6legs

Caribou too

Wed, 14 May 2008 17:23:43 -0500

It's a cavalcade of cavorting caribou. Some ideas for a book a friend and I are kicking around.

New antlions

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:17:52 -0500

A swarm of new antlion illustrations are up at antlionden.com.

If you`re looking for an insect gift for a nature-loving friend, I highly suggest antlions! This company has been around for several years now, and is a joy to work with.

Merry Krampus

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 22:31:55 -0500

How wonderful that there is such a thing as a Krampus, and I didn't even know about it until yesterday!

Krampus is a shaggy demon who accompanies Saint Nicolas on his Christmas rounds in parts of eastern Europe. Bad children, as I understand it, are beaten and stuffed in a sack.

In all the commercial hubbub of North American Christmases, we've obviously forgotten the real meaning of the season -- violent goat-faced demons.

Egyptian Vultures

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:55:05 -0500

Ever since picking up a british encyclopedia of animals in the bargain bin at Borders*, I've been enamoured with European/African birds. They're so odd and beautiful. Here's a sketch of an Egyptian vulture.

*The Canadian dollar is at a 30 year high, but Canadian booksellers still charge the 'Canadian' price on the cover -- often 30% or more over the US price, plus the %15 or so sales tax. I've come to the conclusion that buying books here is for chumps, so I'm stocking up whenever I cross the border.

RSS update

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:19:11 -0500

If you're following the (admittedly sort of infrequent) updates to this blog via RSS, please update the address to:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/6legs
Thanks!

If you're not using RSS, give it a try! It's very handy if you follow more than a few blogs or news sites every day.

My new mantis pets

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 21:28:59 -0500

My mantis cup just runneth over this summer! I've found three in the past week, and kept two.

I have them together, so I hope they fall in love and make little mantids (instead of just eating each other).

UPDATE: They ate each other. Love is rough.

Camel Cricket

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 03:57:08 -0500

I've never found a live camel cricket in the basement, but I know they're there. Every so often, the cat will wander by with a big, stripy leg in her mouth. I also find a mess of little cricket body parts every time I sweep down there.

Finished caribou mask

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 21:51:04 -0500

After all that lead-up, I suppose I should post the finished mask! I finished it off by sanding the paper mache a bit, then smoothing everything out with wood spackle. Finally, I painted it with acrylics.

It's not really wearable, and it's too front-heavy to hang on the wall. Live and learn. Next up, maybe a badger mask?

June bug larva

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 04:10:19 -0500

I've been pulling up yards and yards of grass to start my garden, and man, there are a lot of lawn grubs in there. These white, curled guys are by far the most common. They're baby June beetles, those big brown beetles that buzz around lights in late spring.

Since this is my first garden (and my first yard!), I felt a sense of emotional stewardship towards the first few. They're not just grubs; they're my grubs! But after I hit number 10 in as many minutes, I started throwing them to the starlings (my starlings!).

Papier Mache Caribou Mask, step 2

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 23:06:19 -0500

Next step! The antlers are made from a wire and tinfoil frame, covered with paper mache. I glued them on with a ton of hot glue, and removed the lower jaw, which was making it hard to breathe with the mask on.

Papier Mache Caribou Mask, step 1

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 19:49:40 -0500

My artsy time lately has been taken up by a mask project. I've made masks before, but you know what they say about art -- it takes 10,000 crappy drawings before you produce something good. It took about 3 masks, but they get a little better each time.

This is the start of a caribou mask. I laid newspaper strips over a form made from a plastic masquerade mask and hardware mesh, and used paper pulp clay for the details. Once it dried, I carefully (!) removed the mesh and mask.

Fire in the hole -- Centralia, Pennsylvania

Sun, 31 Dec 2006 17:28:07 -0500

Photos from our trip to not-quite ghost town, Centralia, PA.

Merry Christmas!

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 16:16:20 -0500

Happy holidays, all, and safe travels! Did you know that male reindeer/caribou shed their antlers in the fall, while females keep theirs until spring?

So santa's reindeer are all ladies. Who else would drag a guy all over the world without having to stop and ask directions?

Facts about Narwhals

Thu, 23 Nov 2006 14:22:46 -0500

Narwhals are champs at what many have called "the Beautiful Game".

Betta

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 03:52:55 -0500

A quick digital sketch of my betta, Jaromir Jagr (hey, I don't name 'em. I just feed 'em.)