Day 4324: Repurposed Utensils and Cicadas.

         

"Transition": junk and tissue collage.

  

Want music?

 

    

Click : Sean Mendez, Lost in Japan.

 

  

 

 

2GN2S

Repurposed Utensils Metal Bird Sculptures

Matt Wilson (previously) has transformed found utensils into recycled metal sculptures for the last 15 years. Bending, welding, and mounting segments of cutlery upon one another, spoon bowls evoke plumage and fork prongs resemble sprawling quills. Encompassing the distinctive crown variations of birds’ heads, Wilson utilizes the unique decorative details that adorn handles of silverware. The artist obtains his materials secondhand, emphasizing, “It’s such a sustainable source with a seemingly endless supply. They’re always in thrift stores.”

The Charleston-based artist teams up with his friend Jacob Kent to give a habitat to each avian, mounting them within set frameworks. “The older I get, the more fascinated I am by birds. The more I watch and pay attention to them, the more inspired I get to try different poses,” shares Wilson. Perched against an arched wooden background or resting upon a branch outdoors, each bird settles into an organic, natural surrounding that contrasts its rigid, metal form.

Wilson is always adding to the flock, so follow him on Instagram for updates or visit his website and online shop, Airtight Artworks.

I keep finding more stuff I didn't know. I hope you don't mind me sharing? Feel free to skip if it's TMI. I was going to do a short mention, but I found their life cycle so bizarre that I tumbled down still another rabbit hole. I enjoyed and shared some of it.

Did you know that Cicadas do not sting or bite because they do not have the necessary mouth parts to do so. They do not spread disease and they are not toxic. They are actually very good for your plants. They are loaded with nitrogen which feeds into your soil when they pass away. They aerate your lawn to improve water filtration. So just let Nature do her thing. Cicadas are actually just our ROWDY friends who haven’t settled down.

Isn't it amazing how loud a tiny creature can be? When I was in Japan one time, I think in 1980, the cicada were like an invasion in the trees  and parks of Tokyo, Their combined sounds were so loud, we couldn't hear each other talk! I had never seen cicadas before.

For well over a decade, periodical cicadas do very little. They hang out in the ground, sucking sap out of tree roots. Then, following this absurdly long stint in the soil, they emerge, sprout wings, make a ton of noise,  mate, and die within a few weeks. Their orphan progeny return to the ground and live the next 17 or 13 years in darkness.

This year will be a rare event. Two groups, or “broods,” are waking up during the same season. There will likely be billions, if not trillions, of the insects. There’s the 17-year-group called Brood XIII, which is concentrated in northern Illinois (brown on the map below), and the 13-year clutch, Brood XIX, which will emerge in southern Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and throughout the Southeast (see them in light blue on the map below). It’s the first time since 1803 that these broods have emerged together.

Emerging in these humongous annual batches is likely an evolutionary strategy. There are so many cicadas swarming around all at once that their predators, such as birds and small mammals, can’t make a meaningful dent in their numbers.

There are many mysteries about cicadas: Why do their alarm clocks use prime numbers? For that matter, how do they keep time? What is clear is that they’re coming soon, and in huge numbers, and it won’t happen like this again for a long, long time. TMI??

 

 

 

 

  

 

A 4+  minute video, Cicadas, here

 

 

 

  

 

Just because ...

  

Red-whiskerd Bulbul

 

  

 

Friday's Smiles ...