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| "Juniper" ©2016 Joshua J. Barbosa |
Just outside of my home are rows upon rows of Juniper tree. They are manicured in such a way, that they maintain the shape of a hedge. These hedge rows, dense and green beg for further investigation. Careful observation led me to the discovery of dozens of pine cone like objects hanging from the Juniper branches.
As it turns out, the objects were not pine cones but cocoons, bag worm cocoons. Now I wont get into too much detail about the bag worm; the most interesting attribute is however worth a mention. Bag worms utilize bits and pieces of whatever tree or plant they hang from to construct their safe haven. The resulting encasement appears as if it has actually grown on the host plant. Deceiving, subtle and awesome.
Subtlety was on my mind when constructing this image, the subtlety of the bag worm Juniper cocoon.
Experimentation with positioning of balsa is becoming more a prevalent part of the process. Once glued, stain and paint applications were checked and balanced by varying grits of sand paper. Pushing and pulling set the rhythm of Junipers' construction. Subtlety won the fight and I am happy it did.
As it turns out, the objects were not pine cones but cocoons, bag worm cocoons. Now I wont get into too much detail about the bag worm; the most interesting attribute is however worth a mention. Bag worms utilize bits and pieces of whatever tree or plant they hang from to construct their safe haven. The resulting encasement appears as if it has actually grown on the host plant. Deceiving, subtle and awesome.
Subtlety was on my mind when constructing this image, the subtlety of the bag worm Juniper cocoon.
Experimentation with positioning of balsa is becoming more a prevalent part of the process. Once glued, stain and paint applications were checked and balanced by varying grits of sand paper. Pushing and pulling set the rhythm of Junipers' construction. Subtlety won the fight and I am happy it did.
Bag worms are slowly and meticulously taking over the world and they got to your art, watch out.
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