Cycles

When something ends, another starts.

It's a new year, but i'm the same me. I'm still passionate about art, i'm still shy as hell, and I still obsess over things that fascinate me. Even if it's a day of obsession or years. If I like it, I like it and I will with every fiber of my being. One thing I've obsessed over since I was a kid was art. I will make my life with this, i'm good at it, some say excellent. I can only get better. 

Being able to fulfill my obsession everyday, and having such supporting people behind me pushing me to up my standards every time i start a new project, is the best. So now, I've decided instead of keeping my work to myself I'm going to start sharing it. From the Process to the final piece. To get other critiques besides that of my family, classmates and instructors.

 Cordyceps Fungus

Wood block print 

Cycles- the first theme my printmaking class had for the past semester. Our first Project was to work with a 4"x5" block of cherry wood (amazing to work with), and we were to show a cycle of some sort. while everyone was working with how people grow or the life cycle of butterflies or the phases of the moon. I chose the cycle of life and death. 

Not being morbid or anything, it's just a cycle that i figured no one would want to touch and it would be a challenge for me to not show it in an obvious way. I thought about it for the longest time, and i finally came up with a pretty brilliant idea. Not something you would understand right away, but once it's explained you'd be like "wow, that's clever!" or "damn, that's disturbing."

A lot of reactions I got was that it's pretty disturbing, but I loved this piece non the less. If you've ever seen Discovery's Planet Earth, this should be a bit familiar. Season 1 episode 8- Jungles, a place i know and love. Coming from a tropical country i know about jungles, my mother used to take me hiking a lot as a child. While i was watching this episode they showed something I'd never pay attention to. Dead bugs. 

Not just dead bugs, though. Dead bugs with a certain fungus growing on them! The Cordyceps Fungi, such an amazing parasite if you ask me, clever on how it chooses to reproduce itself. It attaches itself to the insect, manages to make it's way to the brain of the insect and controls it(Brain controlling fungi. Is this a horror movie?). When the time is right the fungus devours the insect's brain, and grows out of the insect's body. The fungus then spores to spread itself to some other unfortunate insect. 

So this is what I did, a very simplified image of a dead bug with a thriving cordyceps on top. It was the best way i though could have shown life and death., and not just the death part of it, but also showing that after death you can have live. Now i know I'm a little bit odd for thinking after the bug dies the fungus that grows on it is absolutely gorgeous. It's like allowing such an interesting thing to become more interesting. 

So from sketch, to carving, to final image. a total of 4 days of working. My first Piece for the semester, and my favorite piece i did all semester long. 

Cordyceps Fungus

xo

Lesley