Upcoming Holiday Shows

I have two upcoming holiday shows: the Bizarre Bazaar on Nov. 29 from 9-5 at the Lawrence Arts Center, and the Art Guild's Holiday Art Fair on Dec. 6 from 10-5, also at the Lawrence Arts Center, 10th & New Hampshire St. in Lawrence. I'll have all of my smaller pieces, and if anyone wants me to bring a specific larger piece, please let me know in advance and I'll have that too! See you there!

Fabulous New Book!

One of my favorite artists is coming out with a book that is sure to inspire and amaze everyone; I'm especially sure that people with a fascination for nature will not be able to resist it! The insect art of Christopher Marley has been featured in many places, and is now finally being complied into a coffee-table art book full of some of the best insect photographs ever taken. Check out this press release:

PHEROMONE

The Insect Artwork of Christopher Marley

Available Now!

This truly beautiful book presents the compositions of Christopher Marley: assemblages of real insect bodies that display brilliant colour and otherworldly form. The colours are entirely natural, and to render the reproductions as accurate as possible some have been reproduced with fifth-colour metallic inks and highlighted with spot varnish.

Accompanying the broad sample of Marley’s work is a series of essays by the artist:

• Design of Insects
• Insects in Design
• History
• Colour
• The Coleoptera Mosaics: An Exercise in Colour
• Repetition
• Structure
• Texture
• Variations
• Botanicals
• Size
• Environmental Effects

Christopher Marley was born in Covina, California, and grew up near Salem, Oregon. At 19 years old, he began his travels while serving as a missionary for two years in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Upon his return, he balanced studying design at Brigham Young University with extended sabbaticals to work both on and off camera for scores of fashion brands such as Donna Karan, Gucci, and Giorgio Armani.

Over more than a decade, his assignments to dozens of countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas spawned a passionate drive to share the unending variety of surprising natural artefacts with an unsuspecting public through his artwork. In addition to insects, his mediums of design include fossils, minerals, botanicals, bones, and sea life. His work has been featured in numerous magazines and is sold through hundreds of galleries, stores, and showrooms around the World.

UK RRP: £39.95

Dimensions: H 31cm x W 24.5cm x D 3.1cm

256 Pages – 170+ Colour Photographs

Hardback with Dust Jacket

ISBN: 978-0-7649-4619-6

Pomegranate Product Code: A149

To learn more about the artist visit: www.formandpheromone.com

For more info on our extensive Christopher Marley range visit: www.pomegranate.com

Bug-tastic Wedding Boquet!

On a business note, I need to let everyone know that I have a new last name; instead of Jennings, I'm now known legally as Katie Van Blaricum. I hope that doesn't confuse anyone! Just so everyone knows, it's still the same me, with a new married name! :)

On a totally fun note, I want to share these photographs of my wonderful wedding flowers with fellow bug lovers. I must thank Ashley Winters at Red Door Event and Design (http://www.reddoorevent.com/) for her unique idea to incorporate my insects into the boquet. Here's some pictures!

There were a few big guys in my boquet, including this fabulous Polybothris sumptuosa "gema" from Madagascar. You can see a close-up of this guy at the top of this post.

Can you find the green beetle hidden among these orchids?

Here he is, peeking out!

Last, but not least, here is the lovely weevil (Celebia arrigans) on my husband's boutonniere.

Pretty cool, huh?

New Show at Milton's Cafe

From August 22 through September 28, my work will be on display at Milton's Cafe in downtown Lawrence (920 Mass. St.). Items will be available for purchase through the cafe.

For those of you unfamiliar with Milton's, here's a link to their website: http://m.lawrence.com/places/miltons/

They serve breakfast and lunch (open until 2pm) and have super food at an affordable price! It's a very popular place and there's usually a line, so give yourself a few extra minutes.

I've made several new pieces for this show, but you can also see all of the still-available pieces that have been at 6 Gallery in the past. Here's a few pictures of what I've made recently:

Katie's Little Helper

I thought this picture was too cute not to share; this is my kitty, Kalindi, "helping" me put some bugs together (yes, she sleeps on the job). I use a lot of styrofoam to spread the insects and Kalindi happens to LOVE sitting on styrofoam. We don't always agree what is a good piece of styrofoam to sit on, but we came to a truce this time.

Cool Spider!

Thought I'd share these pictures of a cool spider I saw in my yard yesterday. Check out how he looks like some kind of armored dinosaur! Is that a fancy rear-end, or what?
For those of you interested in what species it is, my old spider professor has identified it as "family Araneidae, genus Micrathena, either Micrathena gracilis or M. mitrata"

Weevils!

I think you'll agree that weevils are the hottest beetle of the year! I've noticed them popping up in several advertisements, other media, and even on book covers! Check out the cover of one of the funniest books ever published, "Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation" by Olivia Judson:

Also, take a peek at the cover of Christopher Marley's fabulous insect calendar for 2008:

Weevils are super-cool, and I've been lucky enough to find four different varieties for my art. Here's just a few pictures of some of my very unique beetles:

One fun fact: If every species of animal and plant were placed next to each other in a line, every 10th animal would be a weevil.

Weevils are very common and are often considered a pest by farmers since they like to eat grains and other plants. Pests or not, you can't deny that they look really cool!