The Heron’s Nest (Home)

Once again our call for art to complement the paper edition of The Heron’s Nest has been answered bountifully. Considerable talent was utilized by twenty-two artists from England, New Zealand, Poland, Canada, and the United States. We appreciate that the artists also expended a good deal of time and energy to prepare their art for submission.

The paper edition of Volume IX will feature cover-art and illustrations for each of the sectional headings within the volume. There were many fine pieces offered in several media: watercolors, ink paintings, drawings, photographs, and mixed-media. Our choices were based on overall quality and the need to achieve a healthy balance between consistency and variety in the visual aspects of the upcoming book.

This year’s cover, created by Jamie Edgecombe, is both striking and subtle. Describing the techniques he employed to create his two selected pieces, Jamie wrote: “The undercoat / sketch, which comes through the later layers, is made in a suiboku / sumi-e style. The painting is then layered with white and black spray paint, using homemade stencils and free spray-painting. Although I use modern painting methods for the second stage, I still bear in mind the idea of negative spaces employed in both suiboku and sumi-e.” The cover illustration you see here will be folded twice in the middle to form a spine. The front is to the right side.

Cover: Jamie Edgecombe Tavistock, Devon, England

Using the same mixed-media techniques, Mr. Edgecombe came up with this second fine painting. It will be used to lead into the overview of Volume IX.

Overview: Jamie Edgecombe Tavistock, Devon, England

We were delighted by five magnificent photographs. The first three, by C. Avery, will open Nest issues which appeared in spring, summer, and fall of last year. Spring is nicely depicted by this colorful welcoming-in of the out-of-doors:

Spring: C. Avery Kailua, Kona, Hawaii

And here is shade for those hot summer days:

Summer: C. Avery Kailua, Kona, Hawaii

Considering the tropics are without four distinct seasons, we couldn’t help but chuckle at this photographer’s playfulness in offering a spent banana leaf as a kigo.

Autumn: C. Avery Kailua, Kona, Hawaii

Holding within it the colors of the sky, Natalia Rudychev’s icicle is a splendid seasonal reference.

Winter: Natalia L. Rudychev DesPlaines, Illinois

Doris Thurston’s simple cartoon-like drawings are delightful, her humor contagious. This first drawing captures the spirit of the Readers’ Choice Awards, providing a sense of celebration.

Readers’ Choice Awards: Doris Thurston Port Townsend, Washington

Ruth Yarrow’s graceful sumi-e heron is bent forward in search of food. Likewise, we imagine readers coming to this point in Volume IX will be eager to learn the results of the Readers’ Choice Awards.

Readers’ Choice Overview: Ruth Yarrow Seattle, Washington

Doris Thurston’s second drawing furnishes us with an amusing start to the “Readers’ Comments” portion of the awards section.

Readers’ Comments: Doris Thurston Port Townsend, Washington

Sandra Simpson’s sumi-e painting introduces the “Special Mention” section. The graceful bend of the leaves and the flower stalk beckon us forward to read still more of the poems that received high scores from readers.

Special Mentions: Sandra Simpson Tauranga, New Zealand

We feel that the stark poignance of Christopher Patchel’s photograph evokes a sense of possibility as well as of loss, elements befitting Kay Anderson’s memorial.

Memorial: Christopher Patchel Chicago, Illinois

We applaud the winners of the third annual Heron’s Nest Illustration Contest and are grateful to all of the artists who participated.

Christopher Herold
Managing Editor