Chough Crow Jackdaw Jay Raven Rook and Magpie

Magpie scraperboard as preliminary drawing for my Magpie sculpture

The Crow Family Book by Jane Russ, published by Graffeg is all about these wonderfully intelligent birds.

Excitingly one of the illustrations included in the book, under the section Corvids in Art and Literature, is a picture of my Magpie sculpture.  It feels very special to be featured in this little publication.

The book is packed with beautiful images, both photographs of the birds and artwork – one of my favourites is from an 18th-century Icelandic manuscript showing Huginn and Muninn sitting on Odin’s shoulders.  It is a really special delight.

From the sixth century Odin was frequently depicted in northern European myths flanked by two birds.  Later Norse mythology has two Ravens (Huginn – ‘thought’, and Muninn – ‘memory’) gathering information for Odin.