Rhythms of Nature Sample Page 2
Rhythms of Nature Sample Page 1
Jessie Lehson, 2020, watercolor and pen illustration and photographs
Watercolor project illustrations.
How the Beetle Got Her Colorful Coat
Jessie Lehson, 2023, pokeberry ink, acorn iron ink, pen and digital media
As soon as I saw the prompts for #folktaleweek I knew I wanted to make something for INK. I make a lot of inks from scratch from natural materials and had some incredible deep magenta pokeberry ink burning a hole in my pocket. This got me thinking about red pigments and cochineal in particular. Cochineal of course is made from the crushed shells of the cochineal beetle which has a long and storied history. So then I started researching folktales about beetles and came across the beautiful Brazilian tale of “How the Beetle got Her Colorful Coat.” It’s kind of a better version of the “Tortoise and the Hare”— ATU type 275 (Race between two animals)
In the story a rat is teasing a beetle for being slow and challenges her to a race. A wise parrot offers a new coat to whoever wins. The rat dawdles and assumes he has it in the bag only to get to the finish line and find the beetle waiting for him because she flew there. The beetle then picks out a colorful new coat of vibrant colors and accepts herself for who she is. I love the themes of self expression, self acceptance and cleverness.
So for this illustration, I wanted the little beetle to not only have a vibrant pokeberry ink coat, but she’s holding a star in her pincers so everyone can see her shine!!
From Farm to Flight: Illustrated Diagram
Turkey Diagram, Jessie Lehson, 2021, watercolor and ink
Crow Papel Picado
Jessie Lehson, 2024, digital media
