15/04/23
This week I removed the pins from my butterflies (apart from the ones through their thoraxes) and transferred them onto different pieces of foam board. I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of them all, as apart from some areas of damage such as loss of antenna and the antiseptic liquid rubbing off some of the coloured scales on the wings, they all turned out really beautifully. I was so proud of them that I restarted my art Instagram page so that I could share photos of my work, something I had been too anxious to do for a long time. My next steps with my butterflies is to attach differing lengths of fishing line to the central pins and add fishing hooks to each one so that they can be hung from the metal spiral web in my installation.
This week I have also made good progress with my wax sculpture of Cherry. It has been taking a very long time, longer than I had anticipated to be honest, but I think that she is finally starting to take shape. I could not get a rotating stand of any sort in time so I have just been working on a plastic Pyrex lid, but it has been working just fine.
18/04/23
Today one of my 7 boys, Viktor, passed away at just over 10 months old. It was extremely sudden, unexpected and heartbreaking, especially since we had only had him for 8 months, which is just not enough time. Viktor’s death really reinforced the meaning and reasoning behind both my project for this semester and my project last Semester, ‘Purple Rodents’, in which I sought to make a visual painted record of each of my beloved pets, as I knew then as I am reminded now how precious my time with them is.
21/04/23
Today I finished my wax sculpture. It took an extremely long time but I am really pleased with the outcome. The only detail I will be adding after these photographs were taken is the texture of fur, to try and add to the realism of it. I will also be adding the butterfly wings to the sculpture before the Takeover exhibition on 9th May, they just will not be added in time for the proposal form images of my project.