Naturkundemuseum visit- finding inspiration in (preserved) nature

   I have a sister who is as crazy about art as I am, the result of which being, that upon her previous visit, we made a fairly thorough tour of the local art and paper shops. She bought things; I bought things; we bought things to share; things to try out for the first time; things that were favorites of each other. And in the course of this mad shopping spree I acquired a piece of papyrus which I feel confident will be exactly what I need at some point in the near future. It isn't very large, about 30x40 cm, and is rolled up scroll like with a small slip of brown paper keeping it in shape. Moving around the diningroom I catch glimpses of it peeking out at me, jogging my creativity.


  Last week I was suddenly hit with what I think might be just the thing to paint on it. A fossil or other natural specimen. A fish or other skeleton could be interesting, although something more abstract might be intriguing as well. Algae, barnacles, random bone fragments... I went to the natural history museum to gather inspiration and as many reference photos as possible.

   Moving around the upper floor, camera clicking, mind categorizing facts in the way a coin sorting machine sorts and categorizes coins in a bank, I began slowly to narrow down my ideas and plans. Our museum houses a modest selection of fossils and an extravagant number of insects. Whether this is the result of the curators' preferences historically or a reflection of the geographical location I wouldn't like to say. It is sufficient to realize the size of the data pool available.  I have narrowed my project to the general subject of one of these two categories and have filtered photos accordingly. What I include in this post are some of the final references. Photos with ideas and images I would like to use either in this project or a future one.


1. Fossils:

  The first category includes the fossils and stones: These would be wonderful to create a neutral work. Something striking not in its colouring, but in the texture and pattern.

2- Insects

 The second category roughly includes beetles Moths, dragonflies, and butterflies. These would inspire something beautiful, intricate and possibly gleaming. A small jewel.

I am leaning slightly toward the fossils but will keep you updated.

  Have you ever worked on papyrus before? This will be my first time. If you have any tips for me feel free to leave them in the comments.



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