As the summer has progressed I have been relying on authors to help guide my artistic inspirations. I have been making my way through Jules Verne’s classic, “Journey to the Center of the Earth”, and am blown away by the mind of this amazing writer. Verne had such incredible vision and insight for a time before science really discovered much. I did cheat by watching the old film of it. I love the giant lizards, lurking under layers of the earth, waiting to attack. Such a vivid and imaginative story! I did just finish my favorite author’s final piece: Micro. This was a half-finished novel by Michael Crichton about humans being shrunk down into the micro world, surrounded by insects and predators at every turn. It was not hokey or reminiscent of “Honey I Shrunk the Kids”, but it was gory and terrifying. There are moments of heart-stopping suspense when the characters are in a wasp’s underground layer and at the mercy of the giant, terryfing female. It gave me more ideas about how to bring prehistoric insects to life by thinking of the realities of the current micro world. Overall, it’s an amazing read and a fantastic finale for my late, great hero.