WEEKLY ART PROJECT #20; BOOBOOK

Something very exciting has happened in the past week...a Boobook owl flew through our yard!  It was one of those rare occasions when we were out on the front porch, drinking peppermint tea, it was darkish & then, all of a sudden, in the glow of the street lights we saw the Boobook owl sail into our world.  We recognised it as a Boobook, because a few nights earlier we had seen one whilst walking around the block.  At that time it had landed on a nearby tree & we carefully tiptoed closer to see it's markings. At the time I did suggest it come to our house, and I am delighted that it listened!

I don't think it lives on our property, but it has definitely visited & that's good enough for me.  Such a thrill deserves a place in my weekly art project...besides...it's nice to have a change from plants!!!!

Not having been able to take my own photo of the Boobook, I had to use our big Bird Book as a visual reference. I first copied from the book.  Copying from another person's art work without permission is a no-no, but is a good way to observe the form and placement of lines & colour.  I then copied my copy (!) onto fabric using paints.

Although I don't consider painting to be part of my skill set...I am very pleased with this little cutey! The fabric I used was already backed with vliesofix & I had taped it to a solid background to keep it taut whilst I was painting.

Neither of my copies is exactly like each other, nor the book & I like that uniqueness.

I needed to put my Boobook ON something & that 'something' needed to be able to be produced in contemporary reverse applique.  The obvious choice was a tree branch with coarse looking bark.

A quick sketch gave me a guideline for colour, line & how I was going to place it within my 15 cm square.

Once a stylised linear pattern had been drawn up, I needed to look at fabric choices for my tree.  Having the Boobook there helped me to make sure that the bird would blend in with the bark colours.

After cutting back each of the layers & cutting out the Boobook, it was time to experiment with where I wanted to place this little owl.  Would I put him here...

...or here...

...or maybe here?

Once settled upon the ideal spot, I ironed him in place & added some machine stitch & a couple of black beady eyes to complete the picture.

I am very pleased with this little pictorial piece, partly because it is quite different from my usual way of working. I acknowledge that he does look a bit out of proportion, but he wasn't a big owl & I did choose a very thick bough to put him on!!  Regardless, he is a delightful addition to my garden inspired book of weekly art projects & a good way to remember the visit.