"Precious Thoughts"
Exhibition Text:
Samantha Loontjens "Precious Thoughts" Choice Piece April 17th , 2017 For my choice piece I decided to created a painted rocks with specific memories that I have had , which was inspired by Andy Goldsworthy "Pebble Broken and Scrapped" and Elspeth Mclean "Mandala Stones". The meaning of this piece is to relate back to your past memories that you enjoyed and how they have impacted your life.
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Artist Inspiration:
When first deciding on my choice piece I automatically thought of Andy Goldsworthy's work and how he uses such nature material. This I where I first Came up with the idea of painting on stones. Andy Goldsworthy's piece "Pebbles, broken and scraped" was where I came up with my finally outcome of photographing my rocks outside. I was then inspired when I Saw Elspeth Mclean's work called "Mandala Stones". I was drawn to her work because of hw bright and eyes catching her pieces are. This is where I came up with the idea of painting scenery (more specifically memories) onto my piece.
Progress:
Planning Sketches:
- These are three planning sketches that I created for my choice piece.
Making Process:First when creating this piece I had previous black stone river rocks that I have bought. Then I decided to create a small image of several memories that I have had in the past and paint them onto the rocks. Each rock contains its own memory that I had and valued while growing up. When painting the rocks I did a basic outline of what I wanted to paint on the rock. The rock had its own sketch painted on to give myself a better template of what I am going to create. Then I went over the outline two to three more times to make the total image stand out more. This made the paint coat thicker and stand out more. Once I have fully finished painted my rocks and they were dry then I sprayed a clear coat so that the rocks wouldn't chip, since the rocks are such a smooth surface. This allow my piece to have a smooth finish and prevent to rocks from anything that could damage them.
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Reflection:Creating this project allowed me to reconnect to my past memories. This piece wasn't too difficult to achieve besides the fact that I needed to apply several coats of paint onto the rock. I also I to make sure I was careful when I was finished with the rock by making sure that it wouldn't chip ans scrape the paint off. Next time if I were going to do this piece I would have like to do it on a more natural rock so that I wouldn't have the problems of chipping the paint. The overall outcome of each piece went well and I think that each memory on its own rock showed more value to how connected I was to that moment. I also think that having a collection of rocks together presents a lovely scene and catches the eye of the viewer.
Critique:The "Precious Thoughts" reflects off of my inspiration of Andy Goldsworthy because I used his same concept of working with natural materials. I also chose to place the final product back out into a more naturally scenery. This is where I used the rocks that I had and used my other inspiration to paint onto them. Elspeth Mclean work is where I thought of creating a scene onto my rocks. Several of my memories on the rocks are bright and eye catching in which I was trying to include in my piece. Her work was also done neatly and precise which I incorporated. As a whole I think that my piece connect to my artist but representing the materials that I worked with as well as how the idea is displayed.
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Meaning:
The meaning of this piece "Precious Thoughts" is to connect you back to your past memories and how one remembers those moments because of how much they impacted their life. The piece is named "Precious Thoughts" because its the little moments that we remember that we then keep in the back of mind because that was a period of time that we found enjoyable. This piece specifically connects back to myself as an artists and certain memories that I have had growing up. Each rock holds a certain value to my life and how I would go do or see these moments and automatically bring instant happiness. The memories that each individual rock holds are: Peshtigo river, fairs, St. Louis, Niagara Falls, camping, star watching, Grandma's flowers, Sports, XX, XX. Each of these moments was a time where I felt content and pleased about how life is directing me. What I enjoy the most about this project is being able to continuously add more pieces to my work because as time goes by more memories will develop and stick with you.
Connecting to ACT:
1. Identify cause and effect relationships between your inspiration and your artwork.
In my piece I was inspired by Andy Goldsworthy "Pebble Broken and Scrapped" and Elspeth Mclean "Mandala Stones" in which I used similar materials to mimic Goldsworthy concepts and create bright, neat paintings like Mclean.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall approach in Andy Goldsworthy work is to create a piece that works with the nature of beauty and creating a new form out of this material to develop a piece with even more beauty.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
The overall generalization that I have made was on creating a piece that I can personal connect to since they are memories from my past childhood but also create something with an aesthetic appeal.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my research was to focus on the craftsmanship of the work and the amount of detail that goes into each memory.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
The inferences that I have made while doing my piece was the why each memory is seen individually and gives off a specific feeling as well as how they are all seen together as one piece.
In my piece I was inspired by Andy Goldsworthy "Pebble Broken and Scrapped" and Elspeth Mclean "Mandala Stones" in which I used similar materials to mimic Goldsworthy concepts and create bright, neat paintings like Mclean.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall approach in Andy Goldsworthy work is to create a piece that works with the nature of beauty and creating a new form out of this material to develop a piece with even more beauty.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
The overall generalization that I have made was on creating a piece that I can personal connect to since they are memories from my past childhood but also create something with an aesthetic appeal.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme around my research was to focus on the craftsmanship of the work and the amount of detail that goes into each memory.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
The inferences that I have made while doing my piece was the why each memory is seen individually and gives off a specific feeling as well as how they are all seen together as one piece.
Citation:
Artist/Naturalist Andy Goldsworthy. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2017. <http://www.morning-earth.org/ARTISTNATURALISTS/AN_Goldsworthy.html>.
"Mandala Stones." Elspethmclean. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2017. <https://www.elspethmclean.com/mandala-stones>.
"Mandala Stones." Elspethmclean. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2017. <https://www.elspethmclean.com/mandala-stones>.