The World’s Leading Authority on Sea Cucumber Crime

Mixed media box/paper sculpture. Paper clay, handmade paper, sequins, copper foil. 6 x 6 x 3 inches. 2026.

This piece was inspired by a social media meme asking, “What’s a weird flex in your world that no one else would understand?” Scientist Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff replied, “I’m the world’s leading authority on sea cucumber crime.”

Like many people in the comments, I immediately imagined sea cucumbers behind bars and posing for mug shots. It was funny enough that my family and I ended up googling “sea cucumber crime” to learn the real story. When I was invited to create work for a show themed Just Desserts/Just Deserts, I knew a sea cucumber had to become the featured “sweet treat.”

The real criminals aren’t the sea cucumbers themselves. Many species are endangered or vulnerable due to overharvesting for food delicacies. The fortune-cookie slips inside the box list those threatened species. The piece is designed like an award or trophy, topped with a sparkling sea cucumber, while the printed papers include articles about illegal poaching, smuggling, and organized crime drawn from the bibliography of one of Dr. Bondaroff’s papers.

On exhibit

Just Desserts presented by The Snips at Fresh Eye Gallery, Minneapolis. April 10-18, 2026.

Art A Whirl, Northeast Minneapolis Art District Open Studio event. May 2026.

Instructor Showcase, White Bear Center for the Arts. June – July 2026.

Member Showcase, Handweavers Guild of America. July 01, 2026 – June 30, 2027.

Here are a few photos of the making of this piece. The base of the sea cucumber is paper clay over a foil form. I stitched the paper spines to strips of paper and attached them to the body like paper mache. The star shapes on the box and spines are inspired by the pineapple sea cucumber which has star shaped spines.  These are made from dyed paper layered with star shaped sequins and beads.