Introduction to Visual Arts Projects.....

Art from Nature.....    

          "Life is about using the whole box of crayons."                                                                                                                                        ~RuPaul

We began a series of Visual projects in Art. As the list was coming around, I found myself worrying about which project(s) to choose. We were able to make our selections for the upcoming four weeks. For me, I felt the pressure of making an uninformed and split second decision. That is not how I roll. I usually research everything before making decisions that I feel are important. I know, you're probably thinking to yourself "It's an Art project for Pete's Sake! What is there to decide about, pick something and move on!" 

The list of choices was plentiful and each project we were to choose something different. Some of us were looking the different projects up on the computer, others were randomly choosing by what sounded fun, easy, interesting, etc. To answer the above question that I am sure some have thought as they read this, Art is a huge deal to me. I put my whole heart and soul into my Art. While I have my fingers in several different "craft pies" I tend to stay within my comfort zone for art, which is typically drawing or light sketching or something crafty. I have not sculpted, used pastels, water colored to any extent, and have only used acrylic's under strict instruction (U Can Paint 2). The assignment of having to choose something both intrigued me as well as gave me cause for concern. "What if I chose something that will  bomb, or turn out to be a total disaster? This is for a grade. My name is going to be attached to this. My feelings and expressions will be poured into this project...." These are some of my initial thoughts....

                         

                 

When the list came around to me, instead of the concern I had originally felt at being graded for my interpretation of Art, I felt like a little kid at Christmas! There were so many choices and different avenues that I could go! I wanted to do it all, and after selecting and completing the ones I have thus far, I think I just might try my hand at everything on the list as a personal challenge.... 

The first Visual Art Project I chose was Art from Nature. I love nature and figured "How hard could it be?" I already was beginning to form a plan about what I wanted to do. I thought I would make dried flower/weed bouquets glued to rustic picture frame. I had done this in the past for Christmas presents and it was a huge success.

But then I thought, "Why? Why do something I've already done?" Now was my opportunity to stretch my creativity a little bit, so I began to think about what I liked in nature. "Hmmmmm, I love pine cones and rustic things, love flowers, and dearly love the season of Autumn." I Googled and Pinterested for a bit and found it! I was going to try my hand at pine cone flowers! I did this, but wanted to do more...

So I continued to Google and Pinterest a bit more for things I could do with pine cone flowers and hit "pay dirt!" I was going to create a sunflower out of corn husks and pine cone flowers! I could not wait to get started!

"Lucky" is great company for these types of adventures....

I went out and collected my materials (Thank God some of the farmers were on the ball and planted corn early so the husks were brown and ready for picking!) I picked several tiny pine cones from a tree in my yard and collected other pine cones from my craft supplies. 

It proved to be a little more difficult at first than I anticipated. I thought I would be able to knock out the pine cone flowers in no time. That was not the case. Dismanteling the pinecone took time and then constructing it took even longer. There is a trick to it to make it look natural and actually like a flower. Once I got the hang of it, I was off and running. (I took one day at home and constructed all of my flowers so I could construct in class)

I made one sunflower in class and was quite pleased with how it turned out. It went together rather quickly and I only had one serious battle with the glue gun which I lost. I made a sunflower using the pinecone flowers for the center. I glued the husks down first on a plastic lid and then added the flowers. While I am very pleased with how it turned out, I found myself wanting try something different. The next flower I made was smaller and I split the husks in half and tried turning them this way and that when gluing them down. Instead of the preconstructed flowers for the center, I used the tiny pinecones that I picked off of my tree. The result was fabulous! I love the way the second flower turned out!

I learned that as I create, the ideas start to flow and I find myself wanting to use not only "every crayon in the box" but several outside the box as well. In Art, there is no right or wrong way. It is an expression of an individuals creativity. Having that freedom of being able to explore and create in a safe and supportive environment is an amazing feeling. I can only hope to create that type of environment for my students that our professor has created for us. 

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