Did you know that Daphnia (water flea) are used as diagnostics to monitor pollution in water?
I’m rather fascinated by these tiny water fleas and am currently trying to reproduce them in glass (not to scale). This has proved rather more challenging than expected as it requires blowing perfectly round bubbles and then cutting them to exact dimensions.
Last week, I had an ah ha moment and swiftly went to Homebase where I purchased some perfectly round lightbulbs of just the right size. Now all, I need to do is figure out how to attach antennas, hearts, guts, eggs without cracking the lightbulbs. Wish me luck!
So I finally decided on which species of Brazilian butterfly to paint only to discover that finding its caterpillar was and I quote ‘mission impossible ’ according to a lepidopterist I contacted.
Given that I am a bit contrary, I persisted anyway. In my quest I have been in touch with five English Natural History Museums and Stratford Butterfly Farm. A chap from London Natural History Museum gave me some hope by pointing me in the direction of research conducted by Keith S. Brown. After my mum’s marathon of phone calls to Brazilian museums, societies and laboratories (19 in total); eureka! A professor who had done her phd here, came up trumps and sent me an article by Keith S. Brown with black and white photos of the caterpillar alongside detailed scientific description; jackpot!
So the allusive caterpillar in question is the Heliconius nattereri who is on the verge of extinction due to a combination of deforestation and climate change because it inhabits a relatively small geographical area in the Atlantic Forest region.
Frustratingly just when I felt I was making good progress with my flame working of many wiggly brown glass rods, my oxygen concentrator packed it in. So, it is back to using the butane torch which is limiting and slow going but at least prevents me from grinding to a complete halt.
I may have to change tack and begin another sculpture but for that I need to figure out how to use the app i Naturalist . I am crossing my fingers that someone on there will surely be able to identify the species of Sea Limpet I am interested in; how hard can it be?
During lock-down I had an epiphany; the wonders of zoom mean you can connect with anyone anywhere; I intend to make the most of this resource! I have recently used it to reach out to Steph Hachey a Museum Professional based in Canada who is well versed in art theory and is interested in environmentalism and ethics; the perfect combo.
The zoom session was brilliant, I guess in the past I have underestimated how useful critical input can be in the early stages of the creative process. She has given me practical suggestions within a conceptual framework and I can not wait to share my progress with her further down the line.
Delighted to have been awarded an Arts Council project grant through the National Lottery. It means I can get on with the next phase of EcologyNOW.
I have been on another visit to the Lapworth to ensure I am stocked up with plenty of material to begin making my sculptures. Looked at ferret, otter, parrot and snake skeletons.
I have never used a 3D printer, so it was very exciting to get my head scanned and be given a prototype, looks a bit like an action hero; very strange! Hopefully the end result will look strange in a good way. The brilliant tech wizard Andy has been helping me.
