its surroundings with just the right amount of color and texture.

Thompson has earned an international reputation for his kite works, an engrossing project initiated by the artist more than a decade ago.