For the past three years, my town has held an annual outdoor art fair called, "Yard Art." You can see all of the projects that I've done HERE. And Maker and Super Learner Members can watch a Studio Vlog all about the making of this year's piece in the online classroom. It's titled, "It Takes a Village."
This piece looked and felt huge in my art studio, but looks pretty tiny up on our porch. It's 33" x 60."
The focus of the piece is a collection of battered bowls: One is chipped all along the rim. One has been broken but glued together. And one has a large crack in it.
Despite the bowls' imperfections, flowers and leaves continue to grow and emerge from within the wobbly bowl tower. The tiny pieces of paper that make up the leaves and flowers are a testament to how they were "grown" — from the contributions of many.
I have designed the piece so that the viewer's first impression is of a "pretty picture" of flowers and brightly colored bowls.
It requires a second glance to realize that the bowls are quite distressed. I am currently working through ideas about motherhood manifested through the visual icon of a vessel — i.e. a vase, a cup, a bowl, etc. To me, this piece is a perfect metaphor for my experience of motherhood — especially in the age of carefully curated social media.
I have had several neighbors mention how "bright and cheery" this piece is. So, at least part of my message is getting through.
For the next month, this piece will be hanging on my porch and I hope that people will sit with the piece and think about the cracks rather than simply glance over it. But the truth is, most of us don't really look at art. We glance and get a first impression and that's usually the extent of it. For example, at a museum, most people spend about 15-30 seconds looking at a piece of art. There's so much to see! It's very tempting to keep moving. And yet, what can you really "see" and process in such a short amount of time?
The next time you have the opportunity to see art in real life, turn on a timer and force yourself to spend 3-minutes with a single piece of art. What can you see?
Thanks for stopping by!
Julie,
I love your story that goes with this piece of ART.
The colors are vibrant and ‘happy’.
What is this painted on to endure the weather and what kind of
paint did you use??
You continue to be such an inspiration to me.
Thanks, Vivian
Julie,
I love your story that goes with this piece of ART.
The colors are vibrant and ‘happy’.
What is this painted on to endure the weather and what kind of
paint did you use??
You continue to be such an inspiration to me.
Thanks, Vivian
Julie,
I love your story that goes with this piece of ART.
The colors are vibrant and ‘happy’.
What is this painted on to endure the weather and what kind of
paint did you use??
You continue to be such an inspiration to me.
Thanks, Vivian
Julie,
I love your story that goes with this piece of ART.
The colors are vibrant and ‘happy’.
What is this painted on to endure the weather and what kind of
paint did you use??
You continue to be such an inspiration to me.
Thanks, Vivian
Julie,
I love your story that goes with this piece of ART.
The colors are vibrant and ‘happy’.
What is this painted on to endure the weather and what kind of
paint did you use??
You continue to be such an inspiration to me.
Thanks, Vivian
Julie,
I love your story that goes with this piece of ART.
The colors are vibrant and ‘happy’.
What is this painted on to endure the weather and what kind of
paint did you use??
You continue to be such an inspiration to me.
Thanks, Vivian
Julie,
I love your story that goes with this piece of ART.
The colors are vibrant and ‘happy’.
What is this painted on to endure the weather and what kind of
paint did you use??
You continue to be such an inspiration to me.
Thanks, Vivian
Julie, I love this piece. And your explanation is is informative and useful, and just plain great. Thanks so much for sharing. You are right about people taking only a glance, but I did go back and study the piece. On second glance I looked at the bowls (I have a few of those too) but also the lower left corner. Is that a chair, like the other one in the photo (to the left of the column)? At first I thought you positioned the piece behind some other items. So glad I looked again. Congratulations on a wonderful piece. And thank you for deciding to share with your community and the rest of us. Thank you!
Julie, I love this piece. And your explanation is is informative and useful, and just plain great. Thanks so much for sharing. You are right about people taking only a glance, but I did go back and study the piece. On second glance I looked at the bowls (I have a few of those too) but also the lower left corner. Is that a chair, like the other one in the photo (to the left of the column)? At first I thought you positioned the piece behind some other items. So glad I looked again. Congratulations on a wonderful piece. And thank you for deciding to share with your community and the rest of us. Thank you!
Julie, I love this piece. And your explanation is is informative and useful, and just plain great. Thanks so much for sharing. You are right about people taking only a glance, but I did go back and study the piece. On second glance I looked at the bowls (I have a few of those too) but also the lower left corner. Is that a chair, like the other one in the photo (to the left of the column)? At first I thought you positioned the piece behind some other items. So glad I looked again. Congratulations on a wonderful piece. And thank you for deciding to share with your community and the rest of us. Thank you!
Julie, I love this piece. And your explanation is is informative and useful, and just plain great. Thanks so much for sharing. You are right about people taking only a glance, but I did go back and study the piece. On second glance I looked at the bowls (I have a few of those too) but also the lower left corner. Is that a chair, like the other one in the photo (to the left of the column)? At first I thought you positioned the piece behind some other items. So glad I looked again. Congratulations on a wonderful piece. And thank you for deciding to share with your community and the rest of us. Thank you!
Julie, I love this piece. And your explanation is is informative and useful, and just plain great. Thanks so much for sharing. You are right about people taking only a glance, but I did go back and study the piece. On second glance I looked at the bowls (I have a few of those too) but also the lower left corner. Is that a chair, like the other one in the photo (to the left of the column)? At first I thought you positioned the piece behind some other items. So glad I looked again. Congratulations on a wonderful piece. And thank you for deciding to share with your community and the rest of us. Thank you!
Julie, I love this piece. And your explanation is is informative and useful, and just plain great. Thanks so much for sharing. You are right about people taking only a glance, but I did go back and study the piece. On second glance I looked at the bowls (I have a few of those too) but also the lower left corner. Is that a chair, like the other one in the photo (to the left of the column)? At first I thought you positioned the piece behind some other items. So glad I looked again. Congratulations on a wonderful piece. And thank you for deciding to share with your community and the rest of us. Thank you!
Julie, I love this piece. And your explanation is is informative and useful, and just plain great. Thanks so much for sharing. You are right about people taking only a glance, but I did go back and study the piece. On second glance I looked at the bowls (I have a few of those too) but also the lower left corner. Is that a chair, like the other one in the photo (to the left of the column)? At first I thought you positioned the piece behind some other items. So glad I looked again. Congratulations on a wonderful piece. And thank you for deciding to share with your community and the rest of us. Thank you!
Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Linda. I actually didn’t realize how much the striped tablecloth looked like a chair until you pointed it out! Perhaps it should be a chair!
Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Linda. I actually didn’t realize how much the striped tablecloth looked like a chair until you pointed it out! Perhaps it should be a chair!
Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Linda. I actually didn’t realize how much the striped tablecloth looked like a chair until you pointed it out! Perhaps it should be a chair!
Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Linda. I actually didn’t realize how much the striped tablecloth looked like a chair until you pointed it out! Perhaps it should be a chair!
Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Linda. I actually didn’t realize how much the striped tablecloth looked like a chair until you pointed it out! Perhaps it should be a chair!
Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Linda. I actually didn’t realize how much the striped tablecloth looked like a chair until you pointed it out! Perhaps it should be a chair!
Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Linda. I actually didn’t realize how much the striped tablecloth looked like a chair until you pointed it out! Perhaps it should be a chair!
It’s acrylic paint on tar paper. I do discuss how I treated the piece to make it stand up to the elements in the Studio Vlog for Maker & Super Learner Members.
It’s acrylic paint on tar paper. I do discuss how I treated the piece to make it stand up to the elements in the Studio Vlog for Maker & Super Learner Members.
It’s acrylic paint on tar paper. I do discuss how I treated the piece to make it stand up to the elements in the Studio Vlog for Maker & Super Learner Members.
It’s acrylic paint on tar paper. I do discuss how I treated the piece to make it stand up to the elements in the Studio Vlog for Maker & Super Learner Members.
It’s acrylic paint on tar paper. I do discuss how I treated the piece to make it stand up to the elements in the Studio Vlog for Maker & Super Learner Members.
It’s acrylic paint on tar paper. I do discuss how I treated the piece to make it stand up to the elements in the Studio Vlog for Maker & Super Learner Members.
It’s acrylic paint on tar paper. I do discuss how I treated the piece to make it stand up to the elements in the Studio Vlog for Maker & Super Learner Members.
I love love LOVE the layers of meaning in this piece!
I love love LOVE the layers of meaning in this piece!
I love love LOVE the layers of meaning in this piece!
I love love LOVE the layers of meaning in this piece!
I love love LOVE the layers of meaning in this piece!
I love love LOVE the layers of meaning in this piece!
I love love LOVE the layers of meaning in this piece!