Work methods 2

Torinoko gampi japanese rice paper tests

I do not work in plastics. So, in order to give structural integrity to a medium, while maintaining fidelity to the actual appearance of the insect, I have to test many different materials. Here, I sampled scores of different liquid reinforcing media, hoping to give structure to the delicate Japanese rice paper I laid over the cast bronze wings of the dobsonfly.

posed dobsonfly

After observing the insect in nature, I arrive at a decision as to which behavior I want to depict. I then take one of five specimens and ‘‘relax’’ it in a moisture bath to make it flexible again. Then I use pins and styrofoam blocks to hold every part of the specimen in position until it is once again dry. The image here is of a male dobsonfly being prepared in this way as a model for my microscope. I chose to demonstrate the ethologically accurate habit of male threat posturing for which its hollow mandibles — which are not used for wrangling, as are the mandibles of scarabs — are designed.

double mold of cicada exuvia (shed)

After the sculpture is completed in oil-based clay, in order to cast it into its permanent form, I make molds of its parts. (Sometimes, as many as 25 different molds are required for one insect.) The highly complex ‘‘double’’ mold shown here registers the sculpted form of both the inside and outside of the larval cicada (seen (legless) in the upper left photo.)