Linocut of Green Heron With Twelve-spotted Skimmer Dragonfly by Ken Januski

Image posted with the permission of the artist. Full information about this print and original copies of it and other works of art can be purchased at Ken Januski's Etsy Store.  More about the artist in general can be found on his artist's website and blog.

At first I only see the bird. Stout and sturdy frame, it stares across calm waters. Reading the title, I then seek the dragonfly. I soon find it in the heron's mouth, its wings still spread out. The poor bug is frozen in a final moment before being devoured. Now that I've found it, it sticks out like a sore thumb. "X" marks the spot over a pale leaf in the background. And then I notice other leaves, various shades of green, and shapes which echo that of the bird. Stems and stalks, too, jut this way and that, straight or just slightly curved like the bird's beak and skinny legs. Sharp angles, fat stripes, and hash-marks beat in all directions. The organic and geometric intertwine. The whole scene reverberates like Kente cloth.

The bird is still. The bug is doomed. Me, I want to dance!