ADDENDUM: Might put some gum snakes in my Etsy shop later in case anyone wants to adopt their own. I’ll also be showing prototypes and so on at my event Monster Picnic. (Link in older post.) First date is tomorrow and there are still spots! Come talk art with me!
/fin
Anyway, happy World Snake Day! I’m heading to Post Alley to place a few more gum snakes. If you’re in the area and looking for something unhinged to do (relatable), have a wander through and try to spot one. Here’s to artistic obsessions and strange marvels 💚🐍
A colorful array of lumpy snake sculptures, some with big glass eyes or sticking-out tongues, rest on a black wooden surface. In the upper left corner, assorted papers and a zebra-print clipboard are partially visible
In 2024, I made and added three more generations of gum snakes, just because. I haven’t talked about it much until now.
Closeup of lumpy snake sculpture with tongue sticking out on a plain surface
Closeup of Seattle Gum Wall with small gum snake sculpture in the middle
Closeup of Seattle Gum Wall with small gum snake sculpture in the middle of a gum heart
Surveying my slightly cursed handiwork, I christened it Charina murugumis (gum wall boa). A new cryptid. On Dec. 16, 2023, I brought a bagful to the Gum Wall along with a block of poster putty and stuck them up. My wish: to create a moment of mystery and delight for anyone who stumbled across one.
Two small lumpy snake sculptures with tongues sticking out sit amidst art supplies
An array of small lumpy snake sculptures with tongues sticking out rest on a silicone mat
An array of small lumpy snake sculptures, some with tongues sticking out, rest on a faux bamboo tray with a bottle of Folk Art brand paint
But I was obsessed, and persisted, and eventually produced some gum snake sculptures I was happy with. So, naturally, I made silicone molds and did hand-painted eyes and produced dozens and dozens of them.
Two lumpy sculptures of snail creatures with chewing-gum wads as shells sit on a wooden surface
There was also a brief, horrifying experiment with the idea of a gum SNAIL. If you listen carefully, you can hear them saying "killllll meeeeeeeeeee"
Three weird-looking snake sculptures sit on a wooden surface
A weird stretched-out snake sculpture on a wooden surface
A weird lumpy snake sculpture on a wooden surface
What if a snake species had evolved to live on the Gum Wall the way that vine snake had to live in the Amazon? What would it look like? Very lumpy, I decided. Sheepish expression. Many color morphs.
I got some clay and got to sculpting. My first attempts were abominations.
(I find the idea of the Gum Wall disgusting YET it’s an unsanctioned, uncommissioned, collaborative public art project so I adore it on principle.)
ANYWAY here’s where the snake thing comes in.
People walking down a narrow street leading to Post Alley in Pike Place Market, Seattle, with a cloud-dappled sky and large sign reading PUBLIC MARKET partly visible in the background
People crowded in the Gum Wall portion of Post Alley, with gooey stringy gum wads visible in the foreground
View of the Gum Wall portion of Post Alley in Pike Place Market
(The Gum Wall is part of an alley in Pike Place Market where people stick chewing-gum wads to the bricks in such exuberant quantities that it looks like some kind of undersea accretion-creature. Like coral but gross. It’s one of the state’s top tourist attractions.)
Fast forward to 2023. I’m back at home in Washington State and for some reason am thinking of the vine snake. That color! That camouflage! What a marvel. Then my thoughts alight upon another marvel of sorts: the Seattle Gum Wall.
A dark-haired woman in unflattering but practical outdoor clothes gently holds a vine snake
A dark-haired woman places a vine snake on a plant with glossy green leaves
Assorted boats moored in chocolate-brown water on Peru's Madre de Dios River
The idea started in 2019. I was in the Amazon rainforest in Peru (long story) and went on a muddy night hike with a biologist, who pointed out a creature that blended in so well I would’ve otherwise squelched right past it: a kiwi-green vine snake.
THREAD:
Soooo I have a World Snake Day confession. For the past two years, I’ve been putting snakes on the Seattle Gum Wall. #sciart
How do you study volcanoes on other planets? First, you study them here on Earth. Which can get a little... hair-raising. www.rei.com/blog/hike/me... This feature about NASA planetary geologist Dr. Rosaly Lopes remains my favorite thing I've ever written #volcano #geology #naturewriting
weird girl summer
A smiling dark-haired woman lit with blacklight wearing a painter's jumpsuit holds a large brightly colored and patterned sculpture of a long-necked dinosaur
In a colorful bohemian living room stands a large sculpture of a long-necked dinosaur, its body painted in colorful patterned sections, its head an unfinished partially carved block of foam
Closeup of an unfinished foam sculpture of a long-necked dinosaur's head against a backdrop of a colorful bohemian-styled living room
Downward-facing view of a large semi-realistic baby brachiosaurus sculpture with friendly eyes and a mouthful of faux ferns, standing in a kitchen
GLOW UP (dino edition): made this 4' tall fluorescent baby brachiosaurus last year for Burien, WA's annual Arts-A-Glow festival. Paint job insp by alebrijes. Wasn't satisfied so I resculpted the head, redid the paint job, and gave her some fake ferns to munch. #paleoart #sciart #dinosaur #sculpture
A realistic sculpture of a small feathered dinosaur stands on a rocky outcropping against a blurry backdrop of trees and sky
A smiling dark-haired woman holds a realistic sculpture of a small feathered dinosaur while sitting on a mossy boulder against a backdrop of ferns and trees
A partially completed wire-and-tape armature (internal structure) of a dinosaur sculpture is shown sitting on a sketch with tools and background clutter
Two realistic sculpted dinosaur feet with attachment wires sticking out, painted in black, white and gray tones
Can't buy a pet dinosaur so had to make my own... Juvenile Utahraptor ostrommaysorum, just because. #dinosaur #velociraptor #paleoart #polymerclay #artdoll #jurassicworld #sciart
Against a blurry background of a shelf of records, a hand holds a small realistic sculpture of a potato pug hybrid
Against a blurry background of a shelf of records, a hand holds a small realistic sculpture of a potato pug hybrid
Against a blurry background of a shelf of records, a hand holds a small realistic sculpture of a potato pug hybrid, showing the underside
Against a green background, a small realistic sculpture of a potato pug hybrid and a matching faux burlap sack that reads russet pugtato grown in Washington State product of U S A
This weekend I made a pugtato and nobody tried to stop me #pugs #potato #polymerclay #sculpture #sciart
A small sculpture of a tomato turtle hybrid rests in a person's hand against a backdrop of a full bookcase and assorted wall art
A small sculpture of a tomato turtle hybrid against a solid background
Side view of a small sculpture of a tomato turtle hybrid against a solid background
Front view of a small sculpture of a tomato turtle hybrid against a solid background
Turtlemato or tomurtle? (If you squint, you can see which side I came down on.) #polymerclay #sciart #turtles
Against a white background, a realistic sculpture of an octopus garlic hybrid looks up with large, cartoonishly cute eyes
Against a white background, a sideways view of a realistic sculpture of an octopus garlic hybrid with large, cartoonishly cute eyes
Against a white background, a rear view of a realistic sculpture of an octopus garlic hybrid
Against a white background, a realistic sculpture of an octopus garlic hybrid looks up with large, cartoonishly cute eyes
Obsessed with making food animals. In honor of National Garlic Day, here's a garlictopus (Octopus allium) #polymerclay #garlic #octopus #sciart
Against a solid background, a hand holds a small sculpture of a potato whale hybrid with a cartoonish sad facial expression
Against a solid background, a hand holds a small sculpture of a potato whale hybrid with a cartoonish sad facial expression
Against a solid background, a hand holds a small sculpture of a potato whale hybrid
Against a solid background, a hand holds a small sculpture of a potato whale hybrid with a cartoonish sad facial expression
some days you're the pigeon, other days you're the sad potato whale #sculpture #polymerclay #potato
It's still #BatAppreciationDay for a couple more hours so I made a video. Introducing POTATO BAT, a playful sculpture series inspired by an extinct Australian microbat (more on that in a future project) #SciArt
Thank you @flyingtrilobite.com! Will do
A small sculpture of a potato with a bat face, wings and feet rests in the palm of a hand
A small sculpture of a potato with a bat face rests in the palm of a hand
The underside of a small sculpture of a potato with a bat face, wings and feet rests in the palm of a hand
Two crinkled paper bags printed with the text russet potato bat grown in Washington State product of U S A rest on a flat surface with a sculpture of a potato bat partly visible in the background
Might quit art today because I will never top Batato. Happy International #BatAppreciationDay everyone #polymerclay #makearteveryday #bats #whatifbatbutpotato
