Rainbow (121) — Laine Kartes
Artist
Laine Kartes (42)
Materials Used
Acrylic paint, texture paste
Your website or social media
Describe your bug and its beauty
His main body is textured & painted to mimic the iridescent green scales of a dragon. The eyes are painted to match the stunning blue eyes of Siamese cat. The wings are painted iridescent pink, purple, orange, & yellow and outlined in black to evoke the feeling of stained glassed window & butterflies.
How long do you think you took decorating your bug?
12–16 hours
Tell us your Story
The cicadas emerging this year last visited us 17 years ago. What kind of change have you seen in your city, yourself, or someone you know over the last 17 years?
My life has transformed so many times in the last 17 years. I moved to Illinois 14 years ago, bought my house in Berwyn 10 years ago, had a daughter 7 years ago, got married then divorced in that same time. I've watched the world around me change so much and watched my daughter transform from an infant to a very independent, self proclaimed "big kid" in that time. We transitioned through the family difficulties of Covid and single parenting in that time together. I've re-found myself as a person & an artist numerous times through so many of these transition periods. This is the first piece I've ever displayed publicly & I feel like it represents so many deeply personal aspects of my journey. The dragon scales are linked to a tattoo I got at 19 and the stained glass is inspired by my Berwyn home that I only came to find because I left my home state of North Dakota. The eyes of my cicada remind me of my Siamese cat Sammy who died several years ago. He helped me through a lot of difficult transitions in my life. Overall putting this piece out into the world is a sort of emergence for me.
Location
Proska Park, 3001 Wisconsin Ave, Berwyn, IL 60402 — near 31st Street & Home Avenue — Map