Coaster – Kingfisher

Description

Why buy a British fauna coaster?

Because a coaster with a drawing of some British fauna on it, which starts with the same letter as does the name of the receiver of your present, makes such a clever gift!  Here is our brilliantly coloured kingfisher on a coaster, ready to celebrate Katie or Kay’s  birthday! Buy it with our K for kingfisher placemat to make a great gift set.  Celebrate a birthday , Christmas or take as a weekend away present.

Why have I produced so many?

I have now produced one fauna coaster for each letter. The animal coasters are all made in the UK (size 100 x 100 x 3.2mm). The background for all my animal coasters is the colour of unbleached linen. As on the placemats. This animal coaster depicts my drawing of a colourful kingfisher. It matches the ‘K for kingfisher’ placemat.

How I create my designs, from sketch book to finished product.

I first drew kingfishers in my sketchbook. Once I had decided on a design for the K  British fauna coaster and mat, I made a screen print and from this, I hand printed an edition of 25 prints. The original edition of screen prints can be purchased on request. The kingfisher on this British fauna coaster forms part of the design for the illustrated letter K placemat. The placemat has a second kingfisher who is flying out of the water. I have suggested the water with a few blue lines and water dripping from his colourful wings as he takes off.

Why did I choose the kingfisher to illustrate K ?

Well, firstly , I just love them! For it is a rare treat to spy one, a tiny glint of colour crossing your vision and gone before you are really aware it is there, darting over a river or some water,  half hidden by overhanging trees. Secondly, Robert Marfarlane includes the Kingfisher in his book, The Lost Words. These are words that the English dictionary deem no longer relevant to children’s lives so they have dropped them from the English Child’s dictionary! Like Macfarlane and Jackie Morris whose beautiful paintings validate how important these lost words are to everyone, I hope my kingfisher coaster and the placemat, will reestablish the kingfisher into the memory bank of many a child.