Category Archives: My Art
Finding and Mapping Beetle Territory
I am in the process of designing and mapping beetle territory: where do my beetles live? Where do they eat? And where to they go to sleep? Are they loners, or social beetles?
Here are some of my less dimensional, less colorful beetles! These are clearly herd beetles; they are moving en masse toward some unseen goal. They seem quite focused and content in their progress.
But other beetles will be different, I feel certain.
Beetle Mania Continues
My beetle mania continues, but the drawers are not at all final. There may be one drawer, but probably not two. After consideration, I find that I am bored by my the drawers at the moment. I am underwhelmed by them. So many of the beetles will not be in the drawers at all. If I do use the drawers that I have at hand, they will need to undergo considerable alteration, in order to be satisfying.
I count more than thirty beetles so far, made from seven different molds. The originals for the molds range from my first carved alabaster beetle, to a carved soap beetle, and several clay beetles. Most of the thirty or so beetle casts are made from polyurethane resin, a few are epoxy resin, but I have also made a set in plaster, and a few in an acrylic cement mix.
Now what to do with all my lovely beetles? TBD
Beetle Specimen Drawers Approach Final
I do believe, at least for the moment, that my beetle specimen drawers approach final arrangement.
I have added another round of beetles, two of them being brand new, and I have rearranged them. The arrangements in each drawer seem more compatible. I am still somewhat unsure whether I like these particular drawers, or even the idea of this collection as a whole. But the new additions and updated arrangements fit much better as two somehow congruous sets.
Now the beetles are all lined up facing the same way in both drawers, the drawers a bit cleaner, and these photos were taken with the higher resolution camera:
I may like to think that my project is on track, and that my beetle specimen drawers approach final arrangement. I am still considering though. One idea is add a background in the drawer, under the beetles. A mirror could be interesting, or then again just not! I am looking for the large mirror tile that should be somewhere in my studio… Perhaps the drawers could be stained a bit darker, or even painted.
But … do my beetle specimen drawers pass muster? I need to love them! Do I love them yet? TBD!
Beetle Specimen Drawers Project
I am determined: I will proceed with my beetle specimen drawers project! I anticipate at least two “drawers”, although I am toying with the idea of using closed cases rather than mounting for a wall hung “drawer” display. Old flatware/silverware cases might be quite fabulous. But those might require a different style of beetle than I have so far… so many options!
Second Editions of Mrs. Beetle and Golden Boy
I pulled the second editions of Mrs. Beetle and Golden Boy out of the molds this morning, along with another Mrs. Beetle I and another turtle! I like Golden Boy #2 better than #1; the color shading is better. But I am not quite as fond of Mrs. Beetle II in red & green, although she is just fine. Mrs. Beetle I and Turtle have been cleaned up and sprayed, but Mrs. Beetle II and Golden Boy have not been touched up yet. They are fresh from the molds.
Mold from my Recent Soap Carving
It worked: success! I made one excellent mold and one OK but partial mold from my recent soap carving efforts. I love Mrs. Beetle II, and I can clean and re-use my Golden Boy soap carving to make a more complete mold. I have already made a cast from each of these, along with newl casts from some earlier work.
Here you have some of today’s results, displayed with some earlier work. I set up the originals for mold making yesterday, and poured the silicone in the afternoon. The silicone sets up quickly and I was able to extract the soap carvings, pretty much intact, before dinner. I was so excited that after dinner I rubbed the molds with various pigments, then mixed up the polyurethane plastic and poured it into seven molds. I bought quick setting products, but I decided to wait until this morning to pop out the new casts.
The first casts are fine, and I am really pleased with the beetle mold and cast. I actually love that the cracks in the too dry soap are carried by the silicone, even exaggerated in the cast piece. The cracks make Mrs. Beetle II look rather venerable and distinguished. Golden Boy, with his repaired head, and the cracks, appears to be a reproduction of some ancient statue.
Sketches to Support Beetle Carving
Sometimes I start a carving project by sketching; at other times I may draw a few sketches to support a project that is already in work. Sometimes I do a bit of both! My second Mrs. Beetle carving was well under way on a block of Lirio laundry soap before I sketched anything. The sketches can consolidate my ideas and keep me focused when I am not carving.
I also want to create a finished art work that will incorporate multiple beetles, however I did not have any clear vision or concept of what that might look like until I did some doodling. Here is one of my sketches to support beetle carving, and another one that may help me create a finished artwork.
Last night, sketching, I may have come up with my plan:
I think many of my beetles will be installed in one or more “specimen drawers”! Why it has taken me this long to come to this idea, I really don’t know: it seems so obvious. I have built “museum drawers” before now, though these were archeological rather than botanical. So I have a plan, and I am excited, but a long way from having a sufficient collection of beetles!
I enjoy assembling, and I have created several art assembly pieces in old drawers, or in shallow wooden boxes that I think of the same way. When I am experimenting, I create many pieces and parts: items that don’t really stand alone as much more than amusements. But sometimes these parts created separately come together and create the kind of magic I want from my artwork.
When small pieces that I have created with care, even treasured for quite some time, eventually do become part a greater whole, it is immensely satisfying. I really enjoy the process of preparing an artwork from many parts. And so far, I am usually pleased with the results.
I am especially fond of the dimensional work I have assembled in drawers, which requires a variety of skills. It can take time to find just the right pieces to create the odd scenes that fit my vision. I may need to alter or repair found drawers and boxes. Sometimes I add lights, which always complicates the process, and getting the final finish details can take time and patience. But I find it all very satisfying.
Carving Another Beetle from Soap
I am carving another beetle from soap: Mrs. Beetle II perhaps. I have large 400g. blocks of yellow Lirio laundry soap bought for the purpose a couple of years ago. Unfortunately any soap dries out over time, so I now have to coddle my piece along with damp wraps and warming it as I go. Carving relatively fresh soft soap is pretty easy, but still requires a plan, care and attention. But when the soap has uneven dry harder parts, it is harder to deal with. Old soap becomes brittle and crumbly; so carving it get tricky and you can ruin your piece quickly.
I am making this scarab beetle larger than my first, alabaster, carving. And I wanted the idea of legs on this one, which will probably end up being more like human arms in a sphinx like pose.
I don’t have much interest in the soap carving as such; my plan is make silicone molds that I can cast in epoxy and polyurethane resins. I want to have a small family of different original scarab beetle molds eventually.
I don’t see any reason that a poured silicone mold should not work, unless this soap has sulfur in it. TBD! A brush on silicone might well prove to be a slippery problem over soap! Anyway it remains to be seen if I am wasting my time carving another beetle from soap!
Soap Carving for Covid-19 Safe Practice
Well I think I have found the perfect hobby for this year: soap carving for Covid-19 safe practice! Constant hand washing is built-in to this activity; even with dry soap you need to wash and wash before touching anything else!
I have a few extra large bars of soap purchased some time ago for this purpose, and one carving almost completed when I set is aside last year. It is cheap and quite nice to work with, if you can take the rather strong scent added to this soap! The soap chips do get all over, and could be a bit slippery if damp, but they are not sharp or toxic!
My plan is to cast the carved soap using silicone. This should work pretty well for simple molds using poured silicone. However I don’t even know if I will be able to make a brush on silicone product work directly on the soap. But if not, I will spray a matte clear acrylic over the soap, which should create a better surface. I really hope this works out, as my little figure is not suitable for a poured silicone mold.
The new carving will be another scarab beetle: a friend for Mrs. Beetle casts from my carved alabaster original. Carving alabaster was fun, but much trickier. The piece I was carving was very fragile, full of veins!
So I highly recommend soap carving for Covid-19 safe practice, and for fun. And I hope to be able to recommend it for productive artistic creation also.