In My Yard: "Summer Finch"

Woodcut
Black ink with hand coloring with watercolors
3" x 4" (image)
For sale here. 

This is the third in a series for a single sheet handmade book called In My Yard. This book will be submitted to the exhibition Ritual taking place in December in Philadelphia. 

The first summer after we bought our current home I planted a forest of sunflowers in the front yard (see below photo.) I wanted to make my mark on the block. The result was that finches who resided in the large tree across the street began regularly feeding on the sunflower seeds. It was delightful to hang out on my front porch and watch these brightly-colored birds (American goldfinches turn yellow during the summer) fly back and forth and nimbly perch on the thick stems of my ten foot high flower garden. 

In My Yard: "Garden Spider"

Woodcut
Black ink with hand coloring with watercolors
3" x 4" (image)

This is the second in a series for a single sheet handmade book called In My Yard. The idea is to submit it to the exhibition Ritual taking place in December in Philadelphia. 

I think I found a nice balance between light and dark in this one. A bit busy and lots of chaotic texture to give the sense of having to focus and squint to see the spider and web, but she is still clearly there, being highlighted by her yellow, striped legs. My favorite part is how the silhouette of leaves in the bottom left quadrant suggest a shadow cast by the spider. 

Happy Halloween!