Like birds of a feather

I have become extremely inspired by the feathers I've collected on my travels, and have now decided to make them the main element of my project. They are very versatile, as I have recently discovered.  The painstakingly detailed work of Ian Davie has shown me their true potential. 

 

His handpainted work has influenced me to use my feathers as a 'canvas'. Using these like fabric, I am going to apply techniques such as lazertran and stitch to experiment with texture and imagery. However, this is not a new technique. The embellishment of feathers, ''Arteplumeria'', has been dated back to the pre-Columbian era, where artisans of the First People used feathers in headdresses as a way of presenting their status in a tribe. 

The appreciation of feathers throughout this special culture is one to be admired, through their spiritual connection with animals. I am considering weaving the use of some of these beliefs and ways into my project as I want to make the animal form work into the animal element of the theme through sculptural and wearable pieces.

For more of Ian Davie's work, click here.

Collecting

Well, it's almost time to my third year of University, and to start my new project, so I've been gathering some bits and bobs to get inspired. I've spent the entire summer in The Netherlands, and it's been fantastic. I've been visiting some great places, (of course its animal related!) such as zoo's, aquariums, exotic pet shops,  natural history museums, woodlands, and the seaside to get the ball rolling. 

I'm working around the idea of Animal Elements like skin, teeth or bones. Some naturally found, some bought from shops. Keeping pets, I have creatures that shed, moult and lose hair. I intend on collecting these to work from, and finding some, as these can also be found in the wild if you know where to search. This idea came about when I started collecting found feathers from the zoo's and outside, and then expanded to asking for shed snake skin from the pet shop, which already makes great items ready to scan and Photoshop! 

I've also been on the look out for great animal imagery to work from. In Maastricht, I found a great little book shop that sells books within every topic under the sun! I found a great, old animal Encyclopedia, and a collectors book from a dutch zoo showing vintage photographs from the animals back then. They're absolutely stunning, and there is a great photograph of a dog with new born lion cubs feeding from her. Priceless. 

Another great find was some real duck wings, which I came across in an art shop. Not sure what the real intention of them is, but I think they're brilliant, and for someone who loves taxidermy, but can't bring herself to actually doing it, this is a good way to start. 

 Here's some pictures. Enjoy!

Oh, and I also bought a shark tooth necklace from the museum!

I love a bit of Walter Potter

Taxidermy 

Noun - tax·i·der·my   (tak-si-dur-mee)
the art of preparing and preserving the skins of animals and of stuffing and mounting them in lifelike form.
Origin:
  1810–20; taxi- + Greek dérm ( a ) skin ( see derma) + -y

I have a great passion for animals, and growing up visiting museums and galleries I've always been fascinated by the wonderfully weird taxidermy exhibits. Since discovering the work of Walter Potter a few years ago,his work, amongst others, has become a great resource of inspiration for me in most of my art work. 

What I most enjoy about Walter Potter's dioramas is the entertainment and humor of it all. As disturbing as the little characters are, I think they are brilliant! Especially the Bride and Groom and Vicar! There's no denying my love humanizing animals and inanimate objects. 

 I would have really loved to visit his whole collection one day, such a shame that it got auctioned off split apart.