insect/artist.

I love art. I love science. I really love when art and science combine. It's why I'm becoming a dentist. So when I discovered what I'll call the collaborative work of French artist Hubert Duprat and a group of caddisfly larvae, I was beyond amazed.

Caddisflies are small moth-like insects that are recognized by their two pairs of hairy membranous wings. Their larvae are aquatic, and the larvae of some species of caddisflies build cases around themselves, made from their own silk and incorporating small bits of material they find in their environments such as gravel and tiny shells.

Photo by Jan Hamrsky. View more of his exquisite insect photography on flickr.

Photo via Dr. Geoff Balme

Duprat gives the caddisfly larvae bits of gold and precious stones, and as you can see, the results are quite remarkable.

Read more about Duprat's work and see more of his and the caddisfly larvae's work at cabinetmagazine.org

tweet. tweet.

Maybe it's Twitter's influence over me – I find myself thinking birds are cuter than ever. I did a quick Etsy search for "birds" and found 1,000's of items. Here are six that really caught my eye:

1. 8 Notecards - Flavored Birds from SpawnStudio – I love the graphic simplicity of these guys.
2. Joel the Felted Chick from kitchentable46 – I mean seriously, how cute is he?
3. Atticus Finch is My Co-Pilot T-Shirt from inexplicableconfetti – I know this artist. He's a local New Orleanian. More to come on him and his t-shirt business.
4. three bird planters from catherinereece – Love the personalities of these and the other hand-drawn birds in #6.
5. Orange on Off White Blooming Blossom Rectangle Pillow from joom – Nice silhouettes.
6. Bird Stack II (Limited Edition Print) from barkingbirdart

art. art. and more art.

I went to NOMA on Sunday to see three great exhibits:

• The Baroque World of Fernando Botero - I was not at all familiar with this Latin American artist. I didn't fall in love with his work, but it's always good to meet new artists.
  
• New Orleans: A Sense of Place
• Gentleman Callers: Paul Cadmus and George Dureau from the Collection of Kenneth Holditch - Masters of figure drawing, exquisite line quality.

NOMA is currently free to Louisiana residents. Beat the heat - spend an afternoon at the museum!



(clockwise from top left)
The Orchestra by Fernando Botero
a piece from the exhibit "New Orleans: A Sense of Place"
Two Men Wrestling by George Dureau (image via prices4antiques.com)
Male Nude TS5 by Paul Cadmus (image via art-interview.com)