My Biography in Brief

Sybil Erden - April 2006

I have always kept busy. I am happiest when creating¦ and this time of my life is, without a doubt, the busiest and most creative I have ever been...

I was born in New York City in 1950 to a middle class European family. I received my education in New York (High School of Music and Art) San Francisco (S.F. Art Institute) and Arizona (Arizona State University.)

Most of my adult life I worked as an artist (paint and photography.) I showed extensively, mostly in the Western US, for over 20 years. I taught marketing for artists through the Maricopa County Community College system in the early 1990s.

From the age of 15 I have written poetry and short stories. Occasionally I gave poetry readings and the poetry has been published in a few obscure journals. These days I still write ... but my written word is exclusively about parrots and their plight, stories about the birds here at the Sanctuary, or articles about the philosophy of and need for sanctuary.

From the late 1970s until founding The Oasis Sanctuary in 1997 I worked with several non-profit organizations including The Creative Power Foundation (San Francisco CA), where I was Volunteer Co-coordinator; St. Mary's Food Bank (Phoenix AZ) creating photographs for catalogues and media presentations; For The Birds (Phoenix AZ) where I was a wildlife rehabilitator for indigenous species of birds and held a state permit; MAARS ArtSpace (Phoenix AZ) where I was an Artist Member responsible for helping develop exhibitions, running the office and other gallery related duties. I founded an artist cooperative in 1984 called the Arizona Visionary Alternative (Phoenix AZ) which I was Director of through 1991. The AVA organized exhibitions for its 16-20 member artists. AVA held 1-3 shows annually including exchange exhibitions out of state.

My other business experiences include ownership of several entrepreneurial ventures: a silk-screen T-shirt business, Innuendo (Phoenix AZ, with Ethan Turk), a graphic design and illustration studio called Dragon Lady Graphics (San Francisco CA and Phoenix AZ.) I owned and managed rental houses in both San Francisco and Phoenix (1975 - 2005.)

I have always had an invisible sign over my homes which only animals can see: ... Sucker Lives Here ... Free Food ... As a result cats, dogs, farmed animals and ultimately the birds showed up.

In the early 1990s I combined my nascent interest in parrots with the newly developing Internet. There I found bird specific chat rooms and lists.

I discovered that I was not the only person taking in large numbers of unwanted parrots. I soon recognized that I was seeing the tip of a large and growing problem of parrot overpopulation.

By 1996 I was care-giving over 50 parrots, mostly smaller birds like lovebirds, budgies and cockatiels¦ but soon the conures, amazons, cockatoos and macaws began to arrive. I was no longer working on my art 8-10 hours a day; caring for the birds was taking up at least four hours each day. I gave notice to my professional (gallery) commitments that this was the last year I would be exhibiting and set to work to establish a then-unheard of non-profit sanctuary (life-care facility) for parrots. It would be called the Oasis Sanctuary Foundation Ltd. or simply "The Oasis Sanctuary." The rest, as they say, is history ...

Since 1997 I have found little time to do much artwork. When I do find time to paint these days, my work reflects the birds I love, the birds here at the Sanctuary who dominate my waking and sleeping moments.

The changes working with the birds and people who make up The Oasis Sanctuary are innumerable. My life has grown, been enhanced, changed my world view and expanded my understanding of the non-human animals who live on the dust mote in the Universe we call Earth. I feel blessed...

I am, at the very least, doubly fortunate. My life-partner is also my work partner. T.J. Georgitso, The Oasis' Associate Director, and I met soon after the Sanctuary began in 1997, when he started volunteering his time. His love for animals and his commitment to these incredible creatures who reside with us is as deep as my own. Neither my life nor The Oasis would be the same without the synergy created by our relationship. His presence in my life for these past years has been strengthening and motivational.

I don't know what the future may bring --- but I can only hope that I am able to remain a driving force in creating the legacy which will give the Birds of The Oasis the quality of life and the security they deserve.