“Insects, worms and other small animals that carry out vital functions for life on earth have declined by 45 per cent on average over 35 years, threatening human health, water quality and food supplies…”
-Steve Connor, “Vital invertebrates decline by 45 per cent, study finds,” independent.co.uk, July 2014.
The decline we see in the insect populations does not just affect the environment. It affects every living species on this earth. At first I did not see this decline, I was focused on my own life. The presence of insects was never a concerned to me. This project opened my eyes to the impotence of all creatures, no matter how small.
As a child, one of my favorite this to do were to find animals in my back yard, whether that was snakes, bugs, turtles, or frogs. The innocence we all have as kids is eventually lost when we grow older and have more to worry about. We have to continue to be conscience of what is going on around us.
This bug motel features a 38” x 22” box. All the wood was plain, sanded, and scorched to show of the beautiful natural textures in the wood. Inside this box, there is a smaller box closed of by a plank with holes in it. This allows bugs that like darkness and hiding, such as pill bugs and other beetles to be kept out of the elements. Surrounding the inner box is different kinds of branches to give more shelter to the bugs, built for different wood flies and borers. The box’s insides are held in with chicken wire that was stapled on to a frame. The box will be put on stilts and held about 4 to 5 feet above the ground.
The only maintenance having to be done by the DNR for this project is taking out the screws of the frame to take out dead material and put new leaves, pinecones, branches, and whatever they deem fit.
Final Reflection
In the beginning of this project, I had a clear idea in my head that would make this piece more artistic than functional. It was going to first be broken up into 4 parts but was later eased into three areas. I wanted to create these semi circles out of clay that would create pattern and movement in the piece and make it more aesthetically pleasing. I also wanted to created a bored with long slits in it that would give the insects shelter and also add line and space to the piece. The piece in it’s end result would be around 3 feet by 2 feet, later merging to 38 inches by 22 inches.
I planed all the pieces of wood and cut them too the size I wanted. I chose to not use any alternative wood such as plywood. I wanted the first time I used wood to be authentic. For the back I took five boards and glued them together and clamped it. The out box was then cut down and put together. The box and the back did not fit at first and took lots of sanding to get it down to size. I think that was one of the more difficult things about this project. Wood is not soft, it cannot take the form of something else and needs to truly be worked to get it exactly the way you want it. After all the wood was in place, I scorched the wood using a torch to bring out the wood’s natural grain.
I decided against adding the semi circles in last second. After an already failed attempt to make them out of clay, the plastics ones did not hold paint and continued to peel. I thought it was the best idea to leave them. I did not want to put anything into the environment that was not going to last and put inorganic material in nature. I substituted this for branches and shrubbery in both the top and bottom slot. The finished piece ended up coming together after all the mishaps and, in my opinion, still look like a professionally done insect box.
During critique, I received all very positive comments about my work. They enjoyed the scorching and the dark colors brought in by the branches. My teacher pointed out the alignment of the hole to the chicken wire. I am happy this was brought up because it took a lot of time calculating the size of the holes as well as the distance from each one to allow the chicken wire to leave most of the holes open. I am also happy my focus and diligence was brought up by a peer. I really wanted to succeed in this project. If this class has taught me anything, its that all mediums can be worked with and made into something beautiful, even if you don’t see it at first. I was excited to learn all about the new tools and use them as helping hands to this project. I think this project was the most successful project I made in 3D Concepts. It was made for a cause bigger than me and I made it with that passion in mind. My confidence in 3D art has gone up tremendously. I would like to thank my teacher for her wisdom and passion for helping me get to this point.