Concentration #1

This assignment was to choose a concentration and stick with it the rest of the year. I chose plants as my concentration (I made fungi an exception to this topic) and for this project I chose to create a variety of mushrooms (fungi) and put them on a colorful platform to sit on. The subject of my creation is simply a variety of unique colorful mushrooms living together in a unique colorful environment. My work was made by first using clay to make different colorful mushrooms that have different textures and patterns. I then baked those mushrooms in the oven for 20 minutes and worked on my base while they baked. I painted the platform colorful so it would match the mushrooms. I made each corner a wave but used different colored waves; for example, red/pink, blue, green, teal. I then made more mushrooms and baked those for 20 minutes as well. Once all of the mushrooms were completed I made a little bug and little jungle person out of clay to just at more detail to my work. I glued each piece onto the platform using super glue and then my project was complete.

I chose to create this specific artwork because I find mushrooms fascinating and unique when it comes to changing the colors, shapes, and sizes. It’s arranged by having the red mushrooms on the red wave colored side of the platform, the blue on the blue, green on the green, and then I randomly placed the other mushroom colors onto the platform. How my project evolved was I kept creating different unique colored mushrooms for the platform. I also kept building up color on the platform using acrylic paint and eventually I created different colored waves in each corner. I revised my artwork by smoothing out the mushrooms after I finished since they would have dents and bumps in them. I also had to change some of the stems to the mushrooms because they were too weak and wouldn't hold up.

The meaning behind my artwork is that everyone is different and can still thrive in any environment. How my artwork relates to my life is because I love nature. I was inspired by how easily changeable mushrooms are but can still look like it's original form, so I changed the color and sizes of each. What I'm most proud of in my artwork is my time management. When I would create mushrooms I would cook them in the oven and work on something else for the project while I waited in order to not waste time. I struggled with choosing colors for the mushrooms and platform. But I overcome these struggles by just choosing bright colors for both and letting my art just evolve as I continued to make more. My artwork could be stronger if I made the platform less colorful so the mushrooms could be the focus. This piece wasn't what I had visioned in the beginning but I still like how it turned out. I think next time I want to choose lighter colors so the piece doesn't have such a bold look. I want to go for more of a gentler look to my pieces.