She Always Called Me A Princess, But I Became A Queen.

Hello! It’s been a while. I’ve been meaning to do an update post on Doris’ new tank setup but honestly I did not have the motivation to write it. To make it up to everyone I’ve decided to write on something equally if not more exciting:

Doris’ first shed (with me) !!!!

For a while I’d found Doris to be more reclusive. She’d stopped asking for handling sessions, was fully hiding under her substrate (whereas she would usually keep her head on the surface) and would make puffing sounds to signify irritability. While at first worrying, after discussing these changes with my mentor, we figured out the reasoning for this behaviour change… she was starting her shedding cycle!

I very quickly got to work accommodating her shed; I bumped the humidity up to 90% and gave her more moss to hide under. Within a few days her eyes started clouding over, her skin started dulling and her face seemed somewhat baggy. She was definitely not looking her best…

Then, one day as I came back from uni, a wonderful thing happened. As I entered my room, I noticed an odd stick that wasn’t usually in Doris’ tank. And then I realised… it wasn’t a stick! Doris had shed in one long piece; it was a perfect shed!!

I was overjoyed! My first shed with Doris coming out so perfectly was a sign that she was healthy and comfortable with the conditions I had provided for her.

I very quickly grabbed my microscope to have a close up look at her shed. There is so much beauty in how life is constructed and I felt so privileged to be able to have such a personal relationship with it.

And when I saw Doris again… she was stunning.

Evening Dress

Christian Dior Spring 1954

UNT Digital Library

Dress

c. 1807-1810

DAR Museum

I studied this in class for about 4 months, the idea is for it to be perceived differently at different tides. At certain points in the day you can walk all the way through it! If you like it you might also enjoy the (slightly more anatomically correct) snake he did for his "Empires" piece as part of the Monumenta series in Paris https://francetravelplanner.com/go/paris/museums/monumenta.html

150 meter aluminum sea serpent skeleton sculpture in Nantes, France. Artist Huang Yong Ping

Dress, 1900

Steel and silver axe head, Scandinavian, 11th-12th Century

From the Met Museum

Dress

c. 1880-1885

France

Musée des Arts Décoratifs

Caved and bought myself a whole new bed setup. After spending time in various hotels for work over the summer I realized my mattress is just. Not my friend. And my current setup is a king, which is just way too big.

Did I have the money for this? No! But I'm tired of waking up with so much back pain so. Here we are.

Dress

c. 1880-1890

Grand Rapids Public Museum