This is my 2011 art project: I'm going to attempt to do one drawing every day of the year. The drawings can be any medium, any size, any level of care and completion. I'm looking forward to seeing how my work evolves and improves, and whether this practice helps me to be more organized and "together" in the rest of my life pursuits.

Click on any of the sketches to enlarge.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

6/30/11

Weird shell

I was looking for something in my art cabinet when I came across this shell. I don't remember having it - it's different from other shells I have. It's weird - part of it looks like a normal, spiral shell, but the other side is wildly organic. It looks like it was frozen in the act of crawling and squirming. It reminds me of the Davy Jones character in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, with a squid for a face. It was hard to position it to show what it fully looks like, so I let the shadow tell part of the story.

3 comments:

  1. Cool! Yes! I've seen these before and they make you wonder what the heck the critter looks like that it makes the extra little protective(?) spike-spires.

    Positioning is often a challenge, and so often I'm frustrated by the fact that the most explanatory position isn't the most dramatic, but one chooses based on mood and expected stamina too! Here, your shadows Do look wiggly and reaching.

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  2. Absolutely, Em! And I wonder at not only how they can grow spikes on the outside of their shell while also growing it "forward" to add more living space, but why do they do this? Is there a predator that eats whole shellfish with such stiff shells? Clams I can understand being eaten whole, but whelky things? More amazing creations from Nature!

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  3. ...and several of these spikes have been broken off - I wonder what an entire, unbroken one looks like?

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