Object # 1 Holy Impressions
During these crazy times, I have found peace while being outside and working in the garden. Getting more and more into gardening, I became more obsessive about composting and recycling. Out of this idea, I began to wonder about a visual, tangible way to portray the impact our footprint creates on the Earth. Immediately my mind wandered to caterpillars and bugs consuming plants, and to a gardener, that can be very frustrating because they are eating your produce. Then that idea escalated to humanity's pesky impact on the Earth and how we continuously chomp away without regard, thus the hole in the leaves. The gold and silver thread is symbolic of the connections and environmental impacts, such as plastic pollution. The bottom line, everything we waste or disregard intertwines and leads to a cause and reaction. This was also a test of the resilience or resilience of nature. After a week, the leaves seemed to stay put and firm, but the leaves' colors were less vibrant, which inevitably means they are dying. It will be interesting to see the progression of deterioration. Hole punching the leaves was very ritualistic because I became more conscious of the waste in my life and how I can better serve the world, which God has graciously provided us.
Objects # 2 Leaving Circles
Remember the holes in the leaves? As the leftover leaves floated down the tree, I then realized I could use these remains to convey some ineffective waste management. Human nature is innately fallen, so it is natural for us to get things wrong. So many Christians I have encountered have shown little to no interest in protecting and nurturing the Earth in which God has bestowed upon humans. This remaining cluster of circles represents the build-up of our waste. If I were to continue the methodical process of hole-punching leaves, the cluster of circles would grow to be a large mass. In my mind, I found this object to be a great representation of how our waste builds up and eventually rots the surrounding environment.
Object # 3 Blueberry & Raspberry Twist
Just as I was about to compost some turning fruit in our fridge, I saw a smear of blue juice oozing out of the blueberry, and these colors would be a cool smashed. So I brought over my creative neighbor, and I announced that today's project was smashing fruit onto paper. Each of us had our piece of paper and was placed the fruit on the paper. Then we went crazy and started smashing, stomping, jumping, and even dancing. It felt so weird, but it brought a lot of happiness. After letting the fruit dry on the paper, we noticed that the fruit binged to the paper.
Object #4
That same day we went scavenging around the yard to find another project. Then I saw some branches that had been pushed aside. There I saw the shadows which the thin branches left behind. A light bulb went off, and I wondered what of the reverse of those shadows would reveal. We got out some recycled Trader Joes bag, put the paper down, and tapped the twigs down. With a few quick strokes of black paint and impressions were left around the branches. The object is symbolic of the reverse patterns of the world we oftentimes don't see.
Object # 5 Veins
Lastly, I wanted to find a way to convey our human connection to the Earth. Goofing around with my artistic neighbor, I thought about body paint and grasping for the vines (another section of the same vine which I hole-punched). This final object is a visual representation of those who feel connected and strive to maintain the green in our world. What is so fascinating about this piece is the interpretations/perspectives of my family and friend: a snake in its natural habit, another branch of nature, and the gift which God has given us to be good stewards of the world and help maintain the green Earth, etc.
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