Last week we used folk art images to build our visual language. I am using the term visual language to describe the process by which we use images to express ourselves. We are communicating our thoughts, emotions, and aspects of ourselves through imagery. In order to do this, we must collect inspiring images that we can use for our language.
This week, search and collect images from nature. Find intricate details, textures, and colors you enjoy. This may require you walking outside and collecting objects, taking photographs, or finding images online.
Inspiration from nature can also come from a micro or macro level. Look at X-Ray plant photography, microscopic images of cells, or scanning electron images (these are black and white). Another idea may be to look at topographical maps or images from space. You may also check out professional artists that use these ideas in their work. The possibilities are endless!
After you’ve collected images that inspire you, put them together! You may decide to use tracing paper to capture and reproduce the details of a microscopic image. Another idea would be to collage these images together.
If you don’t have an idea to start with, reflect on your current state of being before you begin. Use your intuition to create a piece of artwork, adding together colors, textures, and details according to how you see fit.
After you finish, reflect on how this image relates to your current situation. How do the combination of colors, shapes, and lines express some part of you in this moment?
