Category:

Birds

Murder of Crows

by Angela C 29th June 201729th June 2017

This is the largest group of crows I have ever fed (click on the image above to see the video). I have been feeding various crows (mainly pairs) for over 4 years now. They seemed to enjoy their dried mealworm 🙂 I enjoyed watching all the petty squabbles and jumping about.

Murder of Crows

29th June 201729th June 2017 2 comments

Birds Rubber Stamps

angelacallanan.com Rubber Stamp

by Angela 4th September 201619th March 2017

angelacallanan.com Rubber Stamp

I mentioned in this post that at the time I made it – this was the most difficult stamp I ever carved, but then I did this one!

I wanted text to go with my little blackbird stamp. My usual method is to type the text on the typewriter (Silver-Reed Silverette) – enlarge it to twice the size and then trace this on to the rubber block. However this looked too big next to the blackbird – so I had to go smaller. I really wasn’t sure if I could do it but I just went for it and it came out OK.

Below is a photo of the text on the rubber block – I have carved the first few letters. The text is about 3mm high x 2mm wide.

So I have decided to use it for my business card along with the little blackbird stamp – this is it stamped on to Canford Gunmetal Grey Card – cut and then rounded the corners. There are a few more photos on here of the carving process – I didn’t take a lot of photos because it was one of those times that when I started carving I had to keep going otherwise I would have lost the plot with it 🙂

4th September 201619th March 2017 2 comments

Birds Rubber Stamps Stuff I Love

Blackbird Silhouette Rubber Stamp Print

by Angela 10th July 20167th November 2017

This print has been almost 10 years in the making – if I look at it in terms of the original image used to make it. The original photograph was taken in 2006. It was languishing on my hard drive and partially written off because it was underexposed.

It all started when my brother visited from Ireland and I was looking on my Mac to find a photo I wanted to show him. We stumbled a across a picture of a blackbird in the trees. I had written it off as too dark and had totally forgotten about it. I was previewing images and skipped past it quickly. My brother said – hang on a second what’s that picture? He thought it was really lovely and said it would make a great bookmark.

This set me thinking so I began to work with the image. The first thing I liked about it was the lovely silhouette and thought it would make a nice banner for my blog. I liked the idea of a grey silhouette on white so produced this image and started to use it as a banner.

I also really liked the blackbird itself so extracted that part of the photo and simplified the branch to make another image. I had signed up for a Home Made Rubber stamp course at UWE and wanted some images to take with me. This was the first stamp I ever made. Looking at the dates this must have been a few years after I had taken the photo because I did the rubber stamp course in 2010.

Then a year later I made a book Nest Building Perils & Pleasures (2011). I used the Blackbird silhouette image again for the cover, endpapers and bookband. This was also my first experience of printing onto book cloth using an inkjet printer. There were lots of screechy moments 🙂

I also used the image to make a flexo plate print when I attended a Letterpress Course at UWE – also in 2011. (Which I had almost forgotten until I came to write this blog post).

But, it was in the back of my head for a long time – that I wanted to make a rubber stamp from the image but I always thought this was impossible – and idle thought. I often write down ideas for work I would like to make or try to make – this was on the list for a long time – “one day?” I thought. Or maybe never, because it’s way too difficult?

Then at the end of 2015 I decided to give it a go. Something just clicked. Sometimes I start to work stuff out in my head and run over ideas a lot, but don’t actually do anything. It feels like my brain is silently processing this in the background and when it clicks that is due to the completion of this processing 🙂

First I started to simplify the image and then re-draw over it. I then drew over the final simplified image in pencil and put this on the rubber (EasyCarve). At the time I did it, this was the most difficult stamp I had carved. Mainly in terms of getting my head around how all the branches were interlinked – what I should be cutting away and what I should leave behind. Once or twice I felt I was loosing the plot with this and was afraid I would cut off the wrong bit and totally mess it up.

Once it was completed and printed I decided to use it as my banner. This had not been my original intention – I just wanted to try to make a rubber stamp from the image with no idea what I would do with it. Then finally one day when testing it out on different papers I found an off-cut of grey card I had used for my ‘No Such Thing As Seagulls‘ Book. I printed it on this and thought – this makes a perfect bookmark 🙂

This one image was the start of something – little birds in my artwork – and soon they were everywhere 🙂 Giving me joy every day in my garden, on the way to work as I cycle, in the park when I feed the crows, and finally in my artwork. It was also the beginning of my addiction to making rubber stamps.

I hope I can translate my love for birds and the joy that they bring into my work. I love the whole stamp making process and when I see the bird appear as I carve (when making a stamp) it always makes me smile. This reminds me of another thing I love about rubber stamps – it is a very forgiving process – the original photograph does not have to be amazing quality. My crow stamp was made from a photo which was very out of focus but I loved his stance and was determined to use my own image for the drawing.

So finally after many years, my brother’s suggestion of using the image to make a bookmark was complete. Not only that it has become part of my logo and banner. I am not a very religious person but it does remind me of “the stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone”.

10th July 20167th November 2017 2 comments

Birds RSPB Stuff I Love

RSPB, Puffin Badge – 10 Year Long Service Award – for Volunteering

by Angela 24th April 201628th March 2017

I was volunteering for the RSPB last Saturday and was presented with my special Puffin Badge because I have been a volunteer for 10 years. It sounds like a long time I suppose and I can’t believe it has gone so quickly. Because I work full-time I always volunteer at weekends and it can be quite sporadic – especially if I have book project on or am busy with my artwork – weekends are the only free time I have. I also got a badge after 5 years – a swift – below.

I will now be very proud to wear my 2 badges the next time I volunteer – which I hope is soon – I enjoy it very much and am glad to be able to make a contribution in this way for lovely birds & wildlife 🙂

24th April 201628th March 2017 3 comments

Birds Rubber Stamps

Blackbird Rubber Stamp

by Angela 26th March 201630th March 2017

I originally made a Blackbird Rubber Stamp in 2010. It was the first stamp I ever made. It was carved in very soft rubber and is getting a bit ‘tired’ so I decided to redo it. I was a little apprehensive – it was very small – about 2cm wide – and I wasn’t sure if I had beginners luck in getting right first time. I used Speedball Speedy-Carve this time – the original stamp was made with a Molin eraser which as I said was quite soft.

I got so engrossed in carving it I forgot to take photos as I went along but I always stamp as I go and number the stamps so you can see in the above image – (1) was where I had just cut the outline. In the other images you can see where I have gradually cut away the stamp. Below is the final stamp numbered 60! I also make notes of the adjustments I have made e.g. refining the beak (noted below) and also cleaning the stamp. I can’t remember where I found the tip but you don’t need expensive cleaners (for sale in places like Hobbycraft) – baby wipes work really well and you can get them for £1 in guess where? Poundland 🙂

Bellow is the original stamp and the new stamp. You might also notice that I stamp the date in my notebook also. I finished the stamp in January but decided on a few more tweaks before I was 100% happy with it.

26th March 201630th March 2017 4 comments

Birds Gulls Stuff I Love

Cardiff Gulls, Night Roost

by Angela 24th January 201630th March 2017

Every evening I see the gulls flying down the Taff. I’ve been wondering for years where they go to sleep at night – I have heard it is usually a large body of water – well I finally found out. They have a large roost in Cardiff Bay. It was lovely to see them all here grouped together. As expected there were plenty petty squabbles and jostling for the best place 🙂 I have seen gulls at this location before, but this was the largest gathering. It was a particularly cold January evening but they never seem bothered by the cold or the rain. Hard as nails 🙂

24th January 201630th March 2017 0 comment

Birds Print Printmaking Rubber Stamps

Robin, Rubber Stamp Print

by Angela 15th November 201417th March 2017

Robin Rubber Stamp Print

I’ve been thinking about making a Robin print for a long time and had a few requests for one. After a visit to the Eden Project in Cornwall I was inspired again to make one and more importantly finally got round to doing it.

The first time I visited the Eden Project I thought the bird song was a recording, but then found out that the cheeky little Robins had taken up residence in the bio-domes. Again strange things started happening when I was photographing the print outside – there was a robin in a tree above me. Something similar happened when I photographed my Goldfinch print. I wonder how they know? 😉

Robin Rubber Stamp, Printed on Moleskine

Here are some photos of the stamp in progress. I did a drawing from a photograph I took at my parents house in Ireland. I did some tests with my inkpads to make sure I had the right colours. I ordered 3 different inkpads trying to get the rust/orange colour right and finally ended up using one I already had – Memento Tangelo – but stamping it twice to get the depth of colour.

Original Drawing for Robin Print

First Cut Robin Stamp Print

Robin Stamp – In Progress

Robin Stamp Nearly Finished

15th November 201417th March 2017 2 comments

Birds Print Printmaking Rubber Stamps Stuff I Love

Goldfinch, Rubber Stamp Print

by Angela 31st March 201430th March 2017

I’ve been making a new print. This one was in my head for a while. It was quite difficult to do, starting with an original drawing and trying to figure out how it will be cut and how I will print it.

Here is the rubber stamp ready to be cut.

And then finally cut and test print.

I’ve also printed it on to a Moleskine.

When I was photographing the print in the tree I could hear a Goldfinch singing away behind me. I haven’t seen them on my feeder yet, but I hope the come soon.

31st March 201430th March 2017 0 comment

Birds Crows Stuff I Love

Crow Friends

by Angela 25th January 201424th September 2018

These are the crows I feed in the park. This pair are usually waiting for me and they make a racket in the trees when they see me walk past! I know its the same pair because the one on the right has 2 white tail feathers. Ocasionally another crow tries to muscle in but they chase it off. I feed them meal worm which is nice and light to carry in my handbag 🙂 They fly down immediately after I put the food down and are getting cheekier all the time. One day after I fed them they flew after me and made a racket so I gave them a second helping.

I remember reading an article in the RSPB Membership magazine and it said that if you see two crows together they are usually a lifelong pair, if you see three its probably parents and their offspring (you usually notice that one of the crows is smaller and scruffier looking), more than three – are the crows who have not found a mate yet, non-breeding crows. So these two must be a lifelong pair. I’ve noticed that they also take turns in acting as a look-out while one feeds.

25th January 201424th September 2018 1 comment

Birds Poetry Stuff I Love

Hope is the thing with feathers…

by Angela 11th January 201430th March 2017

Just when I think I’ve read all the most beautiful Emily Dickinson poems I discover a new one. A nice wish for the New Year. This is also makes me think about living life simply. Technology provides us with great tools and ever increasing ways of communicating but it doesn’t always simplify things. Maybe its my age (!) but I am increasingly finding joy in the most basic things. Walking to work taking photos of the clouds or feeding the crows in the park. It makes me so happy and sets me up for the day. I feel like I want to slow down and not feel like I’m running around chasing my own tail – sounds like its definitely my age!

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

11th January 201430th March 2017 5 comments

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