playing with my owl stamp

Having discovered that I collect owl paraphernalia as a hobby, a friend of mine carved an owl from a rubber eraser for me to use as a "mood stamp" on my etegami. Instead, I've been having loads of fun experimenting with it as the focal image of my etegami, trying it out against a variety of backgrounds. I've posted several examples here that share the same accompanying haiku by Santoka for easier comparison. In the spirit of even more experimentation, I used inks and methods that were completely new to me. All the originals have been mailed off to postcrossers.

the blue period

Fog Cat

 I can't remember when blue wasn't my absolutely favorite color. And blue goes so well with poetry, don't you think?

The first two etegami posted here were experiments with watercolor inks and watercolor paper--materials I am not at all familiar with, as strange as that may sound to you. They are rare examples of the image coming to me before the words do. But as soon as I finished painting the cat, I just knew that it was the Fog Cat from the Carl Sandburg poem Fog.

Blue Pigeon

The words quoted on the blue pigeon etegami are from the poem Japanese Lullaby by Eugene Field.

Santoka's Owl

The barred owl was done in the traditional etegami manner, with my trusty and true sumi ink, gansai paints, and washi paper, as suits the classic Taneda Santoka haiku. All the originals are for sale on my Etsy shop.

ainu etegami

I made a new mail art friend recently, who has a keen interest in minority languages. That inspired me to try an etegami that reflects the culture and language of the Ainu, the native people of northern Japan. It happens that I have been translating Ainu folklore into English for over ten years. Click here to see my blog about the Ainu translation project, Project U-e-peker.

The etegami I posted is a representation of the Shimafukurou (Blakiston's Fish Owl) which the Ainu have traditionally regarded as the guardian of Ainu villages. It is the largest owl in the world, with a wingspan that can extend to six feet (2 meters), and it is an endangered animal. The Shimafukurou features in many Ainu folktales, and I've quoted the opening lines of the most famous one on this etegami. The English version of this story can be read here, if you are interested.