FINAL PROJECT: Live through the Elements

My final project was sort of a last minute decision, and it is a combination of photography and Earth Art...It was not permanent as a whole because the candle was not something I could leave behind and my foot is obviously attached to me...  I will post a couple photos and explain as I go...


The Set-up

 This is the photo of the setup to make sure everything would be in frame as I wanted it.  My dad joined to photograph since my foot was part of the piece.  As you can see, there is a baggy of leaves--my dad and I collected fall leaves to use as "Earth" in my Elements project.  I wanted to incorporate Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water, which is why I did my project at Pony Pastures on the James River.  As you can see, the photos were done in front of the dam, where the waterfall runs...


Shot #1


The photo to the right shows the Water in the background with a Vigil candle (Fire) to the right and the Wind blown leaves (Earth) on my foot.  My LiveStrong tattoo was meant to tie my project together.  In the past month, several people I know have passed away, including one of my former students from when I was a student teacher at my high school.  That incident really made me think of how precious life is, and it started the wheels turning for my project.  My original concept had to do with life symbols, but I didnt want to be too cliche...and while perhaps you think having LiveStrong tattooed on my foot is also cliche..

               I dropped leaves when the wind blew in order to get more of a wind element...

My tattoo is representative of several things.  First and foremost, it is for my Uncle Frank, who passed away 2 years ago from Head and Neck cancer at the age of 64.  He was  a big fan of the LiveStrong Foundation and a big part of my life.  He died at home, with my family around him, myself included.  In the minutes after he died, we put his LiveStrong t-shirt on him and started talking..I made a comment about getting LiveStrong tattooed on me and my aunts and sister said they would do the same in his honor/memory...I ended up getting the tattoo about a year ago, when events in my personal life put me in a pretty dark place.  I wasn't suicidal, but I was in a place where I really didn't care if I lived or died...I decided to go skydiving in an attempt to get my head in the right place (I am terrified of flying and heights), and 2 weeks later got this tattoo.  It reminds me everyday that I need to be strong no matter what life throws my way and it also does not allow me to forget my uncle, who would have been 66 yesterday (Oct. 30).

Instead of lighting a real fire, I lit a vigil candle in memory of my uncle, my student Sam, and my good friend's father, and all those who have left our world for another...The elements (Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water) are representative of all of the struggles life may throw our way, and again, the tattoo ties it all together as a reminder of what we should do to make it through.

My dad, the photographer and pack mule...lol

Very sandy, but very cool

Right now, my hard drive is about to crash and I just thought until I can post the rest of my travelogue and other photos and thoughts, if you want to see a really great mix of what I suppose we can call "conventional" art made with an unconventional medium, you should check out www.villafanestudios.com. 
  This guy is responsible for some of the pumpkin carvings on my previous blog, but he also does a lot of other really great work.

Jack-O-Lanterns--Earth Art?

I was taking a walk through my neighborhood yesterday, working on a photo assignment for an online photo school I do, and as I was walking, I noticed just about every house had a pumpkin or jack-o-lantern on their front yard.  It made me think about Earth Art in a different way, yet again...Pumpkins do come from the earth and since it's that time of year, I thought I would post some VERY artsy pumpkins.

 This pumpkin is sort of creepy, but the amount of detail the artist managed to put into his pumpkin carving really is quite astonishing...It makes my really simple witch pumpkin looks stupid...

 

 Then of course, there are those who incorporate known pieces of art into their pumpkin carvings, making me hope they are professional artists, and if they aren't, they should be.

A holiday favorite, Jack Skellington, from The Nightmare Before Christmas, followed by the Predator...
















The Giant squid that took up residence in Illinois...

I attempted to make Cinderella's carriage out of my pumpkin last year, and for whatever reason, I cannot find the pictures I took of it, so I am substituting with an image found through Google...

These pumpkins aren't exactly what I was seeing on everyone's stoop as I worked on my Travellogue, but those will come in the next blog.  I just thought it might be fun to look at a less formal version of Earth Art, if that is the right way of phrasing it.  Happy Haunting, and Happy Halloween!

Natural Pier and a hidden journey

I needed to clear my head one day, and it was suggested to me that I should head to Buckroe Beach, so off I went.  When I arrived, I was pleased to see that it wasn't to busy, and I could walk around and really think.  I never go anywhere without a camera, and it turned out to be a good thing.  In some ways the following photo reminds me of a very basic idea from which the Spiral Jetty came about...

This photo maay be hard to make out for all its detail on the blog, but I will see if I can point them all out.  I love to hunt for shells while walking on the beach, but as I was walking this time, I noticed a line in the sand, and although faint, it led to the water's edge.  Ironically, the red and green seaweed/leaves that are to the right of the line look a bit like a turtle when you look at it the right way.  This made me think of the paths in life, whether it be a baby turtle making its way to the ocean, or a line made in the ground by an artist walking back and forth...

Nature's own art

I took these pictures in 2009, but I have been working on my final project, and I keep thinking about ice and how cool natural art can be, when humans really don't have anything to do with it. 
 During the winter of 09 it got so cold here in Richmond that the fountain in the pond in my backyard froze while it was running.  I love the shape that resulted. 

I have always loved to look at ice and water and what it can do.  I don't know if it is because of the natural beauty alone, or a combination of that and my predisposition with ice since I have been a figure skater since I was 5 years old.  Not to mention, as a photography nut, I enjoy finding things that I may only see once and photographing it.

I love the way that the water running over parts that had already frozen created shapes that resembled smooth stones that had been smoothed by water.  I wish this class was in the winter so that we could create ice sculptures for our final projects...

Wearable Earth Art

I was checking my e-mail last night and as I normally do, I looked through the news stories on Yahoo!.  There was a great little slideshow of the dresses done by Robin Barcus Slonina, an installation and performance artist.  She is keeping a blog of her own called States of Dress, where the progress of her project can be followed.  (stateofdress.blogspot.com)
Slonina is touring the USA and constructing and modeling her pieces.  While the dress from Chicago, IL is not really earthy in the sense of the other dresses, but I really love the way Slonina takes nature from certain states and has made it into wearable art.  I hadn't even thought about making some sort of fashion piece as a part of this course.  Because of copyrights, you just need to click the following link to view the fashions.  http://www.robinbarcus.com/Home.html 

Andy Goldsworthy

As I have been reading through our textbook and doing some Google searches in relation to Earth Art, I have found a favorite artist by far.  Andy Goldsworthy has some very interesting pieces, though the majority of his works are preserved simply by photograph.  His art is not always permanent, but it is beautiful in that he takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary.
          "I enjoy the freedom of just using my hands and "found" tools--a sharp stone, the quill of a feather,    thorns. I take the opportunities each day offers: if it is snowing, I work with snow, at leaf-fall it will be with leaves; a blown-over tree becomes a source of twigs and branches. I stop at a place or pick up a material because I feel that there is something to be discovered. Here is where I can learn. "--Andy Goldsworthy

All photos here are copyright Andy Goldsworthy

 Here Goldsworth took Rowan leaves and arranged them to look like they lead into a black hole.  These piece of art is inspiring to me because I am a photographer, and I love going out into nature, and silly as it may seem, I have never thought of finding and rearranging leaves to make something like this.  I think for one of my blogs I may have an Andy Goldsworthy inspired theme.

 

His work with ice is amazing! I love icicles, and snowflakes, but its rare for us to take icicles and make stars

out of them, or spiral one around a tree. 

 

 

This icestar was constructed using only icicles and saliva then photographed in order to preserve this piece of art.

 

I will have more on him later...have to head to class.