Back to bugs and shadow boxes

To prepare for some upcoming shows this summer I brought home a box full of small, white shadowboxes which were on sale at Ikea – feeling the need, again, to work with bug carcasses. First step: paint black.

Second: do the drawings to fit the frames: pencil, ink, and watercolorGlue drawing to cardboard and attach insect(s): I still have some left over from my miscellaneous beatle/bug bits order from last summer, and will probably be ordering more soon, as I’m down to random leg and head pieces. Hmm. Some frankenbugs might be in order…

Then, frame! Oh, I’ll also take this opportunity to show off my new map, to track the world-travels of my little cute girls. Thank you so much!! Kiki never ventures far when you’re working, but she’s pretty entertained by her new drug (catnip) pouch and circle of paper.

Only eight more frames to fill!

Denver Museum of Nature and Science [the best of]

Among thousands of butterflies, this one was my favorite.

Very Dr. Seussian prehistoric undersea plants.

The echidna, one of the only two monotremes in existence (along with the platypus). It reminds me of Nausicaa.

Creepy monkey skeleton

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! Yeah. Freakishly huge wasp.

Incredible shell formations

Whole case full of incredible shell formations!

Homely gigantic prehistoric hog.

Skeleton of a sting ray – check out those … ribs? Amazing!

Giant wooly mammoth!

new specimen!

As far as I can tell this is a Bar-winged Skimmer (Libellula axilena), though not being a trained entomologist, that’s really more of a wild guess. I don’t care what it is; it’s gorgeous – with a perfectly intact little body and only slightly torn wing. Apparently found already dead on the sidewalk, this was delivered to me carefully packaged in toilet paper, a cardboard sleeve, all inside a plastic cup. Much fancier of an insect sarcophagus is rarely seen.