teasel

Sometimes, I think, the only way to truly see something is to attempt to draw it. To do this, you have to focus all your resources, study its ins and outs; become lost in its form. Long before we invented writing, we humans have been drawing the world around us. Why? Perhaps to understand it, honor it, or maybe a little of both. You think of the famous aurochs painted by prehistoric peoples 30,000 years ago on the cave walls at Lascaux in France. Both those early humans and the aurochs are now long gone, but the cave paintings survive.

I have been working of late—or should I say, staying up late—completing a new series of pen and ink drawings for another set of notecards called “Lyn’s Flower Box.” The cards will be available in the gift shop at Ijams Nature Center, or directly from me.

Like my “Bird Box” and “Bug Box” this new set will contain eight different notecards, part of my Natural Histories line. I like to choose things that are not only fun (or challenging or impossible) to draw but also have interesting natural histories. Fuller’s teasel is an example. Goodness, it's spiky. Spiky. Spiky. It gets it's name because the dried seed heads were once used in the production of fabric, especially wool, to "tease" or raise the weave.

If one of my drawings is around 30,000 years from now, I guess I will have accomplished something.