Jan/Feb Gallery Pieces

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Here are two brand-new pieces for 6 Gallery's "Inner Journeys" show, which opens Friday, Jan. 11. They are available for purchase exclusively through 6 Gallery until March. After that, if they haven't sold, they may be available for purchase online. Both pieces are about 15"x15". Please enjoy!



"Bughouse Chess", 2008, $400

There is actually a version of chess called “Bughouse Chess”, in which four players play in teams of two on two chessboards. This is my version of Bughouse Chess, made with many different types of real bugs. I made the chessboard background by weaving together strips of black and white paper. The King and Queen for each team is a real beetle that has been painted gold and decorated with Svarovski crystals. All other insects are unmodified.


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insect art












insect art




Here is the second piece entitled “Ra, The Sun God”

The scarab is the symbol of Ra, the Sun God of the Egyptians. Scarab beetles lay their eggs in dung, which they roll into a ball and roll into a hole. The Egyptians equated this with the movement of the sun and its daily resurrection. The opening and closing of the scarab's colorful wings symbolized night and day.
(source: About.com)

This piece uses the large beetle Allomyrina dichotomus politus (actually a Dynastid beetle, a large relative of the smaller scarab beetle. This particular specimen is from Thailand) and the small weevils Celebia arrigans from Indonesia. Their background was painted by me. The large beetle's wings have been gold-leafed by me as well.

Kathryn Jennings, 2008, $400






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