Hand embellished Custom Reproduction piece.
Size 17" x 20"
In Hawaii, Octopus are referred to by their Japanese name which is Tako.  The Hawaiian word for octopus is He’e and the species most commonly harvested is the Day octopus, however this print was made from a “Night Octopus” or “Ornate Octopus” (Calistoctopus ornatus.)  Night octopus are active at night and are rare to find and even more rare to catch.  This species has distinguishing rows of white dots down its head and tentacles.  It is also a much more aggressive animal than its day time counterpart and is known to bite when handled and can even deliver small amounts of venom.  Although octopus is a very popular and sustainable food source (listed as “a good alternative” under Monterey Bay Seafood Watch Program) for many people living in Hawaii, it is one I choose not to harvest for myself.  I absolutely love these creatures and cannot bring myself to kill one, but I am not opposed to others doing so for sustenance purposes.  Thus, this tako was “borrowed” to create this print.   I chose to name this piece “Ferris” mainly after a ferris wheel due to the way the tentacles are spread and create the wheel-like look, but also after Ferris Bueller!  I always need a fun name to call my pieces as I work them up and work through the challenges each one presents.    Octopus often loose tentacles to eels or other predators, but can grow them back.  Ferris also lost the tip of its 6th tentacle (counting clockwise from the top right.)  Some quick cool facts on octopus: They can change their color, texture and pattern in 3/10 of a second and they can open childproof pill bottles. Octopus can have as many as 240 suckers on each tentacle! 
Framed Size: 20” x 24”
Embellished Media: Prismacolors on archival giclée reproduction