"All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered."

On the Third Day of Christmas, my True Love Gave to Me…

On the third day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Why are they French? Isn’t it Christmas if they’re not Faverolles? Couldn’t we just have settled for British Hens? Apparently not. Anyway, here’s my favorite takes on the French Hen subject.

1. Iain Hamilton

I’ve already showed you what Ian Hamilton of Bewilderbeest did in terms of turtle doves. His French Hens are as French as they come. Parbleu!

2. M Tuzon

There’s no 12 days of Christmas without M Tuzon Design, or at least we can’t have the first 5 days. His French Hens are what you would expect.

3. Hester Durkan

Do you remember her doves? Well, in this context her French Hens almost seem serious.

4. Muriel Clarke

In case you’re wishing for something more tangible, Muriel’s hens come on a decorated white matt ceramics Christmas Tree decoration. She too did all 12 days, so we’ll see her again.

5. Katy Harris

Katy Harris of ShorehamPottery also comes to our rescue with her French Hens in form of ceramic decorations and they’re just lovely. She also did the partridge.

I’ve decided to continue showing you beautiful stuff (or at least stuff I think it’s beautiful) even after Christmas, but instead of having monographic articles featuring single illustrators I’ll be grouping them with themes. As a theme I’m picking the Twelve Days of Christmas, a British carol I adore. If you never heard it (you’re clearly not Britsh) I suggest you take a look at this incredible performance.

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