Lift your head and sing
A new print to say thank you.
Hello there! And welcome to Dandelion Seeds, an illustrated newsletter in search of the magic in everyday moments.
Right after we moved to Belgium, more than a year and a half ago now, I heard a blackbird sing for the first time.
The song was so clear and pure that for the briefest of moments, my brain thought I was hearing the recording of a bird, somehow ringing out from the treetops above me.
From that moment on, I’ve loved learning about the blackbird.
It inspired one of my favorite illustrated essays I created last year.
A little while later, I wrote a follow-up essay for paid subscribers called “Home is where the blackbird sings,” about how the blackbird’s song evolves over its own lifetime, growing in complexity.
And today, I’m excited to share something else with you.
It’s a new print for paid subscribers of Dandelion Seeds, and it features none other than my beloved blackbird.
Since I first opened up paid subscriptions, I’ve loved sending 5x7 prints to everyone who supports Dandelion Seeds — be it on a monthly, annual, or founding member level. It’s just my small way of saying thank you.
I’ve been wanting to create a new print for a while now. Although I paint all of my illustrations by hand before turning them into digital files to share here, I don’t often create prints of my work.
And so I’m delighted with how this little blackbird turned out, and I’d love to send one your way.
I’ll be back next week with a new story, but for now, I wanted to take a moment and share this fun update with you.
With love,
Candace
PS — in case you missed it the first time, here’s “The Blackbird,” a story for when things get in the way:
There was a day, a long time ago, when I witnessed a male blackbird find his lost baby and take great care of it despite many scary things going on nearby. It gave me a new insight into the Fatherly love of God.
What a lovely print and a lovely story! remember hearing my first blackbird in Cambridge, England, years ago, and being completely astounded and also confused, because it sounded like a thrush, but in North America, the birds called blackbirds are not thrushes and don't have singing voices like that. (Red-winged blackbirds, which have very distinctive songs have been described as having voices "like a rusty gate.") When I learned that European blackbirds were thrushes, that gorgeous song made sense. I'm glad you have blackbirds songs to inspire you.