"Prairie Chicken" depicts a male grouse-type of bird just about to start a mating dance for his lady friend in the distance as the sun begins to rise over the tallgrass prairie. These birds used to be in the millions but are now down to under 100 in the state of Illinois. In about the 1940s they died out in the Northern Illinois areas where I currently live. Their habitat now is even more uncommon and only remains in the southern parts of Illinois. They are Illinois state endangered and are found only at remnant tallgrass prairies in Marion and Jasper counties - a part of the Prairie Ridge State Natural Area. This is one of the last areas east of the Mississippi that the Greater Prairie Chicken lives.

Did you know?
The Prairie Chicken dance is an important part of Native American culture? It mimics the motions of the prairie chicken as a mating dance but also speaks of the connection between people and the prairies.

Hand carved woodblock printed by hand with yellow, orange, and brown inks. Created by the reductive process with three layers of carving on one wood block. Title, artist signature, edition number, and year of production appear on front of each print and on the back of each frame.