Pelican Rookery

Pelican Rookery depicts a seen at Queen Bess, a rookery for terns and pelicans in Louisiana. I created this image by initially drawing it onto wood, and then slowly carving away all of the space between my lines with traditional hand tools. After carving away all of the “negative” space, I ink the surface with Graphic Chemical Letterpress Bond Black Ink. Using a large press, I place archival paper onto the inked block and run the wood, ink, and paper through the press, transferring the inked wood onto the surface of the paper.

As part of my Woodcuts of the Gulf South, this image tells an important conservation story. In 2019 Federal and State offices worked together to restore this important rookery adding land and vegetation after the BP oil spill devastated the island. “Queen Bess Island is utilized by more than 60 species of birds and is the third largest colonial waterbird colony in Louisiana.” U.S Fish and Wildlife Services

Pelican Rookery is a limited edition of 200.