Posts Tagged: Akron Zoo
New Artwork: “Discarded” Lion Found Object Collage
I participated in the America SCORES Cleveland “Inspired Art” charity auction. America SCORES is a program that involves soccer, writing workshops, and community service projects for elementary school children in urban (and economically-disadvantaged) areas to improve their academics, physical fitness, and teamwork skills and feel empowered to lead their communities. You can learn more about America SCORES Cleveland here.
For the Inspired Art fundraiser, artists select a poem written by the students and use it as inspiration to create a piece of art. I chose the poem “Pollution” by the Mound Stem School CORE Boys team.
I was inspired by the parts where it talks about trash on the ground and in the ocean. I thought about all the trash I see everywhere around the neighborhood. So, I collected a bunch of trash that I found while walking my dog and used it as material to create a piece of art.
I chose a lion as the subject because I felt that it fit the edgy and defiant feel to the poem.
In “Discarded,” I combined my normal torn paper collage with pieces of plastic bottles, plastic bags, USB cables, rope, ribbon, bus passes, and even part of a Starbucks travel mug! However, I wanted the trash to blend in rather than being the emphasis, much like how I use catalogs in my regular torn paper collages. I wanted the piece primarily to look like “art,” rather than an assemblage of trash.
Because it uses a variety of materials, I created it on a gessoed wooden panel instead of my normal paper substrate. I also varnished most of the piece using Winsor & Newton Acrylic Satin Varnish to help protect them from dust and moisture. I left the plastic bag ‘mane’ unvarnished since all my tests turned out poorly! I had wanted to varnish that part as well, but I tried several different methods and varnishes and the fringes tended to clump and mat together and generally just didn’t look good.
I think “Discarded” turned out great and it was a lot of fun to take things in a slightly different direction. I’m considering expanding it into a series of pieces that are created with trash. What do you think? What animals would work well with this technique?
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New Artwork: Coyote Torn Paper Collage
I recently finished this piece, titled “The Trickster,” which depicts a coyote from the Akron Zoo. Of course, if you want to consider it a wolf, that’s fine too. The Akron Zoo has both coyotes and red wolves. Their habitats are right next to each other and they look Very similar. I even overheard one of the zoo workers telling someone that she Still can’t tell them apart!
Coyotes are actually quite interesting creatures, though they’ve got a bad reputation these days since they’ve started to migrate into suburbs and more urban areas due to territory loss. They live in family groups but frequently hunt alone. The coyote is a common character in many Native American cultures and his nature varies from a helpful teacher and creator to a greedy, reckless and arrogant villain to a clever trickster.
What does a coyote mean to you? Is he a nuisance or a harmless trickster? Have you ever encountered one? Tell me below!
New Artwork: Black and White Goat Torn Paper Collage
This cute little black and white goat lives at the Akron Zoo. They have a barnyard area there with sheep and goats that you can feed. It’s super popular with the children! The goats are always showing off and begging for food; it’s a fun exhibit to visit.
I’m considering doing a series of pieces inspired by children’s fairy tales. This guy, along with my other two goat torn paper collages, could be the “Three Billy Goats Gruff.” I could do Little Red Riding Hood, the Three Little Pigs, the Ugly Duckling. There are so many possibilities. What do you think?
If you’d like a copy of this charming fellow, you can get one in my Etsy shop, here. My other goats are also available here and here.