Quail

Sometimes I carve a lino block and it doesn't quite come out how I intended. Sometimes this is great, or interesting, or something I live with. Of course, my own taste is no gauge of what others may like. Today, I editioned my quail block, because Reynardin told me how much she liked it. Maybe it's better than I think it is. Based on comments, though I don't think I captured the quintessential quail movement, I at least caught that funny little head-cocking movement they make.







When I lived on Vancouver Island, I regularly saw families of California Quail, bumbling around, looking somewhat officious, yet completely adorable. This is an original lino block printed quail on cream-coloured Japanese kozo, or mulberry paper, 10.5 inches by 7.75 inches or 26.6 cm by 19.7 cm. It is inked à la poupée which means small areas are inked in different colours, using a single lino block. It is one of a first edition of only 8 prints.

Quail Monoprint

Quail monoprint
Originally uploaded by the.minouette

This is a block print on various Japanese washi papers, in brown and black. It is 8.5 inches by 9.75 inches (21.5 cm by 24.8 cm). The top has inclusions of fibres, the bottom has gold and silver foil flecks.

The MSOE challenge fro May 09, is ornithology.

I may make some more birds before the month is through, but I added a quail to my shop.

Q is for Quail & Quilt

So I finally added another block to my alphabet-quilt-in-progress. Q is obviously for quail. They are so comical looking. We used to see them a lot on Vancouver Island. Whole little bustling families, with bossy parent-quails trying to round up bumbling, fluffy, little balls of quail. They would walk in a line from tallest to smallest. The male top feathers look so imperious and pompous. Plus, they are very small, and yet make quite the racket if they think you might step on them.

Also, I love self-referentiality: a quilt within a quilt, with some vintage fabric showing game birds including quails. (The same fabric appears on the giraffe I made ).


Coincidentally, the MSOE team challenge for the month of May is Ornithology. So I whipped up some multimedia quail-on-various papers. I think I'll submit a pillow. I printed the quail block on print fabric showing calligraphy. I think it worked well with my letterpress Q.

In fact, the top-feather echoes the tail of the Q.

Alphabet quilt remaining letters: U, V, X, Y. I will finish this project! I will.