Veronica C's Rocks the assignment!

Angel M's Mountain Dream!

I live in the mountains, so there was no problem making clay because thats all thats around. I broke off a tree limb from a oak tree and grabbed some shrubs from and old line tree to use for the bristles. As you can see I cannot draw, bu the cavemen did a way better job :)

Meade W shows off the fam!

For my medium, the recent rain provided an opportunity to use some good old fashioned red clay mud.  Some slight mixing produced a consistent thickness to the shovel-full I dug.

For my brush, I broke a limb off of a shrub that was pretty flexible and a soft-type of green wood.  I then rubbed it on concrete to create a bevel so that I could use the edge for fine lines and then flip it and use the full width for thicker lines.  I think it worked pretty well.

Regina R's lovely hearts!

My first piece of art is based on the love I have for my dogs.  I knew from the beginning that I wanted to do something dog related without just adding pictures of my dogs.  So I decided to use what they love probably more than they love me, which are treats and food.  

This piece is symmetrical, dog themed and uses neutral colors.  I used the different sized dog treats, dog food and rice a my mediums and my background is my dining room table because I felt it has really good lines that focused to eye to the heart.  I used the larger pieces for the larger hearts and then progressively smaller pieces for the smaller hearts within the large heart.  I was very happy with the final piece.  ​

 Art100.40#4ReginaRagland.jpg

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My second piece of art was inspired by a wedding I attended this past weekend.  I made several different pieces of art using this material and although I like some of the others more, I chose this one because it best fit the assignment.  I did send the bride some of the pictures of the other pieces and she really like it and will use it in her scrape book.

This piece has a near symmetrical balance with a wedding theme and uses neutral as well as tertiary colors.  I used rice as the main background, the flower bouquet I caught at the reception and some other items from the reception that I brought home as keepsakes.  I tried to repeat the heart I made from the rope with the heart that was on the program.  ​

Raven M's outdoorsy heart!

Design #1

The overall theme of this design was a heart. I used five different types of media: dried twigs of basil seed, pebbles, miniature stamps, red flower cuttings from a pineapple sage plant, and twine. I constructed the heart on top of a circular, concrete slab. My overall goal was to give the heart a rustic, natural appearance. To accomplish this, I primarily used neutral colors. The neutrality can be seen in the dark brown of the basil seeds; the white and beige of the pebbles; the cream-colored wood of the stamps; the beige of the twine; and the gray of the concrete slab. Splashes of red add vibrant coloring to the piece from the lettering of the stamps, and the flower cuttings. The piece is symmetrically balanced, and boasts repetition in the twigs of basil seed surrounding the heart outlined by the stamps, which in turn outline the heart made of pebbles. The twine adds rhythm to the piece, as it moves fluidly in a circle around the hearts. The focal point of the piece is the heart of pebbles at the center.

Patti D's hearty heart

Hearts Project

  My second piece of work utilizing a referential shape (also submitted in B&W), has a difference in as far as scale.  The large Heart bowls centrally located are offset by the heavy "frames" of the pictures.  By repetition, you can follow the corks, mimicking the  shape.  Primary colors influence the focus point of the frames, which are also representative of thick lines.  There is no specific theme to the project as evidenced by the heart, the heavy framed pictures and the corks all placed over ferns unless you are a psychologist - then you may suggest that the piece represents my family being alcoholics.

I submitted both in black and white because I feel more affected by each piece without color added.  I have a soft spot for the depth that you can get by removing the color.

John T starts us off with a bang!

The title of this work is "broken heart." It uses the analogous colors of the leaves, with greens, yellows, and drying to browns, with an accent colors of red (complimentary color to green) and purple (complementary to yellow). It could almost be a triadic harmony of colors. (Brown, green, purple).

It is a near symmetrical piece. The emphasis is the center, the broken heart, a jaggedly torn Catawba leaf, with the crevasse filled and bleeding, spilling over with red and deep purple holly berries. It is laid upon layers of leaves, spotted by age, to place emphasis on it as the center of the piece. Several layers of protection have grown to surround it; the dried seed pods of the Sweet Gum are hard and sharp, the sticker grass is firm, pointed, and prickly, the holly leaves are spiked. The dried leaves fill the moat surrounding the Catawba leaves. They are brittle, crumbling, and dead. The last layer is sticks and thorns wrapped with vines as the last obstacle for protection. These all provide a variety of texture. I am drawn to the crack in the heart as it is jagged line, not repeated, with a contrasting color.

The values are dull and add sadness to it. As for the form, thinly covered areas suggest some frailty and give it a withering, lonely feeling. There is repetition in the shapes, and rhythm in the movement of the layers and colors. The gum seed pods bring some rhythm and movement as well. The "broken heart" is laid on concrete, cold, cracked, and hard.

  

ITALIAN LOVES

My “Italian Loves" heart is constructed with an analogous theme with tan wine corks, earthy brown Italian roast coffee beans, and deep purple grapes. The variance of the lighter tint of the farfalle paste provides distinction between the coffee beans and the rich purple of the grapes. You can see a touch of wine stains on some of the corks that corresponds and unites with the color of the grapes. This repetition of color, along with the repetition of the round shapes of the corks, beans, grapes, and chocolate pieces, improve the visual flow of the piece. The shape of the farfalle, adds some variety which helps with movement. The heart shape is also repeated as layers.  The repetition, as well as the near symmetrical shape, provides balance. Rhythm is provided by the evenly spaced corks and candies, and the progression of the heart shape outward. The focal point is the farfalle, as my eyes immediately see the contrast in colors.

Volume is created with the full spaces; the bulging grape pile nestled in the pasta. The predominately dark values are given a “pop” with the pasta and candies. The varying textures add interest; the pasta with zig-zagged edges, smooth candies, concaved beans, firm grapes, and slightly giving corks.

The sweet chocolate, in bright red, accents the piece, and serves for dessert with a cup of coffee, after consuming my favorite meal of pasta with a nice glass of pinot noir. It was carefully constructed on my favorite wooden cutting board, given to me by my favorite Italian friend, that I eat cheese off of while cooking the pasta and drinking some wine. They are all my favorite “Italian Loves.”