Mini Concentration

These are two projects, which compose a miniature concentration. The theme that I selected for my concentration is focused on the paradox of representing beauty in nature through trash, or disposable materials. The first piece is a lotus flower on a lily pad, featuring a dragonfly and a tadpole. The second piece is an orchid in a pot, featuring a caterpillar.

For each of these pieces I started with the major component—the flower. For the lotus I cut, folded, and stapled newspaper and used a green bottle cap for the center. For the orchid I cut and glued pieces of tin cans to make the four flowers. Next I created the bases. For the lotus flower I used cardboard coated in a plastic bag for the lilypad and used a straw for the stem. However, because the straw wasn't sturdy enough, I had to add a wire support. To help the support blend into the piece, I added a tadpole made of wire. For the orchid, I used wire for the stem and covered it in rolled pieces of green cans. I then glues the wire in a plastic bucket as a plant pot and added general trash for soil. After completing the flowers and bases, I felt the need to add something to the pieces to give them more intrigue. This is why I added the dragonfly to the lotus and the caterpillar to the orchid. In creating these pieces I enjoyed working with a variety of materials which created different textures. Although it was difficult without manipulating my materials, I tried to add color where possible to the pieces to make them more interesting. The major principle of design for this concentration is contrast as it is the basis of the theme. The major evolution that took place in this project was needing to better incorporate the wire support on the lilypad into the piece. I think the tadpole does this well because it is made of the same material and the small underwater creature balances the small aboveground creature—the dragonfly.

I chose to make flowers and life out of trash to create a paradox and to make people rethink beauty but also to think about the environment. The improper disposal of many of the materials I used leads to the death of life such as plants. This contrast is meant to make the observer think and it relates to my life because I personally think about these things often. The most challenging part of this project was balancing the lily pad on the straw and wire support and stabilizing the whole structure. I am most proud, however, of the orchid plant. The flowers were especially time consuming, but I am satisfied and happy with the final result because I think they look realistic. I think that my concentration could be stronger if I had more pieces to better express my message. These two pieces illustrate my strength as an artist in my ability to create and express a message through multiple pieces in a series. It shows weakness in diversion from my chosen material in the tadpole and wire support, which were not made of trash.