Outside Inspiration: Getting Buggy with Artistic Construction
April 19, 2013
Inspirational Art
I have been holding onto these little gems (pun intended) for a while now. I was fascinated but I wasn’t sure what you all would think of these tiny creative creatures, or even the artist that got these little creepy crawlies to collaborate with him. But nature’s unstoppable creativity is so well high-lighted by these very unusual pieces that I couldn’t help but hope there would be an appropriate occasion to share this. But here’s a warning … if you get buggy about bugs, you may want to avert your eyes. If, on the other hand, you are as fascinated by what Mother Nature’s creatures create as I am, I think you’ll find this utterly intriguing.
These golden cocoons below were not some bizarre concept created by a mad jewelry artist and imposed upon some unsuspecting insects. These cocoons were actually created by the creatures crawling out of them. The caddis fly larvae, an insect closely related to the butterfly constructed these casings from available material. Talk about a different way of constructing art jewelry!
The caddis fly collaboration was conducted by and with an artist by the name of Hubert Duprat. My first sighting of these amazing pieces were in a back issue of Cabinet magazine, the publication of an arts and culture organization out of Brooklyn, New York. According to their website “Cabinet aims to foster curiosity about the world we have made and inhabit.” Yep, they got me curious. How did Hubert get these creatures to build their cocoons out of gold and gems?
Well, apparently these little guys spin cocoons out of silk but incorporate other materials from their environment. Since they are river dwelling bugs, sand, bits of shell, fish bones, and plant matter are common inclusions in their casings. Since gold and stones are common river material, Hubert thought he would see if the larvae would include precious natural materials in their cocoons if their more mundane alternatives were not present. And they did. But isn’t it amazing how they designed their casings? Striations of stone and aligned rods of gold wire decorating only the top and center portions of the sheaths. The casings are beautiful and well balanced. It seems almost impossible that these creatures would create something that wasn’t just a total mish-mash of materials until you stop and think … nature is the ultimate designer. Our own sense of design comes from what we have been seeing in the natural world around us for eons. These creatures may not be aware of their inherent design sense but they too would have assimilated the balance of the world around them into what they do.
Bottom line here … when looking for new ways to develop and construct your artwork, don’t forget to look to the work of the master and original architect you can find all around you.
There are videos on YouTube showing the caddis fly building these with Hubert explaining the process if you just can’t get enough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jID1_GwxiE0
Finding Our Authentic Voice
March 23, 2013
Inspirational Art, Tips and Tricks
One of the big discussions at Synergy (Are you tired of hearing about that show yet!? Sorry … it was just such a treasure box full of ideas and I want you all to benefit from it too) was about finding our voice as artists. I was not the only one that came away with this concept eating away at me. Linda Garbe jumped right on it with a new video discussing texture and materials in the context of finding personal creative expression. Her Box of Color, as seen below, showed up in the video and I just had to get a closer view. Linda kindly sent photos so we could all get a good look at the details. Talk about an authentic voice!
Linda Garbe’s Box of Color, top view
… and a view of the bamboo and fungi sides.
Linda says she created the box as a result of doing the exercises in Lindly Haunani and Maggie Maggio’s book Polymer Clay Color Inspirations.
“While it took great discipline to do each and every exercise in order, it was well worth it. I learned a lot about color. The last exercise is to cover a box using what you have learned about color. I visited the Chicago Botanical Gardens during the time I was doing the color exercises. They have a Heritage Garden which show how early gardens featured one type of plant in each area. They did not mix plants together in the same flower bed as we do today. This garden became the inspiration for design of the box. Each side features one type of plant: bamboo, fungi, Queen Ann’s Lace, and ferns. The top is a fantasy garden created in my mind.”
This box and more of Linda’s explanation about its creation come in at about 3:10 on Linda’s video. The video starts out with thoughts on cultivating our own unique approach to creativity but the majority of it actually focuses on texturing and using everyday objects as tools. A lot of good ideas here so if you have a few minutes, sit back and soak up a little inspiration this weekend.
I have been holding onto these little gems (pun intended) for a while now. I was fascinated but I wasn’t sure what you all would think of these tiny creative creatures, or even the artist that got these little creepy crawlies to collaborate with him. But nature’s unstoppable creativity is so well high-lighted by these very unusual pieces that I couldn’t help but hope there would be an appropriate occasion to share this. But here’s a warning … if you get buggy about bugs, you may want to avert your eyes. If, on the other hand, you are as fascinated by what Mother Nature’s creatures create as I am, I think you’ll find this utterly intriguing.
These golden cocoons below were not some bizarre concept created by a mad jewelry artist and imposed upon some unsuspecting insects. These cocoons were actually created by the creatures crawling out of them. The caddis fly larvae, an insect closely related to the butterfly constructed these casings from available material. Talk about a different way of constructing art jewelry!
The caddis fly collaboration was conducted by and with an artist by the name of Hubert Duprat. My first sighting of these amazing pieces were in a back issue of Cabinet magazine, the publication of an arts and culture organization out of Brooklyn, New York. According to their website “Cabinet aims to foster curiosity about the world we have made and inhabit.” Yep, they got me curious. How did Hubert get these creatures to build their cocoons out of gold and gems?
Well, apparently these little guys spin cocoons out of silk but incorporate other materials from their environment. Since they are river dwelling bugs, sand, bits of shell, fish bones, and plant matter are common inclusions in their casings. Since gold and stones are common river material, Hubert thought he would see if the larvae would include precious natural materials in their cocoons if their more mundane alternatives were not present. And they did. But isn’t it amazing how they designed their casings? Striations of stone and aligned rods of gold wire decorating only the top and center portions of the sheaths. The casings are beautiful and well balanced. It seems almost impossible that these creatures would create something that wasn’t just a total mish-mash of materials until you stop and think … nature is the ultimate designer. Our own sense of design comes from what we have been seeing in the natural world around us for eons. These creatures may not be aware of their inherent design sense but they too would have assimilated the balance of the world around them into what they do.
Bottom line here … when looking for new ways to develop and construct your artwork, don’t forget to look to the work of the master and original architect you can find all around you.
There are videos on YouTube showing the caddis fly building these with Hubert explaining the process if you just can’t get enough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jID1_GwxiE0
Read MoreOne of the big discussions at Synergy (Are you tired of hearing about that show yet!? Sorry … it was just such a treasure box full of ideas and I want you all to benefit from it too) was about finding our voice as artists. I was not the only one that came away with this concept eating away at me. Linda Garbe jumped right on it with a new video discussing texture and materials in the context of finding personal creative expression. Her Box of Color, as seen below, showed up in the video and I just had to get a closer view. Linda kindly sent photos so we could all get a good look at the details. Talk about an authentic voice!
Linda Garbe’s Box of Color, top view
… and a view of the bamboo and fungi sides.
Linda says she created the box as a result of doing the exercises in Lindly Haunani and Maggie Maggio’s book Polymer Clay Color Inspirations.
“While it took great discipline to do each and every exercise in order, it was well worth it. I learned a lot about color. The last exercise is to cover a box using what you have learned about color. I visited the Chicago Botanical Gardens during the time I was doing the color exercises. They have a Heritage Garden which show how early gardens featured one type of plant in each area. They did not mix plants together in the same flower bed as we do today. This garden became the inspiration for design of the box. Each side features one type of plant: bamboo, fungi, Queen Ann’s Lace, and ferns. The top is a fantasy garden created in my mind.”
This box and more of Linda’s explanation about its creation come in at about 3:10 on Linda’s video. The video starts out with thoughts on cultivating our own unique approach to creativity but the majority of it actually focuses on texturing and using everyday objects as tools. A lot of good ideas here so if you have a few minutes, sit back and soak up a little inspiration this weekend.
Read More
