Inspiration comes without warning and from the oddest of places. This summer my husband and I witnessed the most perplexing occurance. We watched as huge wasps tried to stuff Cicadas into the drainholes on our property. By the end of the one day there were SEVEN poor dead Cicadas sticking, butt up, in the drainhole. This most definitely needed clarification! According to the online research I uncovered the wasps are called "Killer Cicada Wasps" and they stun the Cicadas, burry eggs in the Cicada bodies and as the pupas emerge they feast on the cicada carcas.
Daaaaang!
I honestly couldn't get over nature taking its course and I had a real rare opporunity to examine a dead Cicada up close. The colors and design were fascinating to me. I couldn't help but touch them and decided to keep two. Something inside me said that they would be great creative fodder for future projects.
This afternoon, after I had packed up the Shah Azim and about 4 other pieces that DESPERATELY need to leave my studio, I found my mind wandering to the Cicadas and their gorgeous wings. I did the deed....carefully, (and respectfully) cut their wings free from their now hollow bodies. Yep, in the span of 3 months their bodies had started to decay and hollow out just laying in a cup in the studio.
I chose a G3 jumping horse as my work horse this time. He is slowly being turned into a flying horse. It was fun to pull out the blue and green pastels to paint him. I never get a chance to really explore those colors. They are just so harsh and the greens can really ruin a piece in a second. I'll tell ya, blue and green mixed with a bit of brown make the most luscious grey. LIke...grey for a dappled grey on an Arab or LIppy! Who KNEW?!!! Its the most amazing find today. So, this project is just continuing to inspire.
Inspiration can be found in the oddest of places! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment