Family Guiding article

Thank you www.familyguiding.com for inviting me to be a guest author for the month of September!  It was so exciting and such a new, fun experience for me, and I must say--I really enjoyed it!  Hopefully more opportunities like this will come my way...

Here's the link http://familyguiding.com/arts-embrace-your-evolution

And here's the article!  Hope you like it:

A few years ago, I started a painting about vampire bats. The end product looked like a psychedelic cartoon of pink gremlins in an apocalyptic candyland.  I very quickly despised everything about it and rolled it up to be banished under the couch, a gift to the dust, never to be seen again.

Some days, my work flows through me like casual conversation. I make the right decisions without distinctly deciding anything at all.  Then, there are the days, like with my vampire bats, when I look at my painting and see a complete stranger. Where an intricately laid thin line turns into a lightning strike fracturing my piece in two, or a beautifully textured wash, that took hours, dissolves into a flat aimless smear.  Or worse, when the meaning of my piece that seemed so thought-out does not come through at all, leaving a boring, random animal painting: vampire bats.

“Fire Ant Raft” Jackie Dorage, 16in x 20in Oil on Canvas

Wasted time, unaccomplished, distracted, unable, delusional, untalented, subpar—the negativity born from perceived “mistakes” can crumble the delicate momentum of the creative process.

When I come to these moments of frustration over my creative mistakes and I am reminded of Pandas—the bamboo-eating, cow-spotted, fat, fluffy, notoriously cute six-fingered bears. Yes, four fingers and two thumbs (one opposable like ours and one stagnant like other bears) for a total of six fingers.  This funny little Panda fact baffled scientists for a long time, until a comprehensive study on Panda anatomy was done only to find out that one of the thumbs was not a thumb at all, but an extension of the wrist bone that had grown to be so big and muscular that it acted and moved like an opposable thumb.

Our own sacred opposable thumb that we hold at such high esteem as a distinctive trait in our dominance, was recreated by a Panda’s wrist bone so it can eat bamboo faster. Why did the Panda not evolve to make the already existing thumb, opposable? Why not evolve another thumb bone altogether? While it may go against all logic, the wrist-thumb works. And in times when I look at my work and the self critic in me gets up in arms, I have to remember the many paths to finding a viable solution.

“Elephants” Jackie Dorage, oil on canvas 40x28in

It’s not “the best”, “the worst”, “right” or “wrong”; it’s a non-stop, improvised process that flows slowly with time, stretching, struggling, and twisting down a jury-rigged path.

You may see a mutation, but give it time, and it could lead to best thing you’ve ever created.

My anger over the vampire bat painting is over. Yes, it’s still rolled up, but it’s in my studio now and I occasionally take it out and look at it with admiration.  I think about it without a grimace on my face, considering each awkward brushstrokes as a step that bridges my past work to my current and future work. We’ll all experience deviations, mess-ups, break-ups, regrettable words, and embarrassing paintings. These bumps in our lives can be disgraced as unwanted mutations, unorthodox and shameful, or be highlighted and accepted as a new change, a chance to evolve and create something greater.

So, the next time you feel you’re dealt a bad hand, there is a choice: pass, fold, or make an opposable thumb.

THIS animal

I know little to nothing about this animal.  What I do know is that it's a type of porcupine found in the rain forests in and around Brazil, and it's kind of bizarre looking.  Also, it apparently loves bananas and makes child-like sounds when you poke it in the nose.

I don't usually post an animal for the sole purpose of commenting about how cute it is, but really, SO CUTE!  I mean, my god what is this?!?  i have no words!

Silkworms

I was browsing the internet, not even searching animal things like I usually do, when I came across this video of the "Silk Pavilion":





To read about it, click here.

When I first watched this video, I didn't quite get the magnitude of it.  I thought the students just made a dome, released a bunch of silk worms, and Bam!  Silk-covered-dome.  In actuality, everything about this dome is complete purposeful, planned, and mapped out through analyzing how silkworms build and mimicking these geometric patterns on a massive scale.  The end product is an alien-looking pavilion with translucent undulating

MIT's silk pavilion 

patterns and holes, trimmed by a delicately spiked profile.  It's a beautiful mix of science, nature, math and art and ohhhh my goodness I love it.

(For a more complete understanding and  appreciation, goggle "Silk Pavilion" and read one of the many articles explaining the process.)



All of this got me thinking about the bizarre, bizarre world of silkworms.

So, here's the first crazy bit of information that I found out:  Silkworms are domesticated, and have been for around 5,000 years.   Their ability to fly is gone, making them completely vulnerable in the wild. There might still be some varieties of wild un-domesticated Silkworm, but most of those have gone extinct.

They are also one of the most genetically modified animals.  Of course, through the domestication came an increase in cocoon size and silk strength, but in a more creepy sci-fi way, look below:

<----Fluorescent Silk.

 Come and get it ladies!  Everyone is dying for a fluffy glow-in-the-dark wedding dress for the big day!  Yes, this could be a big economic benefit and yes, silk makes fabric and fabric makes clothes and people like wearing florescent clothes (I guess).   If the Holy Grail of the fashion industry is the "wow" factor, and that certainly was a word that crossed my mind when seeing this photo, then fashion industry, meet science.  But, what kind of injection did this?!  Maybe just a good dose of the 80's.


The next crazy genetic modification of the Silkworm is the adjustment to have it make human collagen (I chose not to search this on google image).   There's a lot of scientific terminology going on in this article about it, but basically it has to do with proteins.   I tried to grasp it all but I couldn't stop thinking about an unnaturally big-lipped lady bragging at a dinner party about her latest cosmetic treatments ("It's silk").

Along with the trend of Silkworm modifications fit for a reality TV show, there's also a funny caterpillar v. spider competition going on to see who can create the strongest silk.  Right now, spiders are winning.  However, at the rate that genetic modification is going, I have no doubt that our talented little caterpillar friends will be busting out with some kevlar army ropes pretty soon.

I can't believe my premonition!  Headline:  Hybrid Silkworm Can Spin Spider Silk.  And yes, mass production of army kevlar-strength materials is mentioned.

The last (not-so-fun) fact is that silk isn't vegan.

Once Silkworms are resting their tired, fat bodies inside genetically enlarged cocoons, waiting patiently to transform into a genetically weirdo Silkmoth, they release an enzyme that breaks through the silk allowing for freedom--wing-stretching, silk-ending, freedom!  But not anymore (I should write for PETA).

Since this enzyme destroys the silk, Silkworms rarely get to see their adulthood.  Instead the cocoons are boiled, killing the caterpillar inside and preventing the harmful enzyme from being released.

Don't worry vegans, Peace Silk is there to give you your vegan-friendly fabric with no animals harmed in the process.

But here is a major bright side to the story--all of the Silkworm larvae that get boiled in the process to make us what we want, becomes a food source for millions of people. "Beondegi", or Silkworm Pupae, is a popular snack that comes boiled or steamed, has zero carbs and is full of protein.  Plus, farming insects is incredibly eco-friendly using minimal water, space, and transportation energy.

The ancient concept of using animals whole and considering this abundance of meat, material, and companionship as sacred has certainly dwindled over the past hundreds or thousands of years.   However, with the known decrease in natural resources and increase in population, going back to cherished thriftiness is definitely a compelling thought.  From birth to death, Silkworms bodies and abilities assist us, feed us, clothe us, create for us, and invent with us--without taking anything in return.  Could our modern day sacred animal be the Silkworm?  I think so.

Page from my notebook about Silkworms

2nd Friday Art Walk!

Come to Muchmore's at 2 Havemeyer Street in Brooklyn this Friday!  My art will be on the walls and the crowd should be a good one because of the Northside Festival.  It should be great!

http://www.artslant.com/ny/events/show/281641-paintings-by-jackie-dorage

https://www.facebook.com/Every2ndFriday

Elephants

"Elephants" oil on canvas 40x28in

I have been wanting to paint elephants for about two years.

But every time I started developing ideas, I hit a block.  There is a massive amount of information, cultural and factual, about elephants that spans the spectrum from a completely anthropomorphized Dumbo to the ivory trade.  And a lot of this information is strong, emotionally powerful, and deeply image related.

So, there's where the difficulty was.  Elephants are such a loaded topic with such iconic imagery that there's hardly room beyond that.  Then again, going too far beyond the imagery and conservation issues becomes dishonest and ignorant.  This middle ground is where most of my art is and where my elephant painting came from.

Elephants are unique among threatened animal.  The obvious difference is that they're huge land dwellers.  So, unlike the Snow Leopard or the Golden Frog, being cryptic is not an option.  Also, they don't have the dangerous mystique of other threatened animals like the Polar Bear.  This, paired with their ability to live in captivity, makes them a trophy pet for parades, circuses and zoo's.  Also, it allows scientists study them immensely to the point where we have a good understanding of their emotional habits, their social structures, and the way they live--all things that are super fashionable in popular science.  And, after all of this knowledge, interaction, contact, popularization, they still get wiped out by the masses for ivory.

I'm not wondering why this happens (I get it), it's just an interesting case and frustrating to digest.  It's a sad truth--a loved animal, that can't seem to survive.  

Their size is another thing I wanted to focus on.  They remind us that in our world right now, animal size can do more harm than good.  They're massive, but could be swashed like a bug if we don't pay attention.  And by "pay attention" I mean rigorous funding, ad campaigns, and political involvement from multiple countries including the U.S. and China (high hopes?). 

With my painting I wanted to restore the distance and mystery of the elephant.  The sad calm that comes from being too big to hide and the isolation of a species under threat.  I want to have a momentary appreciation for elephants where the danger of their situation doesn't trump the beauty.  To me, my painting is sad--I could hardly handle researching elephants because of the constant stream of horrifying images and stories that the internet had for me (don't google "ivory").  With all the economics, national interests, international codes, sovereignty, trade regulations, government, and politics in general--it is a sad story.  Because in the middle of all of that noise, is a species that is struggling. 



Hope you like it!

BROOKLYN RAW!!! JUNE 19TH!!

I'm in the Brooklyn RAW Artist Art Show Event!!  June 19th 8pm-midnight at 74 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn.


I have to sell 20 tickets in order to be in the show, so if you want to come, click here:  http://www.rawartists.org/jackiedorage


There's going to be a DJ, fashion show, film screening, and lots of art.  Plus, I'll be showing lots of my new pieces!

BUY TICKETS!!

Bumble Bees--again.

Bee's have really long tongues.

Cons--they sting.  Pros--too many to list.

I still don't like bees, but somehow with everything else I research, they keep popping up.  This time, I was looking up houseflies--they taste with their feet, spit on food, then vacuum it up with their bizarre tube-mouth.  Awesome.

In searching the BBC nature website for more information on an ancient Chinese method of solving murder mysteries with houseflies, I came across a gem of an article called "Bomblebees to the Rescue" 

Ridiculously stupid name.  But, the point is made--bee's are now being trained to sniff out bombs.  Apparently, a bees sense of smell is comparable  to a dogs and, with less training time necessary, way cheaper.    Bees are such an attractive choice that the UK has given Heathrow Airport 250,000 pounds to start a bumblebee project.  And now, the flood gates have opened--bee's are starting to be used in detecting landmines, illegal drug trafficking, and scientists are seeing if they can detect illness in humans. 

There is a down-side.  First, there are a plethora of reasons why you can't have bees flying around, free of restraint.   Obviously, that would terrify any one in an enclosed area.  But also, such as the case of detecting landmines, bee's have a short attention span.  Yes, it takes them 5 seconds to learn (no, seriously...I read it, 5 seconds to learn), but if there are any tasty fruit trees around, they're off the job. 

To combat this problem, scientists at Heathrow developed a vacuum cleaner-like mechanism that houses bees who have been trained to stick out their (incredibly long) tongue when they smell their target.  Then, a sensor goes off when it detects the tongue and Done!  Illicit material, FOUND!

My prediction for the future: bee's sensing cancerous tumors, bee's sensing dangerous gas leaks, and me still being afraid of bees.