ananda

Christmas Day Snow!

2010-12-28T21:45:00.000-08:00

fossils!

2010-04-10T20:44:00.000-07:00

at last, while out fossil hunting for my geology class fossil collection, i found a limestone boulder riddled with blastoids, which look like this:

i think i also might have found a fragment of a crinoid calyx, which would be really cool, since i'm so used to finding the stems, but never the parts on top.

tree fossil

2009-07-21T22:30:00.000-07:00

fossil of a tree, and the imprint in the rock from where the fossil was removed

giant leopard moth caterpillar

2009-04-28T09:22:00.000-07:00

an enormous black, spiny caterpillar was found during an evening walk, and taken home by me at the urging of my best friend, since i have been very interested in observing the whole metamorphosis process of caterpillar to butterfly/moth, but had not yet come across a caterpillar this year 'til now.

he was brought home in a jar, and then placed inside a 10 gallon fish tank, along with some leaves of dandelions, honeysuckle and violets. i had identified him previously because of his distinctive orange bands which became visible when he curled up in defense mode. so, having identified the caterpillar as that of a giant leopard moth, i found which kinds of food were most popular with that caterpillar and tried them all. the violet leaves seem to have been his preferred choice. i refreshed the supply of these multiple times a day.

after observing the caterpillar over a few days, i noticed that he was nocturnal, and would remain nearly motionless during daylight hours. eventually, however, he began to run around and around the tank day and night; this was unusual, and i thought that perhaps he was looking for a place to settle in for his transformation, but couldn't find a happy spot. he tried spinning silk in two different corners of the tank, but gave up eventually on each spot. i decided that there was something he needed that wasn't in the tank, that perhaps the glass was too slick for him and the silk to cling to easily. so i introduced a small cardboard box with a twig in it, the bottom of the box placed against the back of the tank so i could still observe the caterpillar. within one minute of me putting the box in the tank, the caterpillar was in it and only left once to come right back. he stayed in it, checking it out for about a day, then began weaving silk in the upper right corner of the box.

the next day, he had surrounded himself in that corner with a fine netting of silk, and remained motionless there now both during day and night.

another couple of days later, and it appears that the cardboard box was just what he needed. he's now shedding his skin as he begins to pupate. unlike many moths, the giant leopard moth caterpillar does not make a solid cocoon, but rather pupates directly within the fine netting he's woven.

more information will be posted as the transformation progresses.

the moth-to-be:

luna moth found at last!!!

2009-04-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

after searching many nights for this creature over the duration of a year, almost believing its existence in these parts to be a myth (contrary to sightings and encounters other people told me about), i have at last a Luna Moth in my possession. thanks to God as well as my best friend and his wonderful skills handling a net, the moth is in pristine condition; a most gorgeous treasure :D

some quick shots of the lovely animal (which is a male of the species) in natural pose, and in pinning (plastic strips and pins get removed after a few days).

cocoon watch

2009-03-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

today i retrieved a cocoon that appears to be of the bagworm variety, but have yet to identify the host tree. a couple other cocoons nearby had already hatched, so hopefully this one is still developing and will emerge very soon. it's been placed in a jar, still attached to its branch so that it can hang naturally; the jar is covered with cheesecloth secured by a rubberband to allow air flow while still maintaining an enclosed environment.

i feel it, too

2009-03-01T00:36:00.000-08:00

from wefeelfine.org

i feel like a fallen leaf

2009-02-27T10:54:00.000-08:00

dream dog : )

2009-02-01T11:05:00.000-08:00

one day, when it's feasible, i will have as my companion one of these, a gorgeous great pyrenees :D

schwing

2009-01-14T13:02:00.000-08:00

my recently completed mural for a commercial photographer's wood shop. painted on cement block, which was very difficult to say the least. mural height is probably around 10 feet...it's just big.

lepidopterist in the making

2008-11-05T21:23:00.000-08:00

africa has enchanted me

2008-08-17T01:30:00.000-07:00

there is something indescribably amazing about this place. i don't really have much of a desire to leave. at least i still have a few more days : )

officially in east africa

2008-08-09T07:16:00.000-07:00

I'm being a total geek and writing this from my iPod in africa. : ) right now I have a lovely home to stay in with friends, and will be vacating to the coast of the Indian ocean soon for a few days. It is quite exotic here with not only strange, beautiful trees and plants but also happy palm trees. I'm excited to see what kinds of fantastic butterflies and birds I can discover here during my stay : )

leaving for africa

2008-07-23T13:24:00.000-07:00

i'll be seeing one of these sunsets very soon...it's going to be so strange but so amazing at the same time to see a sunset and another ocean on the other side of the world. brilliantly dreamy. : )

girlishness

2008-04-09T21:45:00.000-07:00

i often wish i could design clothes. but i'll settle for making my own every once in a while.

clothing, for me, is a kind of art form; a direct design response to the human figure. i especially love dresses and skirts, as i feel they exude femininity in a way that nothing else can and also make women look pretty. these are a few things i think are classy and wonderfully girly.

i really like the cut for the neckline and shoulders

this is just a fabulous dress. i want to wear this for dancing where lots of twirling is involved.

if i owned this gorgeousness, i would throw parties for myself just so i could wear it. any girl would feel like a dream in this. it also looks very good for dancing. the sheer ribbon around the waist, and the halter neck...lovely!

i love shoes. i'd have a room full of shoes if i could.

i also love handbags. this one is terribly sweet.

ridiculous and ridiculously cute

illustration

2008-04-01T12:14:00.000-07:00

a lovely illustration from At The Back Of The North Wind by George Macdonald. sometimes i wish i could be an illustrator, but i think i render visualizations of stories in my head much better than on paper most of the time.

a personal illustration for a short story titled Ananda, written by Tim. this is one instance in which something turned out rather well on paper.

today i made...

2008-03-26T20:28:00.000-07:00

the feather tree in a shell boat on a gusty day, ribbons streaming; it's amazing what the ocean tides wash up onto shore

to da Vinci

2008-03-25T17:03:00.000-07:00

graphite on paper, after da Vinci

pen on paper, after da Vinci

a continuing of my interest in copying the works of da Vinci, initially inspired by a visit to the british museum where i was able to spend time drawing from a couple of da Vinci's actual silver point works on paper, not prints in a book. it made all the difference in the world.

a copy using silver point:

silver point on prepared paper, after da Vinci

car as art

2008-03-19T06:05:00.000-07:00

probably the best use of a Volvo ever. just imagine if everyone did things like this with their dead cars' parts. it would make quite a magnificent menagerie.

delightful melancholy

2008-03-16T21:19:00.000-07:00

above, two pieces by contemporary artist Geoffrey Johnson

above, two pieces by victorian era (late 1800's) artist John Atkinson Grimshaw

i had been looking at some of Grimshaw's work earlier, and when i later ran across Geoffrey Johnson's work while sifting through the stuff of various artists, i was struck by how directly Johnson's work reminded me of Grimshaw's. there is a certain similar quality in the air, or the atmosphere, of the paintings. and while Johnson's work is of a lighter, cooler color than Grimshaw's, they both have a kind of sootiness, a wetness; a blurring and smudging of tones. they look like dreams.

the most intriguing bit for me, however, is the figures in each artist's paintings. both have depicted their figures as little more than black silhouettes, merging and diverging in varying degrees. they are dark and beautiful and haunting, exuding a mysterious poetic melancholy. Grimshaw's soot-filled, rainy air perfectly complements the blurry, foggy dampness of Johnson's world. i can imagine the figures moving among the various paintings, meeting, conversing, departing, belonging neither to one artist or the other, but both.

i am of the firm opinion that the work of these two artists should be shown side by side together in their own exhibition. someone should make that happen. i'll go see it if they do.

now, and then

2008-03-05T21:14:00.001-08:00

"Self-eater #3" by Dana Schutz (2004ish) and "Burial of Atala" by Girodet (1813), respectively.

now someone in the world believes that painting on the top is beautiful and a fabulous work of art. i'm just glad that person doesn't have to be me. talk all you want about how wonderfully thick the paint is applied, about the boldness of such lurid color choice and combination. i can say with good deal of certainty at this point that my philosophy about art is that it should be universal. art shouldn't have to be an acquired taste. a true work of art resonates in the hearts of all. i won't tell which of the two pieces shown most likely fulfills the aforementioned requirement; your first choice would probably be correct.

"Yellow and Gold" by Rothko. this piece, as many others of Rothko's, resonates with me in a similar way as the Burial of Atala. it has this power for a few reasons. one is very practical. the title, you'll notice, is simply the names of two colors. the work is entirely unpretentious. the title itself eliminates the typical abstract art question of "well, what is it supposed to be?" um, well, let's see. it's some yellow. and it's some gold. colors. that's all. the magic happens in the juxtaposition of these colors. how do they relate to one another? on the color wheel, they're analogous; which means they harmonize quite well. so the experience of looking at them together is pleasant. how do they relate to me? i have a bias toward these colors that is inexplicable; they are attached to me and i to them in some magical way that dates back to some point in my childhood, or perhaps is a product of it. i see this painting and am suddenly reminded of everything that has those colors; honey. sunshine. wheat grass. orange roses. autumn. dusk in summer. the scent of autumn leaves. nostalgia. spiced cider. fireflies. and then i have the memories of these things. all this hits simultaneously as i see it, rather than following some kind of reactionary thought process. it is emotive as well as intellectual. this is how abstract art becomes meaningful for me. but precious little of it is as honest and unassuming as Rothko's colors. abstract art always seems to be trying to be something. perhaps because it's afraid of being simply colors which do nothing but flood our brains with memories and attachments that make us feel. (then again, i may just be overly sensitive to colors; in which case, i'm glad there's an artist like Rothko to play to my sensitivity).

a sidenote on aesthetics: it is interesting to notice that God has cared for aesthetic beauty since the beginning of time: "And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the eye and good for food." Gen. 2:9 NKJV (emphasis mine). now why would He make the trees pretty if beauty was lost on man? because beauty is not lost on man. we can talk about the most up to date and cutting edge art all day, but at the end of it, men still like beautiful women, and women still like beautiful men. there is a standard.