Scarecrows

Most are familiar with scarecrows, but did you know, the earliest were built in Egypt 3,000 years ago to protect wheat near the Nile? The Greeks modelled theirs after Priapus, a god so ugly he frightened birds. Japanese farmers used rags, meat, and fish bones for their smell to deter birds, while Germans carved witches to trap winter spirits.

'The Scarecrow' by Sinisa Alujevic from Germany. Acrylic on paper

Scarecrows in Culture - the word “scarecrow” first appeared in Robinson Crusoe (1719). In Medieval Britain, children worked as “bird scarers,” but after the Great Plague, farmers built scarecrows instead. The figure later became cultural: the Wizard of Oz Scarecrow, looking for a brain; Hawthorne’s Feathertop, made it to Broadway; and Japan’s deity ‘Kuebiko’, a deity known since 712.

Scarecrows in comics - both DC and Marvel have villain versions - and in music, with Pink Floyd’s “The Scarecrow.” The U.K. gives them nicknames like Hodmedod and Tattie Bogle. Notable sites include Nagoro, Japan, with 350 scarecrows and merely 35 inhabitants, and Joe’s Scarecrow Village in Canada. The world record 3,812 scarecrows was set in England in 2014. Today, they are cultural icons, celebrated in UK festivals like Urchfont, which draws thousands yearly.

A Tatty Bogle is a type of goblin from Scottish folklore

Art inspiration;

🎨 Design your own scarecrow, think about the colours, fabrics, and items you’d use, and share your drawings

🎨 Draw your interpretation of a scary scarecrow, they may be in a movie, a book, etc, or doing a great job in a field of crops!

🎨 You have been chosen to build a scarecrow for a festival trail where you live. What is local to you? How will your scarecrow show the history and your regional specialities?

🎨 Maybe you enjoy the film/musical The Wizard of Oz and would like to try drawing the Scarecrow looking for his brain with his friends Dorothy, the Tin Man, and the Lion

🎨 Perhaps you would like to draw Crows, there are 8 different species of corvid in the UK: Carrion Crow, Rook, Raven, Jackdaw, Magpie, Chough, Hooded Crow, and Jay

It will be a great evening of creativity. In a chilled space. You're welcome to come join us (:

Wednesday evening, 7:30 pm UK time. Please join us on link-tree select All4Art https://linktr.ee/all4inclusion