Madi DiMichele
I am a junior at Massart who has dabbled in painting, illustration, fashion, and now fibers. I often find inspiration in the natural world and all that exists with us on Earth. For this project I want to showcase the beauty of these freshwater crustaceans and bring to light the threats that these creatures currently face.
Project: Freshwater Crayfish
This project will be an exploration of the newly discovered Cherax (Astaconephrops) Pulcher. A brightly colored freshwater crayfish found in West Papua, Indonesia. The physical aspect of the project will include me creating a 3d fabric sculpture/model of this crayfish. It will be designed, sewn, and painted to represent this new species. Along with the sculpture, I also hope to incorporate images and sketches of the numerous varieties of crayfish (Cherax) who, while belonging to the same genus, display a variety of colorations and body shapes.
*This particular crayfish, while just having been discovered, is very rare and its existence is already being threatened by pollution and the pet trade industry. And interestingly enough, this species had been discovered and traded in the pet trade for over a decade but was only recently described as a new species by a German researcher Christian Lukhaup.
Here are some preliminary sketches to get an idea of how to build the fabric model
