The Ants go Marching

I have been very blessed to live in a house filled with music.  All three of my children are musicians in various forms, and currently my youngest has been playing jazz, and the double bass for many years.  I created this collection out of my love for music.  

Having the opportunity  as both a mom and  as an artist to observe close up musicians as they play, practice and preform has been exciting.  Part of my education as an artist is spent in figure drawing classes, studying bodies in motion, how they twist and move, their grace and their lines. There is nothing quite so exciting as seeing a human body in music performance where the body and instrument become one.  

When I came up with the idea for this collection, I imagined the ant body moving in expression with the music. How does something without a vertebrae arch their back to play the sax.  They would have to move in sections as their insect bodies are designed.  The next set of artistic questions I faced was what to do about the leg situation.  Eight legs on an instrument became visually distracting, so I did what artist have done since the beginning of time, I deleted what I couldn’t conceptualize.  The last concept I wanted to tackle was to create a palate that was more in line with what we know about babies.  That they see in black and white, and brights.  Also that the palate had a gender neutrality, and was inclusive of babies everywhere.  

One by one or two by two these ants are sure to delight and amuse.