My latest works will be on sale at the Oliver Center for the Arts July 28 – September 8, 2017 as part of an exhibition, “Bugs, Birds and Beasts.”

 

ARTIST’S STATEMENT: Bugs, Birds & Beasts

I am a science writer and self-taught artist who experiments with pen and ink, paint, natural fibers and found objects. These are used in conjunction with traditional media to create 2D images and 3D creatures, sometimes of indeterminate origin, inspired by nature or imagination. Human impacts on Planet Earth, strange or exotic creatures, and all things insecta currently inform my work. Other found object artists who spark my admiration and interest in reinterpreting the insect world include Edouard Martinet and Julie Alice Chappell.

Insects make up >80% of all species on Earth. Eliminating them would have a huge and deleterious effect on the web of life. (Besides, they were here first. Homo sapiens appeared some 300 million years after the first insects.)

The assemblages created for “Bugs, Birds and Beasts” are meant to encourage respect and appreciation for the many benefits insects bring to Earth’s fragile environment. Underlying that primary message is the subtext that all creatures have a story worthy of our attention, however brief.

We humans sometimes view insects as creepy, crawly, hairy, scary critters who sting, bite, swarm, and consume. We occasionally think we could live without them. But what would happen if they disappeared? At first, insect-eating animals would die from lack of food; animals who eat insect-eaters would then also starve. Flowering plants and crops would not be pollinated, and all flora would lack the nutrients and aerated soil they need to grow. Eventually, larger animals at the top of the food chain, including humans, would face extinction.

We might feel a little uncomfortable around insects, but without them we would cease to be.