An Improbability of Puffins
This linocut shows an improbability of puffins in all senses of the words. The collective noun for a group of puffins is an "improbability". Isn't that marvellous? Puffins look rather improbable to me, with their tuxedo coats and tails and their red, Roman noses... I mean beaks. These are Atlantic puffins, to be precise. Actually, there are a few different words for a group of puffins, including "a puffinry of puffins" (which seems redundant) and "a circus of puffins" (which provokes quite the picture), but "an improbability" is my favorite. The typography of the words represents their meaning; "improbability" is most improbable, with each letter in an unrelated typeface to the last, and the letters in "Puffins" mimic the beaks and wings of the birds.
This print is inked 'à la poupée' (with different colours, black, orange and red, in different areas) and printed by hand on lovely Japanese kozo (or mulberry) paper. Each print is are printed in dark gold ink with gold and turquoise words on Japanese kozo, or mulberry paper. Each print is 12.25" by 8.25" or 31 cm by 21 cm in dimension. There are 8 prints in the variable edition.
I love the weird and wonderful terms of venery - the collective nouns for groups of animals (and other things). Some are evocative, some strange and obscure. This is the 8th in a series of such prints.
An Improbability of Puffins
This linocut shows an improbability of puffins in all senses of the words. The collective noun for a group of puffins is an "improbability". Isn't that marvellous? Puffins look rather improbable to me, with their tuxedo coats and tails and their red, Roman noses... I mean beaks. These are Atlantic puffins, to be precise. Actually, there are a few different words for a group of puffins, including "a puffinry of puffins" (which seems redundant) and "a circus of puffins" (which provokes quite the picture), but "an improbability" is my favorite. The typography of the words represents their meaning; "improbability" is most improbable, with each letter in an unrelated typeface to the last, and the letters in "Puffins" mimic the beaks and wings of the birds.
This print is inked 'à la poupée' (with different colours, black, orange and red, in different areas) and printed by hand on lovely Japanese kozo (or mulberry) paper. Each print is are printed in dark gold ink with gold and turquoise words on Japanese kozo, or mulberry paper. Each print is 12.25" by 8.25" or 31 cm by 21 cm in dimension. There are 8 prints in the variable edition.
I love the weird and wonderful terms of venery - the collective nouns for groups of animals (and other things). Some are evocative, some strange and obscure. This is the 8th in a series of such prints.