When I found this blackberry teacup I knew that I would have to hit up my neighbor for some of her gorgeous canes and make a matchy-matchy still-life. Well, maybe more than that, I wanted to revisit the original inspiration for the design and have the teacup be called out as the flatter reflection of the original, even like my painting is to reality. The humming bird came later. I have a feeder outside my studio window and I soon began to notice how much this jewel-like iridescent bird had in common with the cup and the berries. I thought, while I was working with artifice, why not add this touch of whimsy?