Thursday, August 12, 2010

Grounded

Seeds on a cultivated Japanese maple tree caught my attention in town yesterday. So many subtle shades of pink and green. The leaves on the same tree were also rich and regal going from deep burgundy to a golden olive. The desire to work with them overcame my resistance to picking vegetation in public places.

I found the perfect spot to work in terms of colour and lack of wind... but this piece was very difficult to make. Every little tuft of the moss underneath diverted the winged seeds this way and that... still, it was such fun to try and get some sense of order out of them. They WANT to create linear patterns. It was hard to coax them into a circular formation, but once they got going, everyone fell into the rhythm and things began to take shape.

Of course the sun disappeared just before I finished, hence the rather subdued colours... but they are nice enough. I left the sculpture out overnight. I'll see what remains tomorrow... perhaps there will be some warmer light. I'll keep you posted !

2 comments:

Bonnie K said...

Even without the sunshine, the gradient spiraling of colors is still meditative.

Glad to have you back, Sally.

geni said...

It's lovely Sally!
I've never seen pink maple seeds!
geni

Welcome to the enchanted world of Environmental art and Faerie Houses sculptures created by Sally J Smith. Here you will find photos of the artist's unique art-forms and hear some of the stories from behind the scenes as she shares with you her creative process.