Slideshow Reflections

Photography is one medium of art which I have never worked with before, so this process of creating a photobucket slide show was new and exciting. I chose to photograph some of the elements as they appear directly in nature, and some others by photographs of sculptures that I have done and have placed throughout my yard. Here is a reflection on each element and why I decided to choose that particular photograph to represent it:
Line - About a year or so ago I was using a chainsaw to carve logs of wood. I've had this piece laying in my yard for some time now and just haven't figured out exactly what I want to do with it. The piece itself looks interesting, and I chose this piece for line because the natural grain has an interesting movement and emphasizes some of the features which make this piece look like an animal, either a bear or maybe a pig.
Shape - This is a sculpture I did where I combined a found object of wood and cement. The log caught my eye because it already resembled the lower half, or torso, of a human figure. I used cement to extend the torso up in a way that provides subtle movement and feminine form.
Negative Shape - This is a sculpture I did last semester out of a slab of granite. I wanted to use the relatively flat slab ( about 4 or 5 inches think ) to create simple shapes that would appear more three-dimensional. I used the negative shown here as a way to emphasize the larger, circular shape. Cutting a hole in granite is tougher than it looks.
Color - I thought the dresses of these young girls dancing at the Memorial Day parade provided a good example of pure color. I think the green dress in the front works well to contrast the other blues and mostly bright yellows.
Intensity - This photograph reminded me of the expressionists use of pure color in such a way as to flatten the picture plane. The intense, pure color of the flower bulbs seem like blobs of color and seem to push their way to the foreground
Light - This is a clock I made of wood combining some of the works of Brancusi. The natural lighting entering near the window causes the negative shape resembling Bird in Space to really show through and dominate our focus.
Value - I chose two pieces here because I liked the effect of both. The first is a black and white photograph of a marble sculpture I carved, and which gives a sense of the contrasting value between the rough exterior and smooth interior of the piece. The other photo is of a skull I made of clay, the relatively dark photo showing just enough value change to make the skull recognizable.
Scale - This is actually a small scale model in clay of the human anatomy, which I photographed to make it seem as though this skeletal model with the beginnings of muscle applications had a sense of life, and also a feeling that he appears life size in the room.
Texture - I wanted to show the contrast between the bark of a tree in my backyard and the smoother, wax-like surface of the viny leaves growing around it.
Symmetry - The clarity of the color and shape show the symmetrical balance of this flower growing in my front yard
Pattern - This is the lattice on top of the screen room in my backyard. I think the photo is interesting in that the pattern produced by the lattice provides a barrier to the space beyond
Proportion - I used the clay skull again, which was created to scale of an actual human skull.
Space - The marble sculpture, shown also to represent value in black and white, also has a sense of movement, as the viewer can imagine the piece stepping out into the surrounding space.
Balance - I got this shot of a young girl during the parade who seemed to spend more time walking on her hands than she did on her feet.
Rhythm - The sense of rhythm here is shown by the same gestures and movements of the girls
Motion - This is my youngest son, Caiden, playing in the sprinkler the other day. I was trying to capture a playful motion and interaction between him and the water.
Unity - This is a closeup of a wood log my neighbor gave me to use in a sculpture. I haven't done anything yet, and I don't really think I even want to given the beauty of the piece already. Here I was attempting to show the use of line, color, texture, and shape creating a harmonious, unified composition.

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