Winter Bird LAST ONE - Cardinal Solstice Wreath - Color Test Proof - woodblock print (8x8")

Color Test Proof - Last one!

Made for Winter Solstice
A cardinal represents a visit from those we have lost, a wreath symbolizing the cycle of the year, seasons, and life. Pine is of peace, healing, and joy. Ivy of faithfulness. 2022 was a rough year and I lost my father-in-law. My art teacher in high school who introduced me to the wonderful world of printmaking. We shared a print studio together at the farm. I miss him a lot.

Printed on white thick cotton paper with bright red and dark green inks from two hand carved wood blocks sourced from a sustainable forest in Hokkaido, Japan. Title, artist signature, edition number, and year of production appear on front of each print. This print is a special color test proof where I only made this color combo once. I wasn't sure which block I was going to keep the berries on so you can see some overlap of darker circles where the red berries are. Otherwise it is printed well. The original edition had a blend of lighter and darker inks. You can see the difference in the last photo with the pinecones.

Each print will come with a poem of the same name by Jones Very in 1843 to bring hope to those who have also lost a loved one and for those who need encouragement and brightness in the days to come.

“Thou sing’st alone on the bare wintry bough,
As if Spring with its leaves were around thee now;
And its voice that was heard in the laughing rill,
And the breeze as it whispered o’er meadow and hill,
Still fell on thine ear, as it murmured along
To join the sweet tide of thine own gushing song.
Sing on—though its sweetness was lost on the blast,
And the storm has not heeded thy song as it passed,
Yet its music awoke in a heart that was near,
A thought whose remembrance will ever prove dear;
Though the brook may be frozen, though silent its voice,
And the gales through the meadows no longer rejoice,
Still I felt, as my ear caught thy glad note of glee,
That my heart in life’s winter might carol like thee.”