Playing in my Journals

I have been enjoying getting organized for my upcoming classes at the Art Unraveled in Phoenix and playing around with some of the techniques that I will be teaching.
Summer Vacation Art Journal - filled
Watercolor Art Journal: Supplementing and Complimenting - 2 seats left
The Wonderful World of Color - 4 seats left

Look at these fun journal pages!  Here is what we are going to do with black gesso.

Moving On

As of today, three of the caterpillars have gone on to become chrysalises.  I was lucky enough to watch one go from the hanging "J" formation to becoming a chrysalis.  She began to contract and expand, pushing from the inside out.  It looked painful and this part lasted for awhile.  But once the skin parted and began to shed from the bottom up, it took just seconds to transform into a gorgeous lime-green new creation complete with beads of gold.  At this time the caterpillar actually turns into a liquid mass and totally transforms miraculously into a different being.

Hanging in a "J" formation

Skin shedding for the last time

Freshly formed chrysalis

Beautiful gold trim

 The other seven continue to eat, explore their surroundings, disappear for awhile (just to get me into a panic, I am sure) and even climb on the walls of the house before returning to the milkweed.  One of them is giant! 

A big one!

Moving Out

Down to 10 caterpillars :(
But they are healthy and big :)!
They are mostly the ones that I raised in my kitchen window on plants.  I cultivated these plants to give away and increase the population of milkweed in the area.  They have eaten most of the leaves off of these young plants so I moved the caterpillars outdoors to the milkweed patch.  They are getting so big!   They move up and down the five foot tall plants with ease.  Any day they should be moving on to the next big adventure in their young lives.