Things are progressing. I have finished a painting of a still life for the painting class, and a 3D piece for that class as well. Silk screen is close to having a finished set of prints, and soon drawing will have a new assignment to attend to.
There isn't much to say about the still life in painting. When I took a reference photo to work on my piece at home, it had a blue cast to it. This began with black canvas. I love working on dark. Revealing the light is more interesting than revealing shadows. Most artists work with the shadows more than the highlights. Here are the results, which will have further details addressed later. There is a leg to add to the chair, and some work to do on the statue's drapery.
The 3D piece began with the instructions to create a work with plane, mass, volume, and plane as key elements. I brought the remainder of a pool noodle, which had been sliced up one side to the center. I wanted to do something along the lines of peas in a pod. Although multiple ideas were put forth, this is the one the instructor chose for my efforts.
As I was bulking out the noodle with batting, it began to resemble a female figure. These same kinds of figures go back through ancient times, coming out of Africa. The figures were given to girls at the time they became young women, to teach them the responsibilities of women and mothers they were to become. Today artists world wide are using similar forms to create art dolls.
To cover the body of the doll, strips of fabric were torn from a fabric which would exploit the pea and line aspects put forth at the beginning of the project. Stitchery was employed to secure the fabric strips to the batting and noodle. To form the seeds within the pod, golf balls were painted various shades, representing seeds which would be successful, and those which would not be.
During mid-project review, it was suggested the image be taken to another level by incorporating a metaphor, and developing further meaning. The strips of fabric led to the homeless/plenty aspect already represented by the pea pod and torn fabric strips. The fabric behind the golf balls is printed with the words associated with healthy eating (i.e., organic, fresh, natural, etc.).
Beading and embellishments accentuated the concept of plenty. At a friend's suggestion, arms were added. In this manner the "mother" figure could be posed protecting the inner seeds, and potential for the future. From the arms are more strips of torn fabric, representing those afflicted with destitution from political and economic upheavals experienced globally today. Among the embellishments are a pocket with "money" on the front, and an artificial piece of "penny" candy on the back. For those without money to sustain their lives, a found penny might easily buy a piece of candy, which might be the only "meal" for a destitute person.
This is one figure of a series. As the number of figures grows, they will represent a community. It is through efforts of all that issues such as these are resolved permanently. Have and have not is not longer the issue. Sustainability of community through community becomes the viable alternative.
Where many times you hear such things as, "One person can make a lot of difference; the power of one", etc., this work is titled One Difference-Many Changes. The focus is no longer on any one person, but on the action that mulitiplies the results. "Every little bit helps", is a more accurate statement.
Here is the image. During tomorrow's daylight, I will shoot the images of the back and details.
