A Kettle of Hawks — Painting the Poetry of a Collective Noun

Why put hawks in a kettle?

Because language did it first.

“A Kettle of Hawks” is already kinetic — language refusing to sit still — so I painted an un-still life. Instead of peaches in a bowl, I staged raptors on a battered kettle, pre-flap, pre-flight, pre-screech of the simmering teakettle near where steam ought to rise.

"A Kettle of Hawks" by Kellie Raines

On the podcast, you’ll hear that motion — wings catching thermals, words wheeling in tight linguistic circles. On the canvas, I trap it: altitude exchanged for stovetop, sky distilled to teal and cobalt. The birds balance on the rim like a held breath, inspiring the kettle to scream with them. Containment sparring with ascent, hush against heat — that’s what simmers through episode 1. I wanted pigment and waveform to chase the same restless lift.

Medium & Method

Acrylic on Ampersand board (because wood grain gives just enough resistance to make the brush argue back and the paint to be in flight).

I used impasto layers laid down with palette knives and bristle brushes, then scratched, scumbled, and glazed until the blues felt nocturnal and electric at once.

I paint the way I edit audio: build texture, pull it apart, leave traces of the process so the viewer/listener can hear the echoes of myths and folklore and history and legends. The board holds the scrape marks the same way a WAV file holds room tone — evidence that something breathed here.

Storytelling in Stereo: Ear & Eye

The podcast presents the sound of a kettle of hawks: the flapping of wings, the rush of wind, and softly spoken etymology. The painting offers a visible volume: the weight of the pigment and the improbable perch. Combined, they form a duet — an auditory elevation paired with a visual grounding. My aim, with each episode, is to allow each collective noun to transition across different media.

Headed to the Auction Block

I’m delighted to share that PBS KVIE has juried “A Kettle of Hawks” into the 2025 Art Auction. Later this year, you’ll be able to bid, take the kettle home, and help support public television all in one flutter of a phone call to bid. I’ll post exact broadcast and bidding details as soon as they’re hatched.

Take Flight With Me

Listen to episode 1 wherever you get your podcasts.

Watch this space for behind-the-scenes (and canvas!) content of the next collective noun — "A Rhumba of Rattlesnakes."

Until next time, may your metaphors stay airborne and your teas stay hot.