Studio Sneak Peeks

A blog about my work, research and processes. Printmaking, collage, drawing, folktales, history and wildlife.

Wildlife, Folklore Lizzie Ault Wildlife, Folklore Lizzie Ault

The Folklore of Christmas

Mistletoe is a classic plant of Christmas decoration. It was considered rather magical because of the way it grows as if floating in trees. In reality mistletoe is hemiparasitic meaning it takes nutrients from trees in order to grow. The seeds are spread via birds who eat the berries and wipe the sticky seeds from their beaks onto the branches where they take root and grow. Mistle Thrushes get their name from the plant but Blackcaps are the most voracious consumers of mistletoe according to the British Trust for Ornithology.

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Folk Tales, Wildlife Lizzie Ault Folk Tales, Wildlife Lizzie Ault

Of Harvest and Hedgerow

Our modern relationship with hedgerows is largely positive with the popularity of foraging growing as people strive to reconnect with nature and the past. However I was surprised to find that hedgerows were often feared in the past as they symbolised boundaries between the safe, ordered fields and the wild world beyond.

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Wildlife Lizzie Ault Wildlife Lizzie Ault

Mysterious Travellers

“In the pond that lay by the Alder trees lived a long, strange creature, greenish brown in colour, with a sharp snout and large eyes. It was a big Eel, wise and much travelled”

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