My edition of “Two Birds” is down to just a few prints now, and I love the design so feel rather sad not to be able to stock it in my shop for much longer. One option would be to create giclee prints of the original print (which I always keep) but while my business is still small, I am choosing to remain faithful to the handmade process and sell only genuine hand-pulled prints to avoid confusing my customers. A lot of explanation on the difference between a lino print and a giclee print of a lino can become involved otherwise!
The answer for me has been to create a ‘companion piece’ which is something I often do. This will be called “Two Birds Looking” and features the same pair, having shifted position slightly, one looking back over its shoulder as if it may have missed something. The other raising it’s head in awareness.
This second piece is a reflection on lockdown life just as the first was. The two birds always represented souls in lockdown to me; fitting together, blending into their habitat, which at once supports but also encages them. Life on pause maybe.
The second lockdown took us by surprise by having it’s own unique nuances. We thought we knew what to expect, but it was a different experience in so many ways, and once again we had to adapt and evolved to survive. “Two Birds Looking” is my homily to that time.