I finished something! No, for real this time.
I am desperate, DESPERATE I tell you to actually get some projects closed out and space freed up in my sewing room. And my office. And my dining room table. And the dining room floor. It is out of control, I tell you!
I lay the blame at least partially on the very lovely lady who I have been associating with lately who enables all my best/worst inclinations by cheering on all my projects while doing just as many of her own at the same time. In the case of this project it's definitely her fault because she insisted it would be Terribly Romantic to learn how to artfully pose the dead, hollow carapaces of a pair of cicadas together. I am not a Terribly Romantic person but you know what? I'm into it. She's right. Playing with dead things is a great date night activity.
I spent all summer scanning the ground for dead insects and I was really proud of the pair I found. Look at this big juicy critter.
What I learned about the process is that you don't really "pin" the insects per se. You rehydrate them so that their little joints can move around, pose them the way you like, and then use the pins to just gently prop up the limbs and the wings in the configuration you want. Once it dries out again, everything stays in place and you just mount it in a box with a dab of glue.
Behold! My very own bug in his stylish little house. And I now no longer have a pile of dead bugs littering my mantlepiece. Small victories.
