Insect Week day 3 and we’re back to Ladybirds – which are funny little things. In English they’ve been called ladybird, ladybug, lady beetle, lady clock, lady cow and lady fly. Apparently the name references the fact that the ladybird is red and so was the Virgin Mary’s dress when pictured in the Middle Ages. But that’s not what today’s mural is all about.
Today’s tale is a story as old as time, ladybird loves leaf but unfortunately that love is not reciprocated. An epic chronicle of love, longing, hunger, revenge and everything in between that spans the generations. Imagine Game of Thrones with ladybirds and you’re pretty much there. No one is getting out alive. That’s all I’ve got apart from this lovely mural but you’ve got to admit it would make a good show…
This guy is an urban vampire. If you know what to look for it’s easy to spot. Bats for hair is the first thing. As we all know, vampires are naturally bald but over time they’ve convinced squadrons of tiny undead bats to cling to their scalps in some semblance of a hairpiece. They tend to have a glamour (or spell) that makes the beasts look just like a well tousled head of hair but if you squint just right you can see the little blighters scrabbling over each other for purchase or occasionally flying off to snatch a nearby fly.
The fact that vampires tend to smoke hemlock cigarettes is another giveaway. With a smell more acrid than burning tyres one hit will kill you in an instant but that doesn’t stop them passing them over for a toke to anyone stupid enough to ask what it is.
Finally, vampires love bling. And not just any one old bling. They believe that ancient gold artifacts posess the power of civilisations now gone. And the mythical Golden Fleece is the most revered of the lot. Here he’s had it spun into an actual fleece so he’ll be able to pass as normal a bit more easily whilst out and about. So there you go. Now you now.
He’s been lasercut on wood at 39 x 27cm and then lovingly hand painted before some gold and silver leaf was added (they love bling remember) and a drizzle of crystal resin to finish.
This picture really does have it all. A classy design, laser cutting, hand painting, crystal resin, silver leaf, variegated blue/green gold leaf, glitter, a word that it turns out most people don’t seem to know and a dymo printed definition of said word. Just to clear things up a bit. Apparently use of the word ‘moiety’ was much more prevalent in the 1800’s. My brain refuses to tell me where it came to my attention but it’s been rattling around in there so I just thought it deserved to be let loose so it can be used a bit more. So here it is in all it’s redesigned id-iom glory. You’ll be hearing it more if I can manage to shoehorn it into a write up…
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