Tashi Draper

I love birds – birding has been my passion for much of my adult life. When I broke my knee and I had my regular activities curtailed, I was encouraged by my parter to take up Lino carving of birds and their movements in flight. If I couldn’t be free, the birds could. By carving away the surface of the Marmoleum tile material, I could use those carved lines to show the motion of the birds. The challenge of each bird is to display their power and at the same time their delicate nature. During the printing process I could emboss the paper with the flight lines of the birds and create the movement I desired. I print in black and white and design each print to enhance the graphic display of the image.

Living on a farm on Denman Island, I am surrounded by a natural environment which lets me observe the various birds that travel through our area throughout the seasons for hours at a time.

My knee has since healed, and I continue to enjoy the love of carving and to express the challenge of creating a visual representation of the birds in flight as art. Being self-taught in printmaking, I continue to learn and improve my skills.