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Quetzal Journal by an Unknown Artist

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Quetzal Journal / Notebook—Front cover by an Unknown Artist, about 2015 Pyrography and color on wood plaque 7-3/4 in. tall by 5-1/2 in. wide ; including the burlap binding and leather strap, the whole notebook/journal is 6-1/2 in. wide

Quetzal Journal / Notebook—Back cover by an Unknown Artist, about 2015 Pyrography and color on wood plaque 7-3/4 in. tall by 5-1/2 in. wide ; including the burlap binding and leather strap, the whole notebook/journal is 6-1/2 in. wide

This charming and clever journal or notebook was given as a gift to me by my daughter Lisa Karena, who found it for sale on the main street of a lovely lakeside town called Panajachel, where she was visiting this summer in northern Guatemala. The motif—on the front in a realistic style and on the back in a stylized version—is Guatemala's magnificent national bird, the Quetzal, an exotic bird with a very long colorful tail. The Quetzal is seldom seen and lives high up in the jungle tree tops.

The journal is a handmade innovation by an unknown artist, who does the front and back plaques in pyrography and color, and by the street vendor himself, who does the binding in burlap and adds the leather strap to fasten it all. In addition, the journal contains a nice quantity of attractive brown paper pages, made, surprisingly, from the leaves of the banana plant.

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