Beetle Wing Embroidery: second round, flower

This is my second attempt at beetle wing embroidery.

I learned a lot about goldwork, reading Tanja Berlin’s website, and I bought some supplies from her. I also learned a lot about lighting this kind of photography, and I think the shots turned out much better. Ironically, the solution that worked best was a simple one – stood outdoors in slanting full sun, and positioned the piece so that it was covered by my shadow. For some of them, I used an additional reflecting card to get bounced soft light.

more photos behind the cut

Beetle wings, photo question

This is an experiment in beetle wing and goldwork embroidery. These are wings from the Thai Jewel Beetle, Sternocera aequisignata. The goldwork design is based off of one I found online. Beetle wing embroidery was popular in parts of India and the East, and came to England during the Victorian period by way of the East India Company.

For those of you who know a lot about photography, I also have a question, behind the cut.

I pierced the wings with a sharps needle after steaming them for five minutes, and then attached them and the gold to a piece of felt-backed silk using invisible nylon thread. The gold is Kreinik #7 Japan Gold.

More photos and explanation behind the cut

Air Date for the That's Clever show!

I’ve gotten an air date for the HGTV segment that was shot last spring!

They filmed the whole process from raising the silk worms, to weaving theribbon – it will be interesting to see how they edit it together tomake it look cohesive, because there were some gaps like they didn’t show the twisting or dyeing. 

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/shows_hclvr/episode/0,2756,HGTV_23557_46705,00.html
is the episode’s page; it’s expected to air on January 5 at 1 PM PT/ET. 

Here’s my journal entry about the process, along with pictures of the ribbon I wove for the show:
http://oakenking.livejournal.com/144167.html

VOTE FOR ME!!

I’ve been nominated for Fiber Fellow of the Year at FiberFemmes. I’d appreciate your vote HERE.

Canon is the best!

More macro-closeups. Caterpillars behind the cut.


The tiny claws amuse me. They look so much like cat claws. Only like cat claws X 10 -3

I’m really pleased with the focus level in this one. For some reason, the auto-focus on the macro has difficulty getting focused fully on the white worms, but does much better on the colored ones.

I love how wiggly the hairs are – it makes it look like he has bed-head.