Of Birds and Trees and Flowers and Bees is an embroidered cloth artwork by Thania Petersen. It was created in 2019 of embroidered thread on cotton fabric. It is rectangular and measures about eight feet by five feet. It is hung in portrait orientation, meaning its shorter side runs parallel to the ground. The piece gives the impression of a decoratively embroidered carpet which has been dipped halfway into a strong black dye. The top half of the work is heavily ornamented and embroidered with floral and natural motifs. Its intricately patterned surface is highly varied in vibrant colors. An explosive kaleidoscope of reds, blues, yellows, white, orange all overlapping and intertwining as stylized florals, animal, and architectural elements. The shape and decoration of the entire piece make it strongly resemble a handmade carpet, as one would expect to see hung in a lavish interior. One striking aspect distinguishes it from an ordinary decorative carpet: the bottom half is entirely black. The composition of the work is divided into two distinct zones, a top and a bottom. The top zone is the one full of splendor where the embroidery is visible and full of detail. But moving down towards the center and bottom half of the piece, the embroidery starts to fade and is overtaken by a jet black color, engulfing the whole bottom half of the carpet. In essence the carpet’s pattern fades into a black on the bottom – implying themes of erasure, censorship, and vanishing customs.