Artist Statement - Kristen Muscaro

One of my most vivid memories as a child is catching a monarch caterpillar and keeping it in a jar until I released it to the world as a butterfly.  I never understood the impact of this moment until I analyzed the unconscious doodles that consume my class notes and sketch books.  After taking a deeper look at my sketches, I came to the conclusion that most of the drawings were inspired by larval stages and patterning in insects, particularly those of butterflies.  I decided to explore this imagery further, and recalled the countless hours I spent outside as a child catching bugs.  After this realization, I began to study these insects in all of their stages of development.

I am drawn to the patterning, color, and surface quality of these creatures.  The organic shapes inside the perimeter of each wing, the contrasting soft and hard surfaces, and the eye-catching vibrant color of insects serves as the main visual inspiration for my work.  Aside from being visually interested in insects, I am emotionally affected by their stages of metamorphosis.   I can connect on a personal level with insects and their transformation as I travel on my own personal metamorphosis through adulthood.  This change that occurs in both the human and non-human world serves as the focus for my current body of work.  I capture this constant flux by depicting imaginary creatures caught in action, in the middle of changing motion.  It is important for me to make the link between the constant state of flux in the human and non-human world in order to create an emotional connection to the presence of metamorphosis that inevitably occurs throughout the life course of all living beings.