Crustaceans!

 May is crustacean month for #InsertAnInvert2024. Playing on the idea of carcinisation, the process by which again and again, other crustaceans keep evolving crab-like bodies, the prompts are "crab," "false crab," "not crab" - and, shudder, "really not crab." Some of the non-crab crustacean abominations are, well, in my subjective opinion, nightmare fuel, so I veered off the path of suggested species and found a cute but distinctly non-crab crustacean for you. Also, it was a cue to try different print media. 

First up is "true crab" and I had my frog crab ready, from the warm colour prompt for Printer Solstice.

Frog crab, linocut, 8" x 8" Ele Willoughby, 2024

Next up was false crab, so I re-shared my porcelain crab.

Porcelain crab linocut, 8" x 10", Ele Willoughby, 2021

Then was "not a crab" - I cheated a bit by sharing another false crab: the yeti crab. It has crab in its name but it's really closer to a squat lobster.

Yeti crab linocut by Ele Willoughby, 2020

 

The last prompt is "really not a crab" with some suggestions that I honestly did not feel like contemplating at length. There are some scary looking crustaceans out there!

Daphina longispina, Tetrapak drypoint, 4" x 6" by Ele Willoughby, 2024

Instead, I went for the adorable microscope (1 to 5 mm) planktonic crustacean Daphina or water flea! Daphina longispina is a wee little freshwater water flea found worldwide in bodies of water from the size of rock pools to large lakes. They are filter feeders who mainly eat algae. This one is a female full of green eggs. I made this print using an actual Tetrapak juice container. I etched in the fine lines and peeled a bit of the surface material for coloured areas, then pushed ink into the etched areas with some card, and wiped away the excess ink. I cut my plate in a circle to suggest that this is a view through a microscope. I was able to pull a few prints on dampened watercolour paper using my etching press.

Turtles, all the way down for World Turtle Day

 

Turtles, all the way down, world, 11" x 14" linocut by Ele Willoughby, 2024

Today is World Turtle Day, a day to celebrate and protect turtles and their habitats worldwide. Years ago I made a print called ‘Turtles, all the way down’ for an art show about cosmology, where the expression is used as a metaphor for infinity regress. This echos origin myths that the Earth is supported on the back of the World Turtle. Though ostensibly about astrophysics, I took the opportunity to depict many species of turtles to celebrate their biodiversity.

This year I was commissioned by Turtle Survival Alliance, to illustrated this expression again, with a variety of wonderful but sadly endangered turtle species of special focus, in two prints: one for turtles from around the world, and one for North American species. Turtle Survival Alliance works to prevent extinctions of these amazing and varied animals worldwide, so I am very glad to make art for this cause!

My newly completed prints are on their way to Turtle Survival Alliance who will be auctioning them, as well as selling signed, limited edition, signed and numbered archival printed posters of each to raise funds for turtle conservation, later this summer.

The worldwide selection of turtles, from top to bottom are:
1 - Vallarta Mud Turtle (Kinosternon vogti), from Mexico
2 - Pancake Tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri), from Africa
3 - Indochinese Box Turtle (Cuora galbinifrons), from Asia
4 - Radiated Tortoise (Astrochelys radiata), from Madagascar
5 - Burmese Roofed Turtle (Batagur trivittata), from Myanmar
6 - Asian Giant Tortoise (Manouria emys phayrei), from Bangladesh

Turtles, all the way, North America, 11" x 14" linocut by Ele Willoughby, 2024

Turtles from North America are:
1 - Bog Turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii)
2 - Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)
3 - Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina)
4 - Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin)
5 - Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta)
6 - Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii)

 

My original Turtles, all the way down:

 

Turtles, All the Way Down, 11" x 14" (27.9 cm x 35.6 cm)
linocut with chine-collé by Ele Willoughby, 2016

The turtles in my original print are from the top we have an eastern mud turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum), a red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), a black pond turtle (Geoclemys hamiltonii), a painted batagur (Batagur borneoensis), a Oaxaca mud turtle (Kinosternon oaxacae), a green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) and the hint of something larger.