SWARM

SWARM is a 20 x 20-inch piece created in Virginia Commonwealth University's Space Research Class. In the fall semester, students were first to draw out four things they found in nature, were animals, or were utilitarian objects. Lauryn chose to draw some of her insects from her bug collection. After drawing out the insects, she uploaded them to Adobe Photoshop, where she inverted and made patterns out of the images. She then experimented with different collage ideas and believed that the layout of the final piece was perfect. She placed the prints in a way to make it look like the dragonflies and moths were flying in circles or towards the viewer. Her prey mantis served as an abstract piece of art that the viewer's gaze ended on. Depending on whether they are inverted or not, the beetles point in a specific way that helps encompass the feeling of a swarm of bugs coming toward the viewer.