Don't You Wish They All Could be 24kt Gold Bugs?

{image credit: Mark}

Today a spider crawled across my desk. I totally freaked out. Though he was only a tiny jumper spider I couldn't rest until I found him.....and killed him. I started to sweat as my anxiety turned to panic looking for him. The whole experience of spiders in my space is a lot like going to the dentist, it's painfully uncomfortable, but you know the out come of not going will be way worse. If he got away I would spend rest of the day worrying that he is crawling on me. So I sucked it up found him and exterminated him. Harsh, I know and it even could be considered cruel to some, but it was necessary for my sanity.

After all this I decided my desk needs a good cleaning since more spiders could be loitering, of course. Though logically I know spiders are territorial. The anxiety, paranoia and panic had all set in. There was no logic. I started to imagine an army of tiny spiders hiding in the beads and paint brushes.

So I started to clean. And to my pleasant surprise I found a large dead moth in perfect condition. I know, right?! How could this tiny spider have induced such panic + chaos and this big moth induce pleasure + delight? It made me think about what is beautiful, what is scary, what happens when scary becomes beautiful and beautiful becomes scary?

{image via: Flickr}

Here are some beautiful of things that creep me out. Bats, I think they are beautiful, but when they are flying over my head at dusk in a big swarm, they give me the chills. I start wondering what they are foreshadowing...a earthquake, accident? Flies disturb me because I am paranoid of germs. But, if you ever take a real good close look at them, like this golden fly with ruby eyes, they can be real intriguing and beautiful. Spider webs..whenever I walk into one I get the urge to vomit. Spider webs that lead into darkness, like this picture usually have me thinking dreadful thoughts of black widow orgies deep within. This frost sprinkled web is so gorgeous I almost forgot a spider made it. The wall below is a splinter party waiting to happen. Splinters lodged right between your finger nail are the worst. You might as well just jam an x-acto blade up there. This distressed wall is gorgeous, splinters and all. And lastly, big flying bugs make me jump especially if they buzz or hum...make ANY noise for that matter, but if they were all dipped in 24kt gold I would definitely more tolerant to them.

What is beautiful to you...that also creeps you out?

Crazy Bug!

Stunning colored pictures and crazy bugs are two of my favorite things! I spend lots of time trying to take great photos and documenting all my excursions, but am always late on the trigger. Ask around..it's true! These photos are exactly how I wish my photographs would come out. The yellow color of the wild flowers and green fields against the somber sky is breath taking. Plus the sense of humor and special eye for oddities intrigues me in these photos. Check out the other gorgeous pictures by Vanessa Soberanis on her blog, Curious Spoon

Beautiful.

Boston Museum Of Science

During my recent trip back to Boston I visited the Boston Museum Of Science, where my uncle is a volunteer. I haven't been there for a VERY long time. I was impressed all over again. Ripley's Meets the Petting Zoo!
When I was very young I saw an exhibit at the BOS that featured the use of a human toe as a replacement thumb (click to see thumb/toe warning not for faint of stomach). I think it semi-traumatized AND extremely intrigued me! I always loved using that special fact through out the years when a person's appendages were in jeopardy. Below is the baby hand deformity from the exhibit which is still there! I was beginning to think I dreamed the whole thing up!

{More Pictures} I took @ The Boston Museum of Science

Shell Collection

Butterfly Specimen

Taxidermy kitty

Butterflies

Neri Oxman

Quartz

Rock Collection

The baby hand deformities

fetus

Ant Tunnels


Museum Reflections

Piggy Back Riding on a Spider

When this picture came into my twitter feed from my friend Beth Andrus of Mini-Biz Buzz I was smitten! I ended up day dreaming at my desk of what it would be like to be a baby spider receiving such a piggy back ride. I played with all the scenarios. Me being the mommy spider carrying my babies all over a rain Forrest in South America. Even though I have no idea of this spider's actual habitat, I ended up climbing over bananas and chatting with toucans for a moment. Then I switched it up and imagined being a baby spider just chillin' looking up at the sky times 8 over with my spider eyes. That made me relax and fall into memories of floating in warm tropical waters on past vacations with my ears buried in the sea looking up at the sky without a care in the world....

Memories like these make me excited to allow myself to day dream and learn to be appreciative once again of how visually overwhelming my mind can be. I tend to forget nothing I have visually experienced. Exciting? It can be. It used to wonderful. When I was younger I used to pride myself on remembering everything a friend ever told me in chronological order. We would laugh together as I recalled juicy tid-bits ingrained in my memory they had long since forgotten. I used to be so excited to tell you what you exactly what you were wearing 3 Tuesdays ago if you asked....

But, as I have grown older I have learned this can often just end up being extremely haunting when there are things you wish you couldn't recall. I often find myself wishing I could easily forget disappointments, mistakes and heartbreaks ingrained forever and lurking in my mind. So vivid, colorful and real as when they happened. Even the most minor faux-pas from many years past are lurking. So as I have gotten older I have found myself hesitant to day dream. But, thanks to Beth and her spider I just may allow myslef to day dream a little more during the day! It felt really nice to let my mind go on it's little tangent and not worry where it may end up.

fly circus

Ahhhh! We all have the, "why didn't i think of this!?" every so often. This is mine! I play with dead bugs. I have more flies than I can count waiting in a jar for "what's next!" Well here is what their next could have been....should have been. I feel like a deadbeat dead fly mother!

See more dead fly art by Magnus Muhr at AcidCow.

Underwater Architects

Holy Cow! I can barely contain myself! I am in L♡VE! Don't let your eyes fool you, these are not bedazzled cat turds you are looking at (though I quite possibly could be equally as excited by such a find). These mind blowing glitter shells are made by insects. Diamond and gold larvae cocoons- Spectacular! The genius behind these is a french artist named Hubert Duprat who began his work with larvae in the 1980s.

Trichoptera also know as caddisflies are the little devils behind these sparklers. The hermit crabs of bugs, the larvae create elaborate protective tubes from silk, pebbles, sticks, shells and whatever else they can find. They have been referred to as underwater architects.
Duprat brings the caddisflies back to his studio and carefully removes their original tubes. He then places the larvae in tanks with gold flakes, semi-precious and precious stones and the larvae began building their protective sheaths with these new luxurious materials. They have created tubes out of gold flakes, turquoise, coral, sapphires, pearls, rubies and even diamonds! I imagine them to be the kind of pet Cleopatra would keep.

Below are some pictures of their tubes would appear in the wild

This guy's design with the purple hat is not too shabby

Watch the little guys in action as they build my dream house one sparkling karat at a time!

usually cats leave these on your doorstep

my friends send them to me in the mail!

Arrival of scorpion & lizard from Athena. These little taxidermy treasures where collected up north in Humboldt County.

Butterfly Wings

I won these real butterfly wings on Ebay! Can't wait for them to come!
Sooo many ideas already.

Tales from inside the Kissing Bug Jar....

I am always finding, being sent or handed dried insects or just creatures in general. They always end up inside the "albino kissing dogs" until their further destiny is decided.
Currently there is a pretty nice selection going on....

* furthest traveled & most original award goes to tiny dried gecko (bottom right) coming in all the way from Hawaii sent by my friend, Tara.
With second runner up being grasshopper (middle) from Arkansas

Turtle, Ray, Turtle

The turtles and ray chillin' before being cast.

RobinCharlotte's Sterling Silver Pendant Critter Gang

Recent work in the casting studio.
I want to add them to my line!
Someday....
I would love to find an investor of sorts, so I can go forward with them and put them into production!
Everyone loves the seahorse when I wear him. The crabs are also are quite the hit. As for the fish, people love them or are scared (it's hard to see, but the flat fish above the coin has scary teeth) I haven't worn turtle out yet, but will keep you posted!