OniOniOniArt

Day 16 Make something that combines two things that are not usually found together. Darkling Beetle on Ice 1. The beetle was already dead. 2. Lest there be doubt, the beetle  was already dead .  This is the first "ice sculpture" I've ever done. Included with the beetle (which had been lying dead on the porch for two days prior to my picking it up) are lantana flowers. Insects and ice do not usually mix, unless that insect be a weta.

Day 15 Learn about something that happened today in history and make something inspired by it. Rhinoceros Beetle Gong I now realize I may have misread the prompt. I thought I had to merely learn about some piece of history and use that as inspiration, but I'm sure on this day 1,000 years ago, 500 years ago, or even last year, a gong was sounded. Oh well! On the 15th I went to the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix and based my project on the many gongs in their collection. They had a display illustrating how gongs are traditionally made (i.e. - labor intensive), and I learned that there are generally three types of gongs ( suspended gongs  or  tam-tams  which are flat;  bossed  which have a raised center, are tuned, and sometimes suspended; and bowl gongs which are more like large bells). They originated in China, their first uses are thought to be as a signal for the workers to return from the fields since some gongs are loud enough to be h...

Today we hiked to the base of Tom's Thumb, a huge monolith atop a mountain (in the middle of the photo above). Being a Floridian and used to flat land, this was a tough hike for me (it kicked my arse if you want to know the truth). It also got really hot on the climb down which didn't help things. I anticipate non-functional legs tomorrow. A yellow velvet ant! We walked right up to this rabbit, I suspect people feed it. Not sure what kind of lizard this is...will have to look it up and update when I'm not so tired. A little more than halfway up. My Dad photographing me taking his photograph. Almost there! The view from the base of the Thumb. Rock climbing gear is required to get to the top. It's still pretty high up at the base!

Day 14 Walk for five minutes without any specific destination in mind, make something with or inspired by whatever is available where you end up. I didn't follow the prompt exactly. My Dad and I hiked to the base of Tom's Thumb today, so the destination wasn't totally unknown (though I've never been there before) and it definitely didn't take five minutes to get up there! This beetle is made from plant material I found at the top when we arrived at the base of Tom's Thumb. There's a seed pod husk, dried up grasses, tiny flowers, and a succulent leaf.  This was a rush job. The monolith in the middle is Tom's Thumb, we hiked all the way around it. This was taken about halfway up the mountain.

Day 13 Use the front page of a newspaper or cover of a magazine as materials or source of inspiration today.  Stargazing Stinkbug My inspiration came from the following National Geographic cover which I happened to observe in a Safeway supermarket: Materials: Paper, glue, watercolor paint, colored card stock, paper board, toothpicks, sharpie marker There are two bug constellations in the sky, a grub on the left and a beetle on the right. The additional toothpick is my Dad's contribution (to be fair, he also suggested the extension on the tripod)

Lake Bartlett Yesterday I visited two unlikely desert locations, a lake and a river. The water was very low in Lake Bartlett and there were many small flowering plants along the sandy beach which attracted a multitude of insects. I was only able to get decent photos of a few: A fuzzy bee fly I was struck by the bright red of the net-winged beetles.  Every other net-wing I have ever seen was orange. Snout butterfly Ladybug Rio Verde A Syrphid flower fly Blister beetles Mating leaf beetles Snout butterfly The cholla seemed very happy growing on the huge boulder next to the river. They looked as though cultivated - Fields of Cholla. Only the field is a big rock.

The view from the highest point. My Dad, the nimble mountain goat, on the trail in front of me. Here are some insects we met on our way to the top: Unknown Nymphalidae A seed bug Great Purple Hairstreak

Net-winged Beetle These insects were from my Dad's yard (10/12/15). Rhopalidae - appears to be a red-shouldered bug A bee fly - after looking at some photos, I think it is in the subfamily Phthiriinae. The pool drain proved most profitable. I will be checking it daily. Top row, left to right: a scorpion, a centipede, two mantids, two water striders. Bottom row: a honey bee, predacious diving beetle (above), either a darkling beetle or iron clad beetle (below), and another possible darkling beetle I will have to dig into my entomology books at home a little more for the last two. ...And though it did not move for a good fifteen minutes,  this one... ...was still alive!