CREATIVE PROCESS: Taxidermy Moth (12.5.2023)

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Join Me In A Taxidermy Adventure!

Hello Everyone,

It's Vanessa from Prismatic Skies and today we are going to get into taxidermy with a Tosena Albata Cicada.  This taxidermy piece will be available on my website once it goes live in March of 2024!!!

What to expect from this blog post
This post will be getting into how I have created this taxidermy piece as well as educational information about the Tosena Albata Cicada and taxidermy laws.

In the video I kept calling the insect a moth, and it's not a moth, so I do apologize for that.  I had another taxidermy piece in my head while doing this and I was getting the two mixed up, I apologize.  This isn't the one that I found in my yard though, like I did with the moth that I kept referencing in the videos.  LOL, I guess that's what I guess for juggling a million things at once, haha.


Tosena Albata Cicada


What Is A Tosena Albata Cicada

The Tosena Albata is a cicada species from Southeast Asia and in the past, has been categorized as a variety of Tosena Melanoptera, but has since been discovered to be a variety of Tosena albata.  The Tosena Albata has been known to be from Thailand, Nepal, North India, Vietnam, and the Northwestern Himalaya.

The tegmina has five longitudinal grayish fasciae that has one covering a radial area, and the others are divided by ulnar veins.  Two ulnar veins amalgamate with the transverse fascia, and have five irregular fasciae in the apical areas.  The wings have nine grayish line-like fasciae are on the outer margin, the one at the anal area and about two-thirds on the outer margin that is narrowly edged with grayish apices of the femora (not ochraceous).


I Have Started...

To unwrap my Tosena Albata Cicada onto a dry paper towel.  I had my cicada wrapped in plastic wrap on top of a paper towel for fluids etc. to fall on and dry on.  I had the paper towel over a piece of cardboard to keep the wings drying straight and flat.


Remember...

You have to be careful.  Insects are quite delicate, especially taxidermy.  You have to work mathematically, in a sense, because you cannot work with delicate raw materials erratically, moving quickly because if you do, you are risking damaging the insect. 

I worked very slowly, which is hard for me to do because I have nerve damage in both of my wrists, causing me to shake, but I still managed to keep this little guy intact, you can to.  Just move gingerly. 

Now, you can use taxidermy that you purchased from a supplier, but you need to be careful of what you are buying, who you're buying from, and where you are buying from.  There are laws.  A lot of laws, that you need to know and look into if you are wanting to do taxidermy.  Because if it is illegal, you can go to jail.  There are well documented cases supporting this statement.

I will provide details in the end.


Taxidermy Laws?  There's A Thing For That?!

You betcha!  There are laws that are rightfully in place to protect the wildlife, including insects etc., that are crucial to our environment in the many roles that everything plays on this massive rock floating in space.

And in the United states, the Tosena Albata Cicada is perfectly legal to work with and to own!  


And While I Was Beginning Filming...

Juno decided to grace us with her presence by making a cameo.  She immediately regretted it because I started taking photos with her and she looks bummed out, haha.  But afterwards, she was giving me kisses etc.  Really, she loves the camera, she's a pug, she always looks sad.  LOL!

See, she really does love me...LOL

Me smothering Juno with kisses and me shoving my faces into her head.  She loves me...she really does.



LOL, Juno jumped when I started talking, haha.  Poor baby.



I Know That I Ramble A Lot

And it's because I have social anxiety and I'm just used to being behind the camera, being the creator, and not really having any need to be in front of the camera etc.  Until I decided to re-open, (formerly Magpie Designs) my business, and decided that it would probably be a good idea to create videos to connect to my customers and a potential audience.

So here's video number two, talking about materials etc., and still getting the name of the insect wrong because, for some reason, I couldn't get the moth I will be working on, out of my head.  LOL...even when I was looking at it, I thought, "that's a cicada, silly," and still calling it a moth.  🤦🏻


Peep those sexy Dundler Mifflin sweatpants, haha.  I had run errands earlier and when I came home, I changed into my pajamas, and not taking off my make-up, haha.  In hindsight, I should have kept my street clothes on and not look like a bum, but I'm one of those people that need my pajamas on immediately once getting home.  LOL.


What Materials Did I Use To Create This Piece?

Since this isn't an animal taxidermy, it is only an insect taxidermy piece, and a small piece, so I didn't need to go the extra mile in creating this piece with different supplies and materials.  It is very simple.  This is not the insect that I found in my yard, this was purchased from my supplier, I will not be sharing that information as I worked very hard on getting this contact and I did my research.  If this is something that you want to do, you need to do your own homework and you need to find the supplier that works for you for a variety of reasons, laws being one of them.


MATERIALS USED FOR THIS PROJECT:
  • Tosena Albata Cicada
  • Black shadowbox style frame
  • Fabric
  • Glue

I bought the shadowbox style frame from Michaels and I cannot find it on their website but you can still buy something similar from there.  You can also try Walmart.

I bought the fabric square from Joann's Fabrics, I bought a bundle of them together.  You can go to any fabric store for it.  Purchased in the pre-cut fabric section.

The glue was purchased at Michaels.  Can be bought almost anywhere, including hardware stores.


Cheeky grinning Vanessa


I Also Took Some Photos During The Process

Which is why I stopped recording.  I could have made one continuous video, but I felt like splitting it up.  Since this is a small and easy project & art piece, I did not take a ton of photos.  Just enough to show the details and the general idea of what I made and how I made it.

Back photo detail


The photo above is photo detail 1 of the backing of the frame.  I put the glass from the frame under the fabric, wrapping the fabric around the glass, so that the fabric would be facing you and will be felt when touched.  I also did it this way, because I wanted the insect on the actual fabric as it would get a better grip of the base and last longer.

Front photo detail

Now, in the picture above, is the front-facing photo detail of what the fabric looks like once it is wrapped over the glass and in the shadowbox style frame, before the application of the taxidermy cicada.

The font on the fabric is upside down and right side up as well as at a slant, so this fabric can be applied almost any direction.  Play around with it.  However, always pay attention to the font/words etc. on the fabric to make sure it's not crooked etc. if it's not styled like the one above.  Off-centering can ruined a piece if it cannot be fixed.


Photo detail of Tosena Albata Cicada before the application


Above is a photo detail of the Tosena Albata Cicada.  It is laid out on a paper towel.  I had it dried on cardboard for the wings and keeping everything posed in the way that I needed.  I also put the insect on paper towel before applying it to wherever I need to to make sure there's no extra fluids etc.  Which is why the paper towel is slightly discolored.  It's slightly expected when dealing with things that once used to be alive.  If you're squeamish, this isn't for you.  


Photo Detail 


Photo Detail after the cicada has been applied to the fabric inside the shadowbox style frame.




Extra close photo detail of the Tosena Albata Cicada


Photo detail of the Tosena Albata Cicada underside facing front left


Last photo detail of the Tosena Albata Cicada; details of the right front-facing side of the backside and under the wing




Where Can I Buy This Tosena Albata Cicada Piece?

Well, my website launches in March of 2024, but you will be able to buy it from that website once it goes live.  

Below are the final photos that I took, edited for the website for stock purposes and for social media posts.















Taxidermy Laws in The United States



There are plenty more but again, if you need more information, this is something you really should look into on your own if you want to buy, make, and/or sell.



The Tosena Albata Cicada Taxidermy piece that I made is available for sale in March 2024 when the site launches.





Thank you for joining me on this creative process of making the taxidermy piece of the Tosena Albata Cicada.  I think she's beautiful and I hope that you do as well!

Please share my blog post wherever you can.  Comment below too, that helps the SEO of my blog and my business.  Every bit helps.

Go to my Beacons Link Hub for my other socials and blog.


~Vanessa





































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