Dirty Pictures

Interesting technique, huh? Do you like the composition and the brush strokes?

Well, I'm not a very good painter, so I can't take all the credit. You see, I didn't use a brush; this was painted by live maggots. (hence the name "dirty pictures")

I taught a week-long class to 10 & 11 year old students at a local science & technology museum called "Disgusting Science," and our final project was maggot painting. Each of us got 10-15 live maggots, a tray of washable paints, and a pair of tweezers. We dipped them in, tail first and one at a time, and then placed them on the paper.

I really enjoyed doing this. I was in control of which colors to use and also where to place the maggots, but they did the actual work. It turned out kind of pretty, I think, especially considering the source material. It just goes to show that one can find beauty even in the dirty/gross things.

Note: the maggots were not harmed in the creation of this piece. About 95% of the washable paint rubbed off on the paper and all of them were dumped out in the bushes by the parking lot afterward. They earned their freedom.

Thank you for viewing this piece and, as always, any comments are welcome.

EDIT: Dirty Pictures 2: [link]