Where have all the lightning bugs gone?

 I've been journaling memories this semester and it is proving to be a valuable way to generate ideas for work. One thing that stood out to me was a memory of chasing and catching lightning bugs in my grandmother's backyard. I remembered there being so many. They seemed to hang like storm cloud among the low hanging branches of  trees, flashing as unpredictably as the bolts they are named after. Watching them swarm in my childhood was a near nightly occurrence at dusk during the summer and fall months. These days, I might see one or two of these flying beetles occasionally throughout the season, but can't remember the last time I saw a swarm of them. 

My musings led me to research what if their populations are dwindling. I found that they are, on a global scale and not just locally. As is the case with bees, scientists aren't exactly sure what is causing their disappearance, however there is one theory that increased light pollution disrupts their mating patterns. This revelation has let to several projects I'm currently working on. They deal with a fossilization of memories and personal/family narratives dealing with fireflies through objects. The first one is a plaster cast of the negative space between my hands, depicting the gesture of capturing a lightning bug. This is a sketch and not the final piece. I'm still working out the final form and the best way to construct it.

Veins, Dyes, & Display

Finished Khaki leaf

Finished Composite leaf

Finished Moss leaf

I've been finishing up painting the veins in on the paper leaves I made in February and casting new ones. The line quality and variation is improving. This semester my goal has been to create leaves that are less realistic, emphasizing transparency of process and material. These objects look less like actual leaves, making the increased verisimilitude of the stem and leaf veins a necessary element and an interesting contradiction. 

New Moss dyed pulp leaf

Sage dyed pulp leaf

I mixed two new batches of dyed pulp, in an attempt to cast leaves with more vibrant color and improved texture. I'm pretty happy with the results. One is a delicate moss green, the other is a deeper sage color. Both pulps have legible text, interesting variation in hue, and pick up greater detail from the mold. All of the new leaves are made entirely out of library catalog cards.

Detail of new Moss leaf

I've also been thinking about ways to display this work. I haven't completely ruled out pinning them to the wall as specimens but I'm not sold on it either. One option is to display them lying on a surface in bunches; the way they would be purchased or stacked after picking and washing.

Collard Bunch (display idea)

Detail of Collard Bunch (display idea)

Adding Depth

One of the things that came up in the first meeting with my mentor was to push the depth in my relief sculptures. Since I had already completed the structure for the 3 panel relief, I decided to make a couple of smaller pieces to work out potential structural issues. The original relief sculptures averaged about 1.5 inches deep, the two new ones are between  3-4.5 inches deep. 

I learned 5 things in this process:

1. I'm more attracted to the undulating form and play of light in this work than its predecessors.
2. I'm less enthusiastic about the edge, increasing the depth also makes the form appear more like a box. I need to consider the overall form as an object and not as confine it to a box/square.
3. Exaggerating the depth of the form complicates the papier-mache process, making it more difficult to maintain strength and smoothness.
4. In keeping with thinking of this work as sculptural objects rather than paintings, I should pay closer attention to how I finish off the back of the work.
5. By painting the object the first, I can use glitter and sealer more efficiently. 

New Leaves

Moss pulp leaf no.6  

In the last couple of weeks, I have cast about 10 leaves from the pulp I made in early February. Half of them were made from the blended paper pulp and dyed moss green. Two were made from the torn paper pulp and dyed khaki green. The remaining leaves were made from a composite pulp using the remnants of the two dyed pulps and leftover cotton linter pulp from last semester. 

I've made some progress toward reaching the goals I set in January. I learned that the dye must be used in a higher concentration to more achieve more vibrant results. I also discovered that the blended paper pulp yielded the best results in terms of leaf texture and legible text. The color, however, was less than ideal. Once the pulp was cast, it dried to a hue that appeared more bluish-grey than green. The next step will be to experiment further with color and look for a new source for library catalogue cards. 

This week I will also paint in the veins, experiment with using ink instead of acrylic, and reinforce the back of the leaves with gel medium. The cardstock fibers do not create as strong a pulp as cotton fibers. Its also time to think about using different leaves and begin making some new molds.

Moss pulp leaf no. 2 

Khaki pulp leaf no. 2

Khaki pulp leaf no. 1

Composite pulp leaf no. 2

Composite pulp leaf no. 1