Friday, January 3, 2014

B is for Bestiary


Hello, I'm Sue and am delighted to be sharing this blog with my good friend Val as we delve into the weird and wonderful world of Beautiful Beasts. I love drawing and I've decided to use a sketch of our lurcher, Poppy, as my introductory image because she has been my inspiration for over 2 years. You'll be seeing more of her as time goes by, as she has such a great love of life which I want to share with you.

Like Val, I find printing is a fascinating medium as it is unpredictable, agonising, joyous and very demanding. With my interest in drawing I found that etching was a natural choice for me. I also love the strength of form and colour found in wood and lino cuts  so my weekly contributions will be about the use I make of these different forms.

Writers in medieval times were so fascinated by the natural world, they created the  Bestiary or Book of Beasts. Not only did this provide [rather inaccurate] information on what they looked like, but it was also  a sort of moral code book  using the attributes of animals as well as throwing in some mystical meanings. Quite an act to follow, but thankfully, my motivation is all about expressing the wonder of the natural world, and I'm really looking forward to delving into the many sources all around us.
As you can see, Poppy has already gone to sleep so I hope you'll find our blog far more exciting than she does!

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