Concentration #1

The subject of my creation is a is an owl created out of things I gathered in nature, like leaves, acorns, pine needles and bark. The setting is outside on a stick because I purposely made the owl sit on a stick, so it had a base to sit on. I made this by using a small piece of cardboard then I attached leaves and bark to the background with hot glue. Then I used bark to make the owls body and head. I added two small acorn tops to the owl head as the eyes. Lastly I put sticks on the bottom and across the cardboard to add more to my piece. I chose to create this because the clay project I was working on was not done, so I had to think of an alternative. I was at my house wondering what I could use, then I thought about using nature. One specific element I used was line by arranging the sticks in a certain way, for instance the stick across the cardboard giving the owl something to stand on and the sticks at the bottom showing grass. I also used pattern on the sticks at the bottom.

One composition rule and technique showcased in my art is rule of thirds. I used this by purposely placing the owl in the first third, to make it off balance. I made sure the owl was slanted to make people turn their head and focus on the owl. My project evolved because I quickly had to think of something to do. I had to turn it in the next day, so the night before I gathered materials from outside my house. I didn't know how to incorporate my concentration which is patterns and designs, but then I thought of maybe making grass on the bottom to show pattern. I also wanted to add owls into my concentration.

The meaning behind my artwork is to show my concentration and I used nature to do that. I used the objects I found outside to make something that is shown by nature, like an owl on a branch. This relates to my life because I think I might add owls to all of my future concentration projects. I enjoy owls and how fascinating they are as a species. After doing the duck stamp and the animal sgraffito project, it made me realize how important it is to protect these birds. In my future projects I want to stick to my original concentration which is patterns, but I also want to incorporate an owl into all my pieces. I think my artwork could be stronger because in some spots there are places where you can see the cardboard behind. I would improve this by placing leaves in those spots.