Royal River Watershed Species Tile

Project Goals:

• To use art in raising awareness of the flora & fauna located in the Royal River watershed 

• To learn about artists who work with animals as their subjects, (specifically,  working Maine ceramic artist, Tim Christensen, and wildlife artist and Maine Master Naturalist Michael Boardman); 

• To become acquainted with basic ceramic vocabulary;

• To learn about and find inspiration in the highly patterned art (alebrijes) from Oaxaca, Mexico;

• To form and paint a low relief ceramic tile that contains both imagery of a flora or fauna species of your choice and an indication of the systems around it which promote that species’ survival.

 Artist Studied: 

Tim Christensen and Michael Boardman

Artist and Art Culture Studied: 

Oaxacan alebrijes from Mexico

Reflection

I used my tile to communicate the Eastern Box Turtle’s habitat necessities to live. Artists are always communicating different messages in art which can be interpreted in different ways. To get across the different things an Eastern Box Turtle needs to live, I first painted a pattern of dandelions to represent that these turtles eat lots of flowers. I then painted a green background with dark green hatching on it to represent the tall grass that Eastern Box Turtles make their habitats in. I then painted blueberries which represent the berries which are a big part of these turtles' diet. I then painted trees on an orange background to represent the marshy forests they prefer to live in. I also painted roots as my black and white pattern as these turtles eat a lot of roots. For my final pattern, I painted light purple waves on a blue background to represent the rivers that these turtles hunt in. I think that the pattern with the blueberries gets my message across the most just because looking at it, I think almost anyone can recognize that they are blueberries. Paired with the Eastern Box Turtle at the center, I think it is really evident that blueberries are a part of the way they live. I used a secondary color scheme composed of greens, oranges, and purples. All of the colors I used are shades of these colors made to fit whatever thing I was painting. For example, for the water, I used more of a blue green but kept it on the green side to fit within my color scheme. I actually really, really like how the colors look. I think they fit well with the systems and the turtle. I wanted to do a secondary color scheme because one thing I really wanted to implement are the bright orange spots on the turtle that really sets it apart. I think if I were to do this again, I would make the background colors and patterns a lighter tint, just to emphasize the turtle even more.I chose the Eastern Box Turtle as my species because I have always had such love for turtles. I always wanted to have one as a pet, and it is very frequent to see one at my cottage which we go to every summer. I think it is important to know about my species because of how fascinating turtles are. They are incredibly important for our environment, eating weeds and keeping our oceans healthy. I think what we can do to keep them alive and healthy is focus on keeping our forests sustained and our river healthy. That is where they primarily make their habitats and hunt, etc. It is important that we keep these areas, as well as our entire ecosystem, healthy so that these turtles can thrive.