Day 94 (CS Day 17) - Insect Tanka

"It's National Poetry Month! Write a poem or make something inspired by a poem you like"

I decided to create tanka, a classical Japanese poetry style similar to haiku in that you have a set number of syllables per line. Tanka are 5-7-5-7-7 and often depend on puns and double entendres for meaning (I have no such skill). They were frequently introduced with a bit of prose describing the feeling, thoughts, mood, scenery, or any other bit of information about why or when it was composed, that gave further depth and context to the short poems.

When a friend asked me to name a favorite insect I replied:

The tiger beetle

Mantispids are another

Mantids, can't deny

My favorite's hard to pin

Can't even choose an Order!

On discovering my beloved mantids belonged with vile roaches on the cladogram:

Preying mantids may

evolutionarily

be predatory

elongated cockroaches,

I pray not show revulsion

Comments

Day 16 - A Word for That

"Invent a new word and illustrate or demonstrate its meaning" " PETASUSAURUS " Noun . A lizard, preferably a chameleon, that is placed on the head to control bothersome mosquitoes. From the Latin, petasus , meaning "hat" and the Greek, sauros . meaning "lizard;" or literally, a "lizard hat." Modern usage : " Hey man, nice petasusaurus! " (I haven't drawn in anime style for ages!) (October 17, 2016) Update: I've been corrected, "Hey (wo)man, nice petasusaurus!" Thanks, AS

How I Make Tiny Art Books

Moon Phase & Black Cat Version II Tiny concertina softcover art book, 1-1/8" square I have loved tiny books since I was a kid, and I used to both collect them and make them. I usually made them with staples, because as a kid, that seemed like the most logical binding, but I also experimented with string, tape, and brads. I would draw comics in them, usually cats, after they were bound, which was rather ass-backwards of me. So now I'm a wee bit older and I still love making books (and I still have 4 tiny books from my original collection). I wanted to show how I made this one, which is composed of thick black paper, parchment style paper, hand-carved stamps, and a ribbon closure. All materials are archival safe. How it's Made: It always begins with a pencil drawing. After sketching out the moon phase cats, I transferred the drawings to pink stamping material and carved each one by hand. I love the primitive look of hand stamping and I wanted this book to be reprodu

Day 20 - Foreshortening

Ok, so I've already fallen of the wagon for this challenge...whoops! and only 20 days in, too. I will say this, I have been working on etsy things instead. This challenge, though I only made it 20 days so far, has accomplished my major goal of jump-starting my creative drive. I have some projects I want to work on again. So, I'm not going to beat myself up over it. Instead, when I get into a slump again, I'll pick it back up. This challenge should serve me, not the other way around, right? The cat is my attempt at foreshortening, which is not a skill I consistently possess. I was inspired to try that again by the Caravaggio ceiling mural that received recent press for being located inside the most expensive house currently for sale in the world. That ceiling mural, with its use of the foreshortening technique, is incredible...Caravaggio himself was kind of a jerk, but what an amazing artist. ~cat sketch January 20, 2022~ ~Admitting I've fallen off the wagon: January 29,

OniOniOniArt

Search This Blog