Sandra Grant: Owls

My Owls Series was inspired by a great horn owl who lives around our home.  I would see him perched on a tree or hear him at night.  My first in the series was “Great Horned Owl with Babies” which won a viewer’s choice award at the Hooked in the Mountains XVII exhibition.

 

 

I have always had an interest in owls of all kinds. Sometimes I see them or hear them in my yard. One of my first hooked birds was  “Great Horned Owl with Babies”. I went on to do many other birds over the years.  A trip to VINS, the nature center in Quechee for an owl event brought my interest back. I met an owl keeper and photographer there and seeing the owls up close inspired me to study all types, including the long eared owl that they brought out to examine.

 

I created many different kinds of owls using a small 6”x 8” size.  They were fun to do because they went so quickly and I found I could use a lot of small pieces of wool or my dyed marbleized wool for the backgrounds.

 

The snowy owl was one of my favorites.  I have done a large and small 6”x8” version.   I took my own photos of the birds and the photographer I met shared his work with me.  I’ve tried barn owl, screech owl, northern hawk owls, snowy owls, barred owls, great horned owls, elf owls and long eared owls.