OniOniOniArt

I'm falling a bit behind here! This leaf beetle is for making more earrings, but I haven't had the time to get them done yet. I'll update the post once I've completed them. [February 27, 2020] Update: They are completed and can be viewed in my shop HERE

Making earrings is usually a two-day process due to the drying time for the varnish, so I'm combining my bug days here and making two pairs! The first is a tropical stinkbug from the Amazon (above), and the second is a lovely blue weevil from Papua New Guinea (below). This post is a photo summary of how I make them... I start with a drawing... Frequently I will make mirror versions using the computer, so they appear to face the same direction when being worn, but these are fairly symmetrical and shouldn't make a difference*. I will also re-size them if necessary. Then I choose the colored pencils I will use... Using a sharpie marker, I outline the drawing onto the shrink plastic sheet: Then I color them with colored pencils: I punch holes for the jump rings and then cut them out with scissors. Besides making the design, the cutting can be the most time-consuming part of the whole process: Here they are cut out and ...

The dobson fly is a large member of the order Neuroptera and looks pretty fierce, though it is quite harmless. The females do not have the elongated jaws. I have gotten really behind here... [February 24, 2020]

Today I did a quick sketch of eight beetles...I have plans for them...mwahaha! I'm trying to do some multi-tasking with my shop. I've stated elsewhere in this blog that the only true way to multi-task is when you have one project that counts for two things (this counts as my daily bug and as something for my etsy store...we're trying to buy a house, we need some money!) Left to right, starting at the top row we have: Snout Beetle Checkered Beetle Pasimachus Beetle Longhorn Beetle Bottom row: Leaf Beetle Stag Beetle Fiery Searcher June Beetle [Febraury 23, 2020]

I really like the bees so I turned them into earrings today. They are listed in my shop  HERE Other projects using this design: Creative Sprint 2015 Day 24 Day 48 [February 22, 2020]

Leafhoppers are tiny and sometimes hard to notice, but they definitely deserve a closer look. Related to cicadas and treehoppers, they come in a beautiful rainbow of colors and patterns. This one is from California. [February 21, 2020]

I tried a little bit of a lighter hand with the brush pen today. I think I have been pressing too hard; this is an improvement. Then I decided it would be fun to splatter watercolor paint on it (and it was!) I put a small paper cut-out over the head and pronotum to keep it clear of paint. [February 20, 2020]

As a kindergarten student in subtropical south Florida, I was used to seeing the wayward large cockroach (we're talking the 1.5 - 2 inchers) enter the classroom and cause its localized pandemonium in that section of the room until some brave little student stomped on it. Then like good little monkeys we would all run over to make sure it was dead. Threat neutralized. One bright sunny kindergarten day after a heavy rain the previous night, the teacher was reading to us when suddenly the biggest cockroach anyone had ever seen began to make its way across the floor in a strange hobbling sort of fashion (not at all quick like the usual suspects). Everyone gasped, some screamed. It was almost the size of some of our shoes - easily 4 inches - larger than kindergarten brains could fathom. The grotesque hobbling made it worse. The teacher urged us to calm down but made no move.  A brave boy came out and stomped on it dramatically, but the hobbling continued. Now everyone screamed,...

This jet-black walkingstick is a relatively recent discovery from Peru.  [Febraury 18, 2020]

I finally attempted to make the Bee cards from my two-color stamps. This project originated in 2016 with a paper cut-out card, and I carved two stamps, one for each color, this year for Day 24 . To me, this experiment was a fail. It was too hard to get the stamps to line up correctly even with the register I made and the corresponding cross-hairs on the backs of the stamps. I showed them to my husband S, however, and he said he liked how they were a little off - that it gave them more personality (or maybe he was just trying to appease my grumbling?). So they're a little off! I need to come up with a better register system... Only a couple lined up good - I threw a few of them away. You can view these cards in my shop HERE [February 17, 2020]