UWM Mixed Media
Title: "Feminine Wonder"
Size: 30.4 cm x 30.4 cm Medium: Wooden panel, Acrylic Paint, Glass beads, nails, string & fake leaves. December 2018 Exhibition Text"Feminine Wonder" is a mixed media piece that is meant to display female empowerment . As shown the painting the female tree figure is holding her hands up as a sign of strength and power. I was inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night", Piet Mondrian's "Red Tree", and Debbie Smyth's "Ratty".
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InspirationI was inspired by three artists, Piet Mondrian, Vincent van Gogh, and Debbie Smyth. Since the medium of the piece I will make is Mixed Media I researched for colorful artwork and came across "The red tree" and "Starry night". I wanted to add a 3 dimensional component to the piece from the beginning so I looked up mixed media art form and I found String Art. Debbie Smyth is a famous string and textile artist, her piece "Ratty" made me want to create the leaves for the tree.
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Planning
In the first sketch I wanted to create more of a mixed media three dimensional sculpture where I use a tree branch to create a mini tree on a wooden panel. The wooden panel base would be painted and the string would have fake leaves glued on properly.
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The second sketch is the idea I decided to go with in the end. It shows a painted tree female figure. The hair was going to be made by placing nails on the wooden panel and wrapping the string around in a symmetrical manner. After the string work was done I would add red glass beads onto the tree female figure.
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Experimentation
Process
(1 & 2) The first step was to get the materials needed in order to start making the the mixed media piece. I began by sketching the drawing from my planning sketches on to the wooden panel shown on the left. After sketching the image I started painting the trees with a brown hue and the grass on the background with green.
(3 & 4) I continued by using the green to paint the rest of the trees hair (leaves). Once I had a good amount of coats of green and the surface looked smooth I had finished with the first step in the making of the hair (leaves).
(5 & 6) In the fifth step I chose a dark and light shade of acrylic green in order to mix it. After I mixed it I used a fan brush to create somewhat of a leaf texture print all over the first layer of the brighter green.
(7 & 8) After I was done painting on the second layer with the darker green I mixed the dark green with white to create a light shade of green. With the new lighter green hue I created the same pattern once again as a third layer using the fan brush.
(9 & 10) In the beginning my original idea had been to paint trees in the background but I started to see how it looked and it wasn't turning out how I envisioned the piece. In the end I changed my mind and chose to cover the trees completely black.
(11 & 12) After having started all over I decided to add more color by creating a Starry night inspired background. The first color I used to create the outline of the lines and movement was white. Once I was done creating the first white lines I mixed purple, blue, and yellow with white as colors for the rest of the background.
(13 & 14) Right after I was done mixing the purple, blue, yellow with the white I continued painting the background. I started with the light lavender hue after the white and proceeded with the baby blue.
(15 & 16) In the next step I continued to paint he background. Using the light yellow I highlighted the light lavender an baby blue. On the left side of the female tree figure I added a yellow crescent moon inspired by "Starry Night".
(17 & 18) After I finished painting I started hammering the nails around the head of the female tree figure. When hammering the nails I made sure to place them around in rows.
(19 & 20) After I finished hammering the first layer of nails I made sure to have the same amount of nails in the rows. Once I was done I began to create the string outline by tying the end of the green string on to the first nail near the neck area of the female tree figure.
(21 & 22) I continued to create the string outline by wrapping the string around the nail once and on to the next nail. After I got the hang of putting the string on each nail I created the outline shown in step 22 above.
(23 & 24) After starting the outline I continued to wrap the string on to the nails. As I was doing that I made layers of string on the nails by adding many shapes on to the original outline. The finished first string layer is shown above in step 24.
(25 & 26) After I was done with the first string layer I began hammering more nails for the second string layer above the first layer. I used a lighter yellowish toned green string to create the second layer.
(27 & 28) The completed second string layer is shown above in step 27. After I was done with the string portion of the piece I glued warm colored beads on to the female tree trunk figure.
(29 & 30) After I was pleased with how the string work turned out I used "The Red Tree" as inspiration to add color and texture to the female figure tree trunk. I used red, orange, and dark blue/ purple glass beads for this step. On step 30 you an see how the finished step looked like.
(31 & 32) In the last step I glued seven leaves around the head of the female tree figure. As shown on step 31 five of the leaves were big and 2 were small.
Critique
Compare and Contrast
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Reflection
Overall I am pleased with how the final the final piece turned out. Since this is my first time creating a mixed media art I was somewhat puzzled on what to create and what different medias to use. After having thought about what my theme was going to be and researching about the artists I was inspired by I began by gathering the materials needed. While in the process of making the piece I enjoyed being able to create something that included other art styles besides just a painting. However as I was creating the piece there were some parts of the process that were difficult for example, when completing the string art portion on the panel I had to be very cautious in order not to break the wood when hammering the nail. Another challenging part was placing the string on the nails and making sure that the forms created with the string were symmetrical on both the right and left side.
ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you you were able to "identify the cause-effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork" - I was able to identify the relationship between my inspiration and artwork through the compare and contrast during the critique.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration? - My overall approach was to create a mixed media artwork that portrayed the theme of female empowerment.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration? - While researching my inspiration I came to the conclusion that there is not many artworks that represent female empowerment and femininity overall.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research? - The central theme around my inspiration research is female empowerment and surrealism.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research? - I made inferences on the process of the artists when making their artwork.
Clearly explain how you you were able to "identify the cause-effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork" - I was able to identify the relationship between my inspiration and artwork through the compare and contrast during the critique.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration? - My overall approach was to create a mixed media artwork that portrayed the theme of female empowerment.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration? - While researching my inspiration I came to the conclusion that there is not many artworks that represent female empowerment and femininity overall.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research? - The central theme around my inspiration research is female empowerment and surrealism.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research? - I made inferences on the process of the artists when making their artwork.
Citation [MLA Format]
- “Debbie Smyth.” Debbie Smyth About Comments, debbie-smyth.com/.
- “MoMA Learning.” Lee Bontecou. Untitled. 1959 | MoMA, www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/vincent-van-gogh-the-starry-night-1889/.
- withflyingcolor, Posted by. “Tree and Mondrian.” On The Spiritual In Art, 21 Sept. 2013, onthespiritualinart.wordpress.com/2013/09/26/23b-mondrians-trees/.
- “Debbie Smyth.” Debbie Smyth About Comments, debbie-smyth.com/.
- “MoMA Learning.” Lee Bontecou. Untitled. 1959 | MoMA, www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/vincent-van-gogh-the-starry-night-1889/.
- withflyingcolor, Posted by. “Tree and Mondrian.” On The Spiritual In Art, 21 Sept. 2013, onthespiritualinart.wordpress.com/2013/09/26/23b-mondrians-trees/.