The Bad Bug Boy from Luna Parc

Young Ricky Boscarino wanted to be an entomologist when he was growing up, but the artist in his blood exerted a stronger influence. Late in high school he quit hard core science and played with it on the softer side, molding and sculpting the insects he loved from silver, bronze and gold. "I come from a long line of artists and fortunately I made that departure from science," he says.

Boscarino remains on the periphery of bugdom and just exhibited at the Entomological Society of America convention in Cincinnati. "My insects are completely accurate with the number of segments and jointed legs. I get a lot of accolades from entomologists."

He creates biologically-correct crickets, aphids, mayflies, lady bugs. Scorpions, spiders and beetles. Most are jointed and move their legs, heads and wings. All are made into pins, necklaces, earrings and bracelets. He does two species of termites - domestic and southern, on which, he says, research is now being done. "I love the bad bugs." He's doing a new line of earwigs.

He does garden tools, too - rake, wheelbarrow, shovel, trowel, hoe, hedge clippers and hand cultivator, pitch fork, watering can. Mix or match! In sterling, gold or bronze.

Once upon a time, a great marketing idea thrust the madcap artist into another realm of art. It happened when he was first launching his website and looking for something he thought people would collect. Why, thimbles of course! His Luna thimbles are like no other. Some have flowers on top. "It took off. It was incredible. People did 'a search' for thimbles."

The self-proclaimed King-of-Luna Parc always had an interest in miniatures. As a kid he built scale models in his room. "I was always shrinking down the furniture. Plus, my public high school in Piscataway had an incredible art department with a jewelry program." It was a perfect match. He started making jewelry when he was 14. Now he's 43.

Lately Boscarino is into pottery to use indoors - stoneware and earthenware. It's kind of weird and unusual, he thinks. He makes his own textured glazes that are "cracked, bubbled, blistered and peeling" for his vessels of "figurative imagery of heads, frogs and other odd creatures." He soon plans to make vases in the shapes of insects.

For outdoor garden decoration, he'll cast a cement sculpture right in your yard - an electrified lamppost to light your way, covered in tile mosaic with glass. His steel sculptures, too, adorn domestic landscapes. "My parents have a collection in their garden."
Check him out and reach him at: www.lunaparc.com

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published December 01, 2003