"Who would deduce the dragonfly from the larva, the iris from the bud, the lawyer from the infant? ...We are all shape-shifters and magical reinventors. Life is really a plural noun, a caravan of selves."
~ Diane Ackerman
~ Diane Ackerman
This is Pieter Van Engen's dragonfly from his DVD Balloon Art #2 --- but let's just call it Pete's Dragon. In typical Pieter style, marriage twists keep it looking nice and segmented.
This one pairs again with another design on the same DVD, this time a flower. The flower has an interesting design and a base with a tight curly-que. It's almost impossible for me to make the curly without a standing pump, you really need to have a single full stroke inflation to get a nice smooth consistency to the shape. I was able to get something to work, but there is a bit of a kink mid way through. I didn't bother with the curl in the other builds as it actually made it quite hard to take a picture of!
Dragonflies are one of those rare creatures that has been around for hundreds of millions of years, though with the high oxygen content of the early Paleolithic era, they evolved to have a wingspan of up to 2 feet. The are also some of the most efficient hunters, catching over 90% of insects released in captivity during a study and playing a big role in mosquito control. Some people are afraid of them, thinking that their tail is actually a giant stinger, it is not -- let's just say they lay their eggs by dipping their tails in the water. You should feel very lucky if you have them around.
|
| ||||
| |||||
Other posts with Pieter's designs:
Show all
Now THAT'S an awesome way to start the day!!! THANKS!!!
ReplyDelete