Adding to the Cache

 

People have observed ravens using some ingenuity in collecting food. In one account, a raven surrounded by crackers was frustrated with its inability to collect more than one or two at a time. Finally it stuck each cracker end-up in a row in the snow, then snatched the neat stack in its beak and flew away, satisfied (bottom left circle).

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A raven might make a food cache in the snow or under the moss in the crook of a cottonwood tree (top left circle).

 

Ravens have a great interest in non-food objects as well. Many reports indicate a particular liking for shiny, colorful items. A dog owner in Juneau watched from a window as a raven flew away with her dog’s bright play ball (top right circle). Another friend set out her rock collection for a bath in the rain. Ravens, however, flew off with the flashiest of the colored crystals before they had finished drying in the sun.

 

The bottom right circle describes a friend’s story of watching a paper bag mysteriously move around a parking lot all on its own. Later, a raven popped out of the bag!

 

What do these mishchievous birds do with objects they steal? Are these baubles merely a passing interest or do they keep them squirreled away in a secret cache?

Hand-painted linocut

13 x 9.5 inches

Edition of 200

 

Sizes listed are of the linocut images themselves; I leave an additional white border of paper on all sides.

My linocuts are printed on cotton rag paper the old-fashioned way: I carve with knives and gouges to create my imagery in slabs of linoleum. Then I roll ink over the surface, lay cotton paper on top, and crank the block through my etching press. I repeat this process for each impression in the edition, which means: If an image is in an edition of 40, I do this 40 times! After the prints dry, I generally hand-paint them, often with many layers of color, making each print a unique work of art.