I created a challenge for myself to try to depict a great white egret at the first light of dawn.  With little light, a white animal appears in shades of lavender, and will glow vividly with the first golden rays of sun.  I had hoped to create this effect of warm light touching the bird and making his mating plumage glow.

The long mating plume feathers are made of hand painted eyelash yarn, carefully controlled and left loose on the original bird yarn couching before applying it to the jacket, then sewn down during the application process.

The jacket itself is a lovely vintage thrifted fit and flare.  Originally it was a marled pink wool, that I overdid with cobalt wool dye to create this purple.  The “water” is hand dye wool roving that was needle felted into place along the hem.

My son and I visited Cape May, NJ during his spring break and took these lovely pictures of daybreak.  While egrets are marsh animals, not ocean, the morning light was still beautiful.

Exhibited by invitation at the New England Quilt Museum exhibit “Animalia”, September 2023 and Iowa Quilt Museum exhibit “Pet Portraits”, May 2024