Skip to main content

Is it a mutant? Is it an alien? It's an octopus - or is it?


Have you ever thought how strange a creature the octopus is?  This week's fascination started when I asked the question, "What colour is an octopus when it's underwater?"  The answer is  "any colour it wants to be " - An octopus' coloration depends upon its surroundings. An octopus possesses the ability to alter its coloration depending on its immediate environment. This defensive technique protects the animal from predators and entices prey to come close to the animal. ((from https://www.reference.com/pets-animals/color-octopus-be94f74fcdc74ebe)   
. Why did I want to know the colour of an octopus? Because I wanted to draw octopus tentacles as mermaid hair for my art journal! Then, I began to think it might be considered a little too weird and even perverse to give a mermaid octopus hair.... Facebook friends assured me that this was not so, citing Medusa and her snake hair as a precedent, and even one friend said that she thought it was logical! 
Drawing with pastel pencils - Wilma Simmons 2016 
At least I didn't totally transform the human body...
by Austin Coppock 

by St Alpha (Deviant Art) 
Then I discovered  the octopus, in spite of its intriguing form, has been adapted by many artists and designers, and you may find an octopus where you least expect it to be.... 
 My sister offered with this owltopus pendant .... 


How about some amazing octopus adornments?
Octopus shoe - meriamber.tumblr.com
Octopus tentacle earrings sold by Dysfunctional Doll 

What about thinking of the octopus for your home decor ? 
from Pinterest - source unknown 
from etsy .com 
Octopus occasional table - homedition.com
From Pinterest- SPI Home 
Octopus raku teapot by Grafton - sold on ebay
 Octopus bottle holder  by Dot &Bo 
Octopus candleholder from gothic.org 
Octopus phone from Octopodal Flickr 

octopus vase by Outer Banks Treading Group 
Piccolo Pottery - etsy.com 
from Pinterest - source unknown 
What about your next birthday cake? 
This was probably the weirdest octopus design I discovered? 
What about this for your next musical recital? 
octopus violin from art- a-designrt.ru
One questions still remains.... octopi? or octopuses? 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks ....  The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and  message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or  my husband or from off cuts gifted to us  from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks.   Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt  or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...

Fragments

 Some days are just your lucky days - today I was very fortunate and privileged to open the first ever Australian exhibition "Fragments" by  UK  Fibre Artist  Sue Hotchkis .  Here is a little about the techniques of this amazing textile artist from her own website  ...  Working intuitively with print and stitch, marks, textures and colours are exaggerated, intensified to reveal the detail and complexity within the images. Materials are deconstructed using modern methods, ripped, burnt and dyed. Time is invested in their reconstruction; pieces can take from a week to several months to create. Whilst being aesthetically pleasing the work can also act as a metaphor for deterioration and ruin, associated with urban decay and ultimately death and loss. They evolve organically, built up with layers of print, cloth, paper, and stitch into three-dimensional abstract forms that hover between object and image; to create a unique, visual and tactile lan...

Wednesday's Child /2

Work in Progress - 3 of the 193 for "Stitched Up"- Wilma Simmons   The work for the "Stitched Up " Project  continues. See the previous "Wednesday Child" post for the background to this art project celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Newcastle Industrial School. I have been documenting the progress of my work, so I thought it might be interesting to share some of the early stages of the "stick dolls" ... Here are some of the beginning steps.. Sticks collected while walking the bushland in my neighbourhood  Drying and getting rid of any insects - oven heat 75 degreesC for approx 1-2 hours.  Trimmed and cut if necessary  Ends sealed with matte sealing solution.  Drying  - solution goes on white but dries clear.  First wrapping - foil to create a body shape  Second wrapping - stretch fabric.  Third wrapping - fabric strips  Some stitching - more stitching and embellishment to ...