Tianjiao Guo is an illustrator based in Los Angeles. Born and raised in Shanghai, she moved to California at the age of 17. A graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City, she loves long walks in nature, playing piano, listening to music, and reading ancient Chinese and Japanese stories, all of which inspire her artwork.

For her Zócalo sketchbook, Tianjiao brings us a series of digitally rendered watercolor birds. By shape and color, the creatures feel firmly part of the sky that holds them. It’s as if each of the clouds saw something interesting on the ground and decided to form part of themselves into birds to dive for it. Of course, when presented in the context of Zócalo’s homepage, each bird may simply be interested in checking out the nearest article.