Environmental project

Kara Baquer and Audrey Hyde

For our environment project, we decided to use the environment literally and create a work of art that you could happen upon in nature that only enhanced the natural beauty of the site we chose. In using the inspiration brought on by Andy Goldsworthy, we used only the leaves we found on site and some tape that we already had in our possession to come up with our design. The tree we chose had a certain beauty to it that would otherwise be overlooked and we really wanted to bring that beauty out to the public by putting more emphasis on the flaws that it had. It seemed like there was a lot of damage to the tree bark and so we meticulously placed the leaves around the flaws of the bark to show them off. There was also a gorgeous, light green moss on the left side of the tree that we really loved and thought would compliment the dark green of the leaves we chose well.

Our design focuses on the elements of form and color. Color plays an important part in our design because it is the bright green of the leaves that really stands out on our tree, and even the little gradation of color that runs to the bottom of the tree trunk. We liked the idea of having this small concept of the leaves dying the closer they got to ground. It is also good for the viewer because it leads the eye down the truck on the tree. Form is the most prominent element because the entire

design is based off of this organic, natural form being wrapped around another natural form.

The strengths of our work of art are obvious in the effects that they have on the viewer. We created an interesting composition that is very site specific using all natural materials that will shock and intrigue the viewer. However, the flaws in our project are in the time limit that this design has. It could be gone in a matter of days if not hours because the craftsmanship was not implemented to create something permanent but temporary. Overall, we were very pleased with the way our ideas unfolded and evolved during this project.

Walking on Air

I decided to mirror Mark Jenkin's work in making body castings. He has always been my favorite installation artists, mostly due to his shock value. My main environment in which i mostly interact is my dorm building. I feel that since i live here and interact and live with these people, this would be the best place and people to choose as my environment and audience.

I'm not sure how Mark makes his castings, but i made the castings of my own legs by wrapping them in ceran wrap, then clear packaging tape. I would cut a slit in the side to slide my leg out, then tape it back together. I made 12 pairs to place in many different places across my dorm. I chose to do the most busy traffic areas such as the stairs, the elevators, and the laundry room. I also did random placements in trash cans and recycling bins.After placing them at night, It was ammusing to see and hear people's reactions the next morning. The reactions are almost an art project in theirselves. Most people found them funny, yet i had a few negative remarks. I could only attach the legs with tape because i could not "vandalize" the building. In retrospect, i feel that being able to see the tape took away from the affectiveness of the project.

Design wise, the legs are the most perfect example of volume. Althought they are an enclosed form, it portrays emptiness for the ceran wrap and tape is clear, suggesting space to be filled inside. The forms also suggest implied line because the audience has to use their imagination to connect the legs to an unseen body and to each other.

I really enjoyed this project. Although it is not my original idea, i really enjoyed it and would like to experiment with this craft further to get even more dramatic reactions from different audiences.

Moving Thoughts

By strictly using found wood scraps and a single shade of orange in this installation, I’ve forced myself to become flexible with a puzzle of different minimalist ‘sketches’ in order to yield a larger composition that consumes and adapts within the space it settles in. The installation is nonobjective and therefore prompts the viewers with their own interpretations of the work if they so wish. Keeping close to my original vision of limited resources and simplified forms, I wanted to focus on the expansion of space through form and the dynamic interactions through the space. I allowed the space to decide how the installation would settle. Not unlike the assembling of a jigsaw puzzle, the forms are re-arrangeable, but seem to fit best in one way or another recurrently. Once the forms were created, I transported them to the exhibition space. It was there that the final result was realized after many trial and error ‘puzzle-piecing.’

Undoubtedly, there are three primary components to the forms in the installation. Color, shape/form, and line. The forms are very simple and geometric, which encouraged me to create something more complex with such basic building blocks. Line and shape were two main ingredients when constructing the forms. The color seemed to come naturally to me. I needed to use a bold color in order to accentuate the minimalism of the concept: bold, yet simple.

I had many struggles with holding an exhibition space. Originally, I intended for the work to be installed deep in the woods. This, however, was not possible and therefore I moved to a friend’s large basement. I was more than pleased with the space and end result despite the delayed installation of the installation. The flexibility of the forms was essential in order to build the conglomerate form at the site and for the site.

"RIDGEVIEW"

For my environmental/installation project I planned on creating a sign for my townhome complex. Instead of creating one singular form, I broke it down into nine individual planes. Five of them were 1ft by 1 ½ ft and the other four were 1 ½ ft by 2-¼ ft. My sculpture uses the same style I have portrayed in my other Foundations 2 projects. I used the repetition of different planes to create a form. My piece consists of nine different planes put together to create one, unified form. The most important aspect of my sculpture would have to be the proximity of the nine different planes. Each plane is placed in a specific location and distance from one another. They come together so that when viewed at the right spot the nine different planes are displayed as one image. The primary forms of my piece are rectangular planes. The secondary form is the blue lettering within each plane and the yellow borders on the top and bottom. The nine planes come together to spell “RIDGEVIEW”. Even though my installation can be relocated to a different spot, it is still a site-specific work of art because of its location in front of my residential complex. I placed the larger planes further back from the smaller ones. The weakness of my piece is that there are minor flaws in the location of my planes. Instead of seeing one perfect transition across the planes, you see some edges and spaces, which interrupt the flow of my form.

Guiding Spirits

Our concept is based off the Chinese lanterns and their use as a way to guide spirits to the supernatural world. We primarily used spherical forms to represent lanterns. We wanted to find an environment that related to the Chinese myth. We placed the forms near rivers to purvey that the spheres were travelling or guiding spirits. In the photographs, the spheres appear to be wispy balls of mass floating to a mysterious destination. The white yarn contrasts with the surrounding environment; making it appear as though it were glowing spherical orbs of energy.

We decided to use yarn because it was eco-friendly and an inexpensive raw material. We chose to use yarn because it was an easy material to work with. The steps we took to make the spheres were: One we blew up the balloons to various sizes. Next, we slathered petroleum jelly to prevent the yarn from sticking to the balloons. The following step, we dipped yarn into a mixture of glue and water. After rinsing out the excess glue we started to wrap the balloons but still conscious to leave negative spaces. After wrapping the balloons we let the glue harden for 24 hours. Once the glue was dry we popped the balloons and pulled them out and placed them into their new environment.

For this project, we used line and form. By using pieces of yarn it created various spherical forms and by only using one color of yarn it created unity. When we placed the forms into the environment, each form was placed in proximity of each other. We also juxtapose the forms together to cause the viewer’s eye to transition to one sphere to the next.

The strengths can be seen in the photographs. We created interesting compositions using simple elements and principles. Also, our craftsmanship was well rendered and we felt that our concept is interesting and well thought. The only weakness we can think of is that our larger balloons deflated before the glue could harden, therefore we didn’t have a wider range of variety amongst the forms.

The Unforgotten Natural Environment

Walking around campus and seeing litter all over, such as plastic bottles, candy wraps, and cigarette butts, I realize how people go on with their daily lives not even realizing that trash is very harmful to the natural environment. In observation, most people don't even care to pick up trash they see. They rather walk around it or over it, trying their best to avoid it. I am pretty sure everyone is guilty of doing that, including me, thus, sparked my main content for this project. 

Since plastic bottles are commonly used and wasted, I decided to use a regular plastic soda bottle to symbolize litter and society. How does it symbolize society? We, as a society, likes to bottle things up and throw them away, rather than taking care of them, such as the environment. We use the environment, don't take care of it, and forget about it. Basically, the natural environment is trapped in our hands, much like this tree is trapped in this bottle.

Furthermore, looking at these images, one cannot tell that the tree glows in the dark. I painted the tree with glow-in-the dark-paint, making it the focal point in the dark, to symbolize that though it appears lifeless, it is very much alive. In my eyes, I see that it resembles veins and arteries of a heart with the help if the negative space. So basically the glow-in-the-dark paint brings out implied lines that is created from the stem and branches. In addition, in the dark, the bottle gives the glowing tree a 3 dimensional form, making it dynamic. The glowing tree, with the repetition of the branches and leaves, it may seem chaotic, but offers some visual flow.

Everything was intentionally arranged. The soil fills up half of the bottle so that people would notice it, rather than just the tree because soil plays a major part in the natural environment just as much as trees do. The tree appears to be reaching for top, which communicates that it is suffocating and needs assistance. The lid of the bottle is on to trap the tree (environment) from its needs. 

After making this representational art, I gather people that I know and asked them to participate in a survey. I asked them various questions pertaining to the environment and my project. Each one had a chance to see the glow-in-the-dark tree and gave me their responses. Overall, from the surveys and other responses, the project was very successful in raising awareness of the environment. I did face some challenges along the way, but I was able to figure them out in a timely manner. This project taught me so much and I had fun.

Making Our Mark

By: Maria Perry & Kirsten Bell

With this project, our goal was to creatively “make our mark” on nature in a non-invasive, non-destructive, and temporary way. We drew from the idea of “tag

ging” and graffiti artist’s way of altering a pre-existing surface. We also incorporated the idea of wrapping, inspired by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, in order to establish our own “tag” on nature. By using materials that I already had, from parts of my “fabric collection,” we were taking a part of our own environment and placing it in the natural environment to create this drastic contrast in not only color and texture, but also in material.

We were first drawn to the location that we chose, at the top of Howard’s Knob, because of its beau

tifully colored moss all over the trees and rocks. We wanted to complement these naturally existing cool colors with the vibrant warm tones of the man-made fabric and yarn. We also chose a specific group of trees to work on, which seemed to b

e sprouting straight out of the boulders. We used the same yarn to wrap all three trees, as well as a portion of a boulder in the distance, in order to unify the space

, create a oneness, as well at define the area of our “tagging.” Amidst this strong unity, we played around with some variety to create slight imbalances. By adding varying materials and fabrics to intertwine the wrapped yarn we emphasized certain areas of the trees and composition with this variety.

As for its location, our installation exists beyond the closed gates of Howard’s Knob Park during this time of year. We want our audience, those who had to have climbed the fence in order to see the view from atop this mo

untain, to be presented with an unexpected work of

art. We also aimed to create a sense of curiosity in our viewers, especially with our choice to bring t

he wrapping of the string down to a more distant location ont

o the boulder, which draws the eye away from the main focal point of the three trees.

We are happy with the way this project turned out. Atop of the mountain, the yarn and fabric blows beautifully in the wind and reminded us of Tibetan Prayer Flags, which further complements the gorgeous views that Howard's Knob offers. We are quite pleased with the way that we brought pieces of our own environment into the natural environment in order to effectively leave our mark in a non-disturbing or destructive way, versus other types of "tagging" such as graffiti done with spray paint.

Time and Space

For the environment project, I wanted to focus on time and they way time is captured. I have spent alot of time thinking about the way spaces can hold memories and wanted to capture this idea. Although I did alot with photoshop, I did spend a good deal of time observing the space in the pictures. Alot of students spend time in Crossroads doing various things but mostly absorbed in their own world, so i thought this would be the perfect venue. Over a few days, I would periodically check in to this spot and snap a shot of whoever happened to be sitting there. I think it is intriguing that we hardly have anyway to know who was in a space before we happened upon it.

After gathering all of my images, I used photoshop to layer all of the shots. I felt that in a way, this was eliminating the element of time as all of the figures blend together. It is interesting to me that the individuals can still be distinguised from the whole; we all have our little idiosyncrasies even if we are participating in the same actions.

Floating Dreams

For this project, my concept was about dreams, and specifically childhood dreams. When you dream as a child, the possibilities are endless of what your mind can think of. Most dreams are of what you want to be when you grow up, of things you want to accomplish or fantastic places you want to go. Looking back as an adult, you realize that most of your childhood dreams not come true and realize some of them were unrealistic. I chose to visualize the act of dreaming as a child. I used balloons to represent these dreams and I photographed a child sleeping in a bed, in the act of dreaming. The balloon strings all intersect at where the dreams are made, typically on the center of a pillow where the head rests. I created these balloons by using saran wrap and packaging tape. They give the balloon shape a look that is opaque and a little mysterious to the wonders of the dreams.

The placement of the balloons is interesting as well. I arranged the balloons mainly above the bed, rising to the ceiling, where they get stuck and maybe never come true. However, there is a lone balloon on the pathway to the window where it will come true, if it gets let out.

I spent about $15 on this environmental project. I bought saran wrap, balloons, yarn, craft glue, and packaging tape. I originally wanted to make the balloon shapes out of yarn that was dipped in craft glue and then wrapped around the balloon to dry. I made 2 balloons like this, but only one of them turned out right. I was under a time crunch and decided to make the balloons out of the saran wrap and packaging tape. I really wanted to use the yarn idea because I liked the way the yarn looked when it dried around the balloon because it reminded me of scribbles a child would make when coloring. However, time was not in my favor and I had to make an executive decision to just make the clear, opaque balloons.

I wanted to fill these balloons with imagery of possible dreams a child has but I had a limited budget and time. I wish I dedicated more time to that because I think it would help the visuals of my project be more successful.

Overall, I am pleased with the way the images turned out. Even thought I was not able to make the balloons out of my first choice of material, I think the saran wrap-look works well. The balloons are fuzzy and unclear and give are personal because the viewer does not know what are inside them. Only the dreamer knows exactly what is inside of the balloon. This concept shows the reality of dreams and life. The world around can make things difficult to achieve but in our minds and imagination, anything is possible.

Warmth

My concept for my environment project basically came from just being around my house out in Tennessee. When I first moved here, I noticed that whoever lived here before had left a lot of materials around in my basement as well as under the porch. I’m pretty sure some of the materials I found on this land have been here for many years. I asked my land lady if the material was mine since I now lived here and she said she didn’t care what I did with it. So essentially, my design is a fire pit in my backyard. One of the main reasons I came up with this idea is that I really wanted to try and make this place I live feel more like home. We used to have bonfires nearly every weekend back where I’m from and so having a place behind my house that I can go out to and just relax either alone or with friends really appealed to me. Also, my house has no central heating so anything to do with heat appealed to me. I also wanted to create something that would leave my mark on this property. When I graduate in a year and a half, I will be moving to NYC and so, someone else will be living here and to leave them with something that makes this place feel a little warmer is something I wanted to do.

The fire pit is mostly made out of stone though the types I’m not completely sure of since all of it was around my yard, in my basement, and under my porch. I’m pretty sure it’s a combination of granite and slate. Also, I got some firebrick from my mother that came from my great grandfather’s barn when they cleaned it out. I wanted to really make sure it looked like a fire pit and not just a wall of stones so I went to the antique shop right down the road from my house and actually found the grid from the bottom of a stove to use in my pit. The process of building my design started simple. I first placed the grid from my grill on the ground and began stacking rocks in an oval around it. It basically just came up from there though I had to go back and move specific rocks around to get it to really fit the way I wanted it to.

The most important elements for this design was what would be essential to keeping a fire lit and going. I also wanted it to be circular so people could sit around it from all angles. The way the rocks sit on each other does create an interesting texture. As a whole, this design was based more from a conceptual standpoint than a formal one. In other words, the concept and function for this design is the most important part. I didn’t place a lot of emphasis on elements and principles. Still, as a whole, I think all the parts of the fire pit come together to create a sense of unity. The rocks and the grill in combination have a worn, earthy tone that work well together. This project was extremely economical and I think that also appealed to me. Our last project required me to spend quite a bit of money and so I wanted to use materials I already had for this one. All I paid for was a seven dollar piece of a grill so I definitely got the most for my money with this assignment.

Finally, I had my mother come down and we actually tried it out this past weekend and it worked amazingly and it really was the highlight of the weekend. It functions exactly in the way I want it to and gave me the feeling I was looking for. I believe it can do so for many other families that will move here after me; therefore, I think it was executed and built perfectly.