Cuckoo Pint Suite

The Cuckoo Pint Arum maculatum was really the first spring leaf to emerge in the shade of the wood. It’s a fascinating plant with many many names, most of them rude and suggestive. This drawing was done back in March and today I noticed that the first flower has appeared. Something had also been nibbling the roots of the plant which is also interesting because that too is quite toxic. The spotty leaves are particularly attractive and I wanted to celebrate this spring herald in some way.
I had sketched it back in March and then recently made a series of small woodcuts. (approx 4.5 x 6 inches)

arum

arum4

The prints are of leaf, flower, seed and of course its namesake, a generously sized cuckoo. I played about with the interconnectedness of them. The flower is attractive to small moths, especially the small owl moth, the berries are poisonous but some birds can eat them, cuckoos are one of the few birds which can eat poisonous caterpillars, caterpillars become moths etc etc .
To echo that each image is under printed with the one before. I plan to incorporate some text and make a small book. Am looking forward to using some of those robust old country words…

cuckoo1      cuckoo-2

cuckoo-3     cuckoo-4

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2 Comments

  1. underprinted – that is a fascinating way of showing the cycle of life. Understated, but most definitely there in every detail!

  2. I did rather like this Diana. It needs a bit more development but there never seems to be enough time! Hope things well with you!

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