Monday, April 19, 2010

Psychedelic Gelatinous Lifeforms


Etsy has become even more cool since a particular search term resulted in an entire page of handmade awesomeness; I can always count on Etsy artists to feed my need for geeky art but I was still surprised to see how many items had the word nudibranch in their titles!

What the frak is a nudibranch?
Commonly refered to as 'sea slugs' they're basically like a marine version of the slug on a major acid trip.

One pill makes you larger...
 
The name means 'naked gills' referring to the feather-like structures found on certain species of nudibranch that serve as gills or lungs (yes aquatic organisms need oxygen too!). The hallucinogenic colors have evolved as camouflage in some species (to hide where? Burning Man festival?) or as a warning of toxicicity in others.

...and one pill makes you small...

 ...but the ones that mother give you...

So now you see how these psychedelic balls of goo are exactly the kind of inspiration Etsians eat for breakfast! Wait that didn't come out right...

Nudibranch bangle, or as the artist calls them nudibrangles:

Your cat wants a nudibranch.
From The Frog Bag, another Etsy seller with a degree in zoology!
20% of the price of anything bought in their store will be donated to The Tapir Preservation Fund.

UH-ma-zing silkscreened scarf by Zoebe

Want to DIY? Crochet patterns for Amigurimi nudibranch! Is there nothing you can't make with crochet? I think not.



Ernst Haeckel thought they were pretty neat balls of goo too:
Art Forms in Nature, Plate 43, Nudibranchia

Pretty nudies, trippy nudies, little balls of goo. What will evolution think of next?




http://urbannaturalhistory.blogspot.com/

5 comments:

  1. I'm in love with your blog! It feels like I'm finally home! Keep the awesome finds a-comin'!

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  2. LOL Sometimes I'm afraid of alienating all the artsy folks out there with my weird stinky or slimy creatures but I can't help it:) Thanks!

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  3. WOW! Who knew that slugs could be so beautiful! Love your blog.

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  4. What a fantastic blog! Thanks for posting a picture of my kitty toy. I love nudibranchs!

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  5. Love your blog!! And thank you for noticing my nudibrangle!

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