Tuesday 7 April 2009

Project Management

I haven't really produced much since last Thursday. I started on another Tree Fairy vase, but didn't get any further than just making the actual vase. I was feeling too low and tired over the weekend, and now that I'm feeling brighter my mind has moved on to other things. That is often a problem for me - I have too many ideas and my mind is actually too active for me to settle on one thing, so I end up doing nothing and just spend all my time thinking. Apparently this makes me an artist! :)

I've been absolutely fascinated by Octopuses recently (this is the most common word used for the plural of Octopus - although the correct plural term is actually Octopodes, to use this term would make me pedantic, apparently). I had actually never seen a real photo or video clip of an Octopus before, until I went to this website and my jaw just fell open. I don't know why I never looked them up before. They're amazing!

Things I didn't know:
I didn't know that Octopuses have two rows of suckers on each arm (and they are arms - not legs or tentacles). They use these suckers to grip and also to taste.

Octopuses are very strong. They have no skeleton so they are all muscle. They can squeeze their bodies through incredibly small spaces, since the only hard part of their body is their beak. Yes, beak! I didn't know they had a beak! It's actually underneath, in the centre.

To camouflage themselves from predators, Octopuses can not only change the colour of their skin, but also the texture.

And how they reproduce is... bizarre, and so sad. I saw this clip of a male Octopus trying to grab the attention of a female Octopus and I thought it was so cute and romantic! But the male Octopus literally gives his right arm to mate (well, one of them), since that is where his sperm is, and then he dies within a few months. The female lays up to 200,000 eggs, and spends between one to ten months caring for them and guarding them (depending on the species and the source of information). She doesn't leave them for a second, and she gets so hungry that she has been known to eat her own arms! By the time the eggs hatch she is exhausted and she dies. But she doesn't die from starvation - she secretes something from her eyes. So I suppose you could say she cries herself to death. Maybe because she knows that only 1% of her babies will live to adulthood. Well, they have three hearts so that's a lot of heart break!

Wow, aren't they amazing? So bearing all this in mind I decided for my next project I'd like to make a Whale...

10 comments:

cynthia said...

Shoot - I thought the plural was "octopi" tee hee

Don't feel bad about being over stimulated - you just described me to a "t"! Too many ideas, not enough time (or discipline) makes me procrastinate and not do much at all. :)

Undaunted said...

So did I Cynthia! But apparently Octopi is based on the assumption that Octopus is Latin, which it isn't - or something like that anyway :)

I'm glad I'm not the only one struggling to keep on track! I don't mind having lots of ideas, but one at a time would be helpful! :)

Leanne Pizio said...

Thank you so much for the lesson on Octopi....still have to use that term even if it not proper....loved the information. Sad that they both have to die to mate. Wow!

Love the idea of a whale. Can't wait to see him/her.
Leanne

Undaunted said...

Hehehe, I don't suppose you'll be arrested for it Leanne :) Actually, I don't suppose anyone will notice - I think most people assume Octopi is correct (just as I did).

It is sad isn't it? But I just can't get over how strange it all is.

mimilove forever said...

I shall look forward to seeing the whale...presume we're not talking full size?! ;0)
Happy Easter x

Undaunted said...

Hehehe, that would be a life long project! I would have needed to start that 20 years ago!

Have a good weekend Mimilove :)

MadSilence said...

I love the Artistic License!
And fried calamari... :-)

Undaunted said...

Eew! Do you eat the male's third right arm as well?

queencraftygirl said...

Wow! I am going to say "Octopi" too. Maybe we can all start a new word. hehe!

I only knew they had beaks, they had eight legs, and they could camoflague themselves! They are very amazing creatures. I'm so glad I got to learn more about them.

Can't wait to see your whale!

Love,
Queeny

Undaunted said...

Octopi it is then! :)

Thank you Queeny, although I'm going to take a leaf out of your book and finish off some other little projects that are hanging around first. Keep watching though! It's coming!