Tuesday 18 September 2012

Owls

An owl sat alone
On the branch of a tree
And he was as quiet
As quiet could be.
His eyes were open,
And round like this: OO
He looked all around,
Not a thing did he miss.

Some children crept up
To the branch of the tree
And they were as quiet
As quiet could be.
Said the wise old owl
"Too wooh! To wooh!
Then up jumped the children
And away they flew!

My owl is drawn on the tag with markers and colored pencils. I deconstructed a pine cone to use for feathers but had to cut each leaf of the cone with an inverted "v"  to get them flat enough to overlap. For the downy feathers, I used pine straw. He didn't turn out quite as I had hoped...I guess we all know "WHOOOO" took on a life of his own. The poem is an old nursery rhyme that we were taught in school fifty years ago (or perhaps a bit more). We sat quietly in a circle on the floor, with our thumbs and forefingers in circles around our widened eyes, calling out, "Too whoo! Too whoo!" before jumping up, flapping our wings and flying back to our desks. Isn't it odd the things one remembers?

20 comments:

  1. Very inspired! Love the way you shot it too! And, yes, it is amazing what is remembered!

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  2. This is amazing, I love his eyes, whooo hoo! x

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  3. Wow stunning tag,I love it Martham! you have captured the owl stare very well in this lovely little piece of art!
    and what a lovely little rhyme and story, how sweet to have such a memory of your childhood.

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  4. Stunning tag... Love it!!! great job!! Hugs May x x

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  5. This is totally amazing, great work, love it! Valerie

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  6. Great tag Martha and I love the rhyme

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  7. Fantastic method Martha, I've never heard about using a pine cone like that before. Love the poem and your story too :0)

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  8. Brilliant owl tag, his eyes are amazing. Pine cone feathers are a great idea, perfect colours. Lovely poem too, Jane xx

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  9. What a great rhyme and you captured such good memories of fun times with your tag. Well done with the pine cone and straw feathers - they look so good.

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  10. Love it! Those eyes you illustrated are striking, and the clever use of materials for texture us fascinating. Blessings!

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  11. Very striking owl - just a bit scary! Love your story too :)

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  12. Sissy, I knew this was your the minute I saw it! You have such a great eye and unique, creative bent! I Love your story, execution and owl...but love you more! xo!

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  13. Such a lovely owl - he's got fabulous eyes - they are quite mesmerising! I love your little verse although I've never heard it before - it's so nice to hear the story behind the art.

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  14. Love the poem and the way you made your tag, so wonderful done.
    Anni

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  15. Wow...Such a clever owl...fab materials used...an amazing tag Martham! :)

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  16. Great Post Martham. Great memories. Your owl has buckets of rustic charm - great use of natural materials. Love those all knowing eyes too.

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  17. Really unusual materials, they must have been a challenge to use.

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  18. Whooooo! Such amazing eyes! Super tag. Carolyn x

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  19. Lovely, original owl tag, Martham. I love the poem and your memories of the classroom.
    Jane x

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