I only just learned the name “Blind Eyes” for what I have always called Corn Poppies, Papaver dubium. I am so attracted to the ephemeral beauty of this blossom, the petals are many times more delicate than the wings of a butterfly. Yet these dainty bits of color have no difficulty staying secure in strong spring breezes. They are balanced atop a long thin stem which provides the choreography for their delightful dancing. I love the way the buds emerge nodding humbly toward the earth, only to heave themselves up into the air with such colorful courage on the day of their blossoming. It is from these flowers that I first gained my confidence as a woodcut artist. I had been inspired by Barry Moser’s wood engraving of poppies in his masterpiece fine press version of The Wizard of Oz. I have included an image of my early woodcut below. It turns out that theses poppies are not native, but are an immigrant from Europe. So many treasures from the old country enrich our floral world! I had always thought these were perennials, but apparently not, so gather their seeds and spread them in your garden. They will survive for years in the soil and germinate when the conditions given each seed are just right.
An early Josef Beery woodcut. I was just learning so I was cutting MDF, a very inexpensive fiber board which chips easily.
Illustration below from A. G. Dietrich’s Flora Regni Borussici, 1833.
Josef Beery
An early Josef Beery woodcut. I was just learning so I was cutting MDF, a very inexpensive fiber board which chips easily.