Bioluminescent Firefly Squid and some borbs

 A couple of other recent prints which actually came from the weird and wonderful AI-generated #Botober2021 art prompts for "Firefly squid" (a surprisingly normal suggestion for an actual existing animal) and "impossibly cute pudgy birds".

Firefly Squid, linocut, 8" x 8" by Ele Willoughby, 2021

This is a linocut print of the firefly squid (Watasenia scintillans), also called sparkling enope squid or hotaru-ika in Japan. These tiny squid live at depth (200 to 400 m) and they are bioluminescent and emit blue light from photophores. The print shows the squid against a white background so you can see the whole animal and then its reflection is shown against dark blue so you can see how its bioluminescence would appear underwater with fluorescent blue spots. Each print is 8" x 8" (20.3 cm x 20.3 cm) on white Japanese kozo (or mulberry) paper. When they spawn on the shores of Japan visitors come to see the blue glow and they are a boon to fishermen who collect the dying squid. 

 

Tufted titmouse linocut holiday card by Ele Willoughby, 2021

 

The Icelandic Yule Cat Jólakötturinn

So every year for several years now, a lot of artists do all the Inktober daily art prompts, and there are now a whole slough of various prompts. There are even a fairly large number of #sciart prompts. I thought I would do the "AI weirdness" neural net generated prompts by Janelle Shane called #Botober2021. I think the only way to manage daily brand new art is to keep it low key, so I'm keeping it simple, posting to Twitter (@minouette) and my Instagram stores (@the.minouette) only. Mainly there's pen and ink sketches. I am going to try and fit in a couple of linocuts. There's an upcoming prompt which made recall a mythological creature I have previously considered. I rather like all the various holidays (many pagan and ancient) which coincide roughly with Christmas time and how some of them are more spooky than festive, as we, in the northern hemisphere, approach the solstice and the longest nights. The prompt is "way too much cat" and what came to mind was the Icelandic Yule Cat, Jólakötturinn.

Linocut print Yule Cat, by Ele Willoughby, 2021

The first written accounts of Jólakötturinn, enforcer of good behaviour leading up to Christmas, date to the 19th century but the stories of the monster cat likely date to the Dark Ages. In Iceland, good children who did their chores received new clothes, but the lazier ones risked meeting the giant Yule Cat, who towered over houses. If there were no new clothes amongst their gifts the Yule Cat would eat them! The Yule Cat was intended to also inspire generosity and encourage giving clothing to the less fortunate.

I have added a couple of sets of hand printed Yule Cat cards to my shop. I think I might get some digitally printed so I can make more cards.

You can find Bjork singing a carol about Jólakötturinn here, and if you haven't already done so, do yourself a favour, and check out Luke Pearson's Hilda graphic novels or the animated Netflix series - where you'll also find the Yule Cat and other trolls and Yule lads from Icelandic folklore.