Feathaphant

Line, it’s everywhere we go, it’s in everything we do, and it’s all around us. What defines a line? According to the web site, “www.creativeglossary.com” they say, “ Line in drawing refers to a type of mark that contains both a direction and a length. Line is an art element” (par1). Line is so much more than just a simple mark, because, it’s outline, it’s depth, it’s shape, and scale. When we look at an abstract piece of art we first follow the line of the piece to find a common meaning. I played with line and geometric shapes until I found what I was looking for and it was triangles.

I used triangles and line to create an abstract elephant out of black glass rod. The use of line is very dramatic, and the triangles create general shape of an elephant, however, they seem to be a group of triangles as well with a reference to geometry. The line or armature acts as the skeleton for the elephant.

A skeleton needs skin so I chose white feathers to represent flight, freedom, and purity as both elephants and birds are free souls in this world. The feathers are not transparent but allow light to pass through. After working on this project (with some failed attempts) I found myself looking at nature and found inspiration there. It inspired me to move from a structure of sorts to a representation of life. The elephant with its power and memory, and the bird with its elegance and freedom are true inspirations.