Antelope Jackrabbit by Caroline Scheaffer Arnold, 1966 (engraving on copper plate, 21.5 x 13.5 inches.)
At my last book group meeting we discussed Raising Hare:
A Memoir by Chloe Dalton, the award-winning story of a woman’s relationship
with a wild hare that she found—by accident—as a day-old leveret, cared for, and
allowed the freedom to come and go from her home as it grew up and produced her
own leverets. It is a moving story of learning to live with nature and of the
complex interrelationships in the natural world.
Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton (2024), illustrated by Denise Nestor.
The book is illustrated with beautiful, detailed
drawings of the hare by wildlife artist Denise Nestor. As I looked at her art I
recalled my own drawing of a hare--an antelope jackrabbit, which is a species of
hare that lives in the American Southwest)-- when I was an art student at the
University of Iowa. In my prints class we were provided animal specimens
borrowed from the biology department to practice our drawing skills. I drew the
jackrabbit life size, then engraved it on a large copper plate which I then
printed using one of the large hand presses. I haven’t thought about it for a
long time, but after reading Raising Hare
I was inspired to get it out. It is still looking at me with watchful eyes.
Detail of my engraving.
The antelope jackrabbit is known for its exceptionally
long ears, which can grow to be 6-7 inches long.
