But Baba, how did they die?

Evan and I went to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) today, to see the exhibit of Christopher Marley's art created with the bodies of formerly-living insects, birds, fish, shellfish, octopus, and reptiles. While Evan and I were both fascinated by the beauty and variety of the creatures in the exhibit, Evan asked repeatedly, "How did they die?" and "How did he get their bodies?" and "Are you sure they're all dead?" and "Are you sure he didn't kill them to put them in the art?" (See first Extra.) Excellent questions, not entirely answered in the exhibit literature, although I feel sure the creatures are all dead at this point. I told him I didn't know, and that I appreciated his questions. Evan also wanted to know if the artist added color in the way of paints or stains, or if they are all just the colors they were when they died. Again, that question was not answered in the exhibit, nor did the docents know. 

After seeing the work, children were invited to make yarn copies of spider webs (Extra #2), and they could arrange magnetized plastic insects in picture frames (Extra #3). We had a great day, although we were both left with some haunting questions.