Dehydrated Animal Musical Shadowboxes by Char

Char discovers yet another use for dehydrated frogs.

What does one do with a dehydrated frog found stuck in your in-laws air conditioner unit?  I’m sure most people throw it away – right after being utterly disgusted by the sight.  Not Char.  Instead, she wanted to put it under the microscope and let the kids examine it for an at-home science project.  But that didn’t happen, either.

On the way home from visiting my parents, Char held the dehydrated creature in the air and casually said, “The position he dehydrated in looks like he’s singing, doesn’t it?”  Two hours later, Char had just completed her first Dehydrated Animal Musical Shadowbox.

Using scrapbooking material, a wooden shadowbox, and a dead frog, Char created a musical scene of a frog with a top hat singing “Peace Frog” by The Doors into a microphone.  The timing was perfect as we are in the midst of creating a music and game room at our home.  I can only imagine the expression on people’s faces when they scan the room’s decor with vintage Elvis posters, Sinatra quotes, and…. a dehydrated frog. This first shadowbox is called “Beale Frog” after famed Beale St. in downtown Memphis.

"Beale Frog" by Char Magnifico

Not long after completing the shadowbox many of our friends on Facebook began encouraging Char in this new artistic expression, having just seen the photos online.  About this time, I found a dead, dehydrated cicada outside while I was planting a garden mum.  This cicada became Elvis in Char’s second shadowbox.  You just knew Elvis would come up in this post somewhere, didn’t you?

Almost immediately, other ideas sprang to mind.  Such as four beetles walking against the backdrop of the Abbey Road album.

Now, don’t get confused… Char’s still the animal lover you’ve always known.  No animals are harmed in the making of these unique pieces.  Only already dehydrated insects and frogs have been collected.

*** To view a photo gallery of this art adventure, click here. ***

"Cicada King" by Char Magnifico

Tags: abbey road, Art, beale, beetle, bug art, crafts, elvis, elvis presley, frog, insect, memphis, Memphis artist, microscope, science, shadow box, shadowbox, sinatra, The Beatles, The Doors

This entry was posted on Monday, September 7th, 2009 at 4:22 am and is filed under 3. At Home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.