Bird of Paradise woodcut in progress

This piece is about the Greater Bird of Paradise which is a wonderfully decadent avian species. Actually most birds of paradise are quite amazing show pieces.

Edwin Sholes works at the Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University and was kind enough to talk with me about Birds of Paradise and showed me some amazing short films taken in Papua New Guinea about their strange mating rituals. Since the birds live on isolated islands, there was never a threat from being eaten by other animals, so, the males feathers grew longer and brighter, and more elegant (or ridicules depending on your nature) in order to impress the ladies.

I made this piece in particular because of a story I read about collectors in the late 19th century sending skins of the Greater Bird of Paradise to Europe and the prepared them in the fields of Aru Island without wings or feet because it was easier to ship them that way.

The species was named Paradisaea apoda, or "legless bird of paradise", because when they arrived in Europe scientists there believed they were missing those key body parts. The birds were thought to be rather mythical creatures, floating in the atmosphere by their plumage, females laying eggs on the males back, and only touching earth to die.

Below are all the colors of the piece scanned as I printed each layer. I carved, then printed then carved then printed. I hope this explains the "reduction woodcut" process in a visual way as I know it is hard to understand.

Yellow! Wowsers

2nd color

What a green

turquoise

brown

and DONE! Please click to go to my website and read more about birds of paradise.