Journal entry for October 24, 2001

Today's summary: Gold leafed hornet sculpture. Saved it!

Last year, I made a hooktailed hornet sculpture: Chrysozona gloriosus, Specimen #01114. It was my first sculpture with niobium (colored) wire, and my first sculpture where I used coils to create a plump abdomen for a specimen.

However, months later, I wrecked the wings when I tried to seal it... the sealant went on frosty instead of clear, and when I tried to wipe it off using solvent, but it just got worse. In an effort to salvage it, I tried blowtorching the wings, which just made it that much worse... I felt absolutely terrible. Since then this one's just sat around my apartment

So... last night I finally got around to gold-leafing the wings, and I'm totally happy with it now. This has always been one of my favorite sculptures, and somehow this metamorphosis has felt like a healing process artistically. So, I'm going to give it a new specimen number and a new name as if it's a subspecies, Chrysozona gloriosus reduxii. "Redux" is short for the Latin word "reducere". It means "returns, brought back", or "renewed". And yes, I was partly inspired by the "redux" from the new release of Apocalypse Now.

Click any picture for a larger view.