I think the thing that left the biggest impression on me this week was our visit to La Specola. I loved the animal collection so much: the hodgepodge way they are stuffed into the shelves, the strange, seemingly unfit expressions they have, and the grotesque stitching that stretches their skin over a frame. I think it made such an impression on me because, without realizing it before, I was doing just the same thing. I had spend hours sewing together my big blue whatchamacallit in a process that seemed similar to how these animals were stuffed.
After hearing all about the final project for our sketchbook class, I am compelled to make a number of these strange animals and create my own mini La Specola, playing on the collection theme. I really enjoyed the process of creating the first one, and after spending some time in La Specola I'd like to play around with different ways of scale and presentation (mounted heads, mounted on branches, etc).
Pictures
here, including all the shots I got from the wonderful gardens this weekend.
