April 19, 2004 (Dallas, TX)-- In Maryland, even the insects are fun. Maryland is the center of the area where brood X (10) of the 17-year cicada will be emerging this year, starting in May. They are preparing for the onslaught with festivals instead of insecticides. The sculpture “Cicada,” created by Mary Jean Jaynes here in Texas, has been purchased to be used as part of this year’s celebration of the 17-year cicada emergence. It will be displayed initially in conjunction with the University of Maryland’s “Maryland Day” to be held April 24. There will be cicada t-shirts, booths for making origami cicadas, and picture taking where you are transformed into a human-sized cicada.

The cicada is not dangerous -- It cannot bite or sting but, like its Texas cousins, it startles people with its sudden, loud “singing.” The 17-year cicada is different from the cicada’s that emerge in Texas each summer. It’s much more colorful, with a black body, orange wings and bright, blood-red eyes. The most striking difference however, is its life cycle. Brood X of the 17-year cicada will begin emerging from the ground in great numbers in May and continue for the next month. The cicadas will be unavoidable, more than a billion of them. After mating, the females deposit their eggs in slits in small twigs. The eggs hatch and, after developing into nymphs, burrow back down into the ground where they remain for 17 years, until it’s time for the cycle to begin again. Besides Maryland, they will appear from New York to Georgia and in pockets as far west as Missouri. There are several websites with information on the 17-year cicada, if you’d like to know more about this interesting insect. (Listed below)

“Cicada,” the sculpture, is one of a limited edition in terracotta finished Garden Cast medium; from now through July, it is being offered at a reduction of 1/3 the retail price as part of the celebration. It’s a slightly abstracted, and a very much enlarged, treatment of the insect emphasizing the armored quality of the cicada's body. The exaggerated interpretation, while still preserving the natural beauty of the insect, is meant to echo the strident noise and transient fear experienced when a cicada flies at you on a late summer afternoon. It is approximately 18" x 7.5" x 8" in size.

Ms. Jaynes maintains her studio in Irving, and has worked in the Dallas area for the last 30 years. “Cicada” and other limited edition sculptures can also be viewed by going to the gallery pages on the Jaynes Sculpture web site at www.sculpture2view.com. The collection includes unique sculptures depicting animals, nudes, and portraits, as well as other insects in a choice of finishes.