Steven D just blew my mind!

Kable B's playful heart!

Joyce S. expensive heart!

“Every Penny counts; pennies make dollars”

o   Is this Symmetrical or near symmetrical balance? Why? My piece is near symmetrical in balance because if it wasn’t for the center heart and dollar, it would have been symmetrical making both half’s appear as a mirror images.  But with the focal point of the piece it would not be mirrored the same on both sides.

o   What is your specific theme? (what is this piece about?)  My piece is about how each penny counts and pennies make dollars.  This was motivated by us preparing to send my daughter off to college and offsetting her tuition expense. 

o   Specific color relationship- name it (monochromatic, secondary triad etc) The colors in my piece are bit monochromatic; same color but different shades, though mainly neutral including the background with cool accents.

o   Variety of media (4 or more different things) Name them: The media I used are string, pennies, a card board heart in the center and a $1 bill.

o   What Interesting background did you use? How does this background relate to your theme? My background was a old side table that stood out because of its dark yet neutral color scheme, the texture of the wood which gives it a rustic look along with the pennies and string surrounding the piece.  This background helps the piece actually illuminate a bit and stand out despite all being in the neutral color family.

o   How is your Craftsmanship? (neatness) Over all I think the craftsmanship was neat and intentional.  You will notice mostly all of the pennies are on heads with 4 randomly on their tales. (can you find them all?).

o   Is your design complicated? Explain. The design was not too complicated, but a bit tedious as the pennies all had to be turned and would slide off the edges of the string.  It took about 45min or so to really get my shape right, and stagger the coins in the right place.  I actually looked at this piece for 3 days and changed with adding and taking away things until I was pleased with the one I’m submitting.   

o   How did you use repetition? Be specific!  I used repetition in the placement of the pennies in heart formation in a repetitive positioning.

o   How did you create Rhythm? Be specific.  I had to look really long and hard at this piece for rhythm.  I guess you could say there is rhythm in the way the pennies that are layered on top of the others that were laid with more precision.  Also, if you look closely at the center heart there are lines of waves present.    

o   What is the focal point? How did you achieve it? The focal point I would say is the purple/pink heart in the center with the dollar bill.  However you can’t help draw your eyes to the shinier copper pennies throughout the piece.

o   What other elements and/or principles of design did you use? Other elements or principles of design include value, real texture, outlines, shallow space, and shape.  Shape is tough to define because it’s not your average square, rectangle triangle, though I would still say it’s more of a geometrical shape. 

      

Nancy C's Sweetest Hearts!

My Heart. Their Heart.

Symmetrical or near symmetrical balance:

My intent with this heart was to create a picture with a heart in it. This photograph is the art, not a picture of the art work. Of course it isn’t about my (lack of) skills with a camera. It’s about setting a scene. Composition, then? My dogs aren’t in the way of the picture—they are the picture. They are as crucial to the picture as the heart is. With this in mind, I tried to have them sit opposite each other to offer balance to the picture. Alas, all I could manage was an around-the-neighborhood-of-symmetrical shot. I am not bold enough to call it near symmetrical. Maybe near, near symmetrical.

Specific theme:

I entitled this picture My Heart. Their Heart. because these two kids are my heart—they are everything to me. Their heart? Food. Food is everything to them. Playing is a close second. When play can involve food, they’re in heaven. The two large orange balls are hollow (you can see their hole in the pic). This is so I can fill them with Cheerios, and the girls can roll them around the floor and pick up the dropping cereal. Is it just because I know them, or can you sense their intense focus on those Cheerios, regardless of not seeing their faces? I assure you, they are focused—intensely. When I refuse to refill the orange balls for the umpteenth time, they’ll compromise with a tennis ball.

Specific color relationship- name it (monochromatic, secondary triad etc):

This is a monochromatic picture: Sidney is ginger, just like the floor. The two treat balls are another orange. The tennis balls are more yellow than green. Maggie and the Cheerios are neutral.

Can yellow and orange be said to be monochromatic? Maybe not, since orange is a secondary color, spawning from red and yellow. In that case, this is a warm composition.

If one is concerned that the tennis balls, in fact, look too green to dismiss, then the composition is warm with cool accents.

Variety of media (4 or more different things):

Treat balls

Tennis balls

Maggie

Sidney

Cheerios

Floor

Nikon D40

Interesting background that relates to the theme:

It just occurred to me that background may mean the “story” behind the work and not the physical background. For the story, see “symmetry” and “specific theme” entry.

Craftsmanship (neat):

No fine motor skills were needed in this work—only patience from all parties involved (no humans were injured during the production of this shoot).

Complicated design:

No, it is not a complicated design, but I wouldn’t quite say it’s a boring one despite its simplicity. Simple—sure. And yet, there’s plenty of variety. I think it’s a baby-bear-fit for the eyes: not too much for the eyes to unpack; not so little that a glance is all that’s required; it’s just right.

Repetition:

Balls, Cheerios, drooling mouths.

Rhythm:

It could be said there is rhythm in the tennis balls. Otherwise, I don’t know—I’d say it’s pretty static, no? The girls were rendered motionless in what I can only imagine was a mix of awe at seeing so many Cheerios and terror that if they took their eyes off them the spell would be broken and the pile of treats would vanish. The rhythm, then, is in the tennis balls or there’s none at all, I think.

Focal point or emphasis:

The implied lines of the girls noses lead the eyes to the heart. The bright orange balls definitely draw attention; their bright pop of color and interruption of the tennis ball pattern is the emphasis.

Julian F's Beautiful Heart

Flowers - In image #1 we have a complimentary colors with red and green as they are opposite the color wheel. It is also a symmetrical balance and repetition.

Elizabeth G.'s Old Soul Heart!

Near symmetrical balance
Specific theme- “Old Soul” I used vintage items of mine from my room. This is supposed to represent how old fashioned I am.
Specific color relationship- Mostly neutral and cool colors with warm accents.
Variety of media- Feathers, handkerchiefs, four leaf clovers, clover buds, fan, candle, journal, ink well and quill, key, hand mirror, old rug, and quilt
Interesting background that relates to the theme- Old rug from my family home, quilt from my great-grandmother, fan, candle, journal, ink well and quill, key, hand mirror, and old books
Repetition and Rhythm- Repetition and rhythm in the pattern of the handkerchiefs and the repeat pattern of the four-leaf clovers and clover buds
Focal point or emphasis- Focal point is the butterfly handkerchief and the eye is also drawn to the candle that represents the soul

Melissa P.'s Honey Heart!

Honey Bee Love
My first Heart piece I did was a Beekeeping theme. I have been a Beekeeper for 6 years, and I am always excited to share my love for Bees. I used multiple pieces of media to reflect this theme that would directly relate to the art. Starting with the middle is the Queen Bee Cage where the Queen is placed inside, and then put in another larger screened box with the other 20,000 Honeybees. During transportation in this screened box, the Honeybees get acquainted with their new Queen and her pheromones. If the Queen was just put in with the rest of the Honey Bees, they would kill her instantly because they know it’s not their Queen. The Queen Bee Cage is plugged with sugar candy so she has something to eat, and by the time she and the honeybees on the outside eat through it, they should be familiar with her pheromone and have accepted her as a new Queen. Since the bees are inside this screen box for sometimes a week, they start building their hive around the Queen.
Next we have the two yellow wax circles that were boiled down pieces of honeycomb where the dirt and garbage sank to the bottom of the pot, and the wax floats to the top. The two red and silver hive tools are a beekeepers necessity when going into a hive to inspect it. The hive tool is used to pry open the hive and lift out frames. Honey Bees close all gaps in the hive and make a glue like substance called propolis that seals the frames and box in place. The two wooden entrance reducers making the bottom shape of the heart are used mostly during the cold months to make sure there is only a small opening so the Honey Bees don’t get robbed of their honey storage, from other hives during the winter. The dried pine needles used in this piece are the material used in the smoker when going into the hives. The smoke is let off under and inside the hive, and the burnt pine needle smoke is stronger than their pheromones, and they are unable to communicate with each other and are in a daze until it’s out of the air. The background is wax foundation that is popped into wooden frames so the Honeybees can start building comb.
`This piece is near symmetrical balance. It has Organic Shape with the pine needles, bees wax and honeycomb. It also has Geometric Shape with the yellow circle wax blocks, and hexagons in the honeycomb in the middle and the background. This piece has warm colors with the yellow beeswax circles on each side and red hive tools. It also has some neutrals with the black background wax foundation, and the brown wooden entrance reducers and honeycomb. There is lots of repetition in the background of the wax foundation with the hexagons, and the line breaks separating the different pieces of wax foundation. There is repetition in the pine needles and lines with the needles coming off the branches in all different directions. There is some value with the way the light is shining on the pieces and creating shadowing on the bottom from the wooden entrance reducers. The focal point is the queen cage in the middle wrapped with the honey comb around it in the shape of a heart. Your eyes also get drawn to the bright red and yellow used with the hive tools and wax blocks.