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: Artist and Art Culture Studied: Tim Christensen, Michael Boardman and Oaxacan alebrijes from Mexico

Reflect: 

• I used my art to communicate the needs of apple trees. I showed the bugs that interact with apple trees and the things that apple trees need to survive. With my tile, I hope to teach others about apple trees because as a species I think they’re overlooked in seasons other than autumn. I turned rain, sun, worms, bees, and leaves into patterns in my design. I think the most prominent pattern is either the black and white worms or the bees on both apples because it shows the importance of other wildlife in the apple tree’s life. 

• The color scheme I used in my tile was warm colors. I used reds, yellows, and oranges, I tried to make the colors what you wouldn’t expect from real life so I made the apples a pinkish-red and orange. I made the tree yellow as a pop of color and made the raindrops dark red to make them stand out. I really like how the colors look because the tile really draws in your eyes. I would probably change the tree if I could do this again because originally I wanted to put animal paw prints on the tree but I thought it would be too hard and forgot.

• I chose the apple tree. I think it’s important to realize apple trees are important all year round because they provide food for small animals and are beautiful in all seasons. Not to mention the economical value in autumn when they provide food.  

Picture credit: Banner - Mattie Pierce "Apple tree tile", Oaxaca art: Sandia Folk