Clovis on my Lawn

Our final print for printmaking was a studio exchange.  Everyone in the class makes a print for everyone else in the class and we all switch.  The concept for the exchange "Not on my Lawn".  We could really take it any direction we wanted to...  I was lost, for a long time, on what I should do.  There isn't alot of humor in my work, and this concept requires it to some extent.  Eventually I looked to Louisiana for help, and she came through again.

This is a crawfish hole.  When the ground water is high, crawfish will burrow holes and kick up mud in a pipe-like stack.... and in south Louisiana every kid has a memory of kicking these over in their yard when they form after a rainstorm.  Crawfish holes plague the lawns of Louisianians.

And this is Clovis the Crawfish.  Clovis is the main character of a series of beloved children's books that were written to teach younger generations the culture of South Louisiana.  Clovis dabbles in cajun french and lives in the swamp.  

 The print I created combines these two elements of my Louisiana childhood - complete with the Clovis creeping out of the pesky crawfish hole that you don't want on your lawn.  It should be noted that this piece will likely be lost on the majority of my classmates... and I won't be in class for the exchange to explain myself!  Maybe it will prompt them to google 'Clovis the Crawfish'.  I do fear that the pile of mud will be perceived as a pile of something else altogether... oh well... I know what it is and the intent of the artist is most important. :)  Oh, and concerning the print, it is another reduction woodcut, this one of wood instead of linoleum that I used on the previous 'suicide print'.