Button and bead lionfish wall plaque

This plaque measures 11 inches wide x 11 inches high. The blue background is made from a recipe of 1 part cornstarch to 1 part PVA white glue such as Elmer's Glue All. The mix was shaped, allowed to dry, and then painted and stained. Once dry, it was hard enough to drill and to sand. I embroidered the fish onto stiff interfacing and then added buttons and beads. Check out the cool skull beads (gift from my friend Debby) on the end of the poisonous spines. This piece is currently on display and for sale at the Bowery Art Gallery & Studio, Apalachicola, FL (www.boweryartgallery.com)

 Although beautiful, the lionfish is an obnoxious invasive species in the Gulf of Mexico. However, I understand that it's quite tasty, once its poisonous spines have been removed. Here's an interesting link if you want to learn more about lionfish--http://www.reef.org/programs/exotic/lionfish/resources