Life on the Food Chain
Artist: Valerie Sauban
Lindsay Department: Education
Medium: Fabric quilt
Dimensions: 30″ x 40″
Artist Statement: We need insects to pollinate our food, flowers, and trees. We tend to think of bugs as being good or bad. For example, we don’t like it when caterpillars eat our plants but some of those caterpillars turn into butterflies who then pollinate our crops. Honeybees are on the decline due to pesticides and monoculture. We will need these other pollinators if honeybee colonies continue to decline. Nature has its own checks and balances. Prominent on this quilt is the praying mantis who is at the top of the food chain in the insect kingdom. The mantis keeps other bugs in check naturally. The large-scale of the insects is to emphasize their importance in the web of life.