As a family we often spend a lot of time on the coastline, enjoying the beaches and investigating the surrounding rock pools full of life. When a Crab is discovered its usually met with a lot of excitement by my little boy so choosing the Velvet Swimming Crab seemed the perfect choice. I love their anatomy and how it is all made up. Its body having a Velvet texture made up of small hairs and it’s hardy attitude when dealing with threats. I was blown away by learning the female, with an average lifespan of five years, produces up to 250,000 eggs each season. That’s potentially over a million in just one crabs lifetime, that’s a lot of kids! To create this mixed media piece I used a combination of recycled items including a board left over from a bathroom refit which I then covered with some left over wallpaper I had in the cupboard. The Crab itself is made of hand cut shapes made with scrap paper, old packaging, food wrappings, magazines and book pages to name a few. The Crab is surrounded with buttons, broken shell and some arty bits I pilfered from my son’s art box. I really enjoy taking recycled materials and giving them a brand new lease of life.
The Velvet Swimming Crab by Amanda Murray
