Last Friday, I submitted the proposals and sketches for the rain barrel collaborative project. Today, I found an article on cincinnati.com, with images of student work and quotes from me about the project! This is exciting and I look forward to having the rain barrels overtake my classroom soon and begin painting! I hope the students realize how important this conservation project is to their community! 



http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20121220/NEWS0102/312200084/Project-teaches-students-conservation-through-art

The Regional Storm Water Collaborative has called local artists and art students to add artistic value to plastic rain barrels.They and I believe this will cause more people to use them. Advanced art students are in small groups and will create a work of art on the near 4 foot tall rain barrel. These will be on display at the Go Green Garden at the Cincinnati Zoo in March and April until their annual Gala where they will be auctioned off.


Today I submitted the designs and project proposals. Please see below for information. If you would like to donate supplies to our project, please consider doing so on my Art Room Aid fundraiser page at: http://www.dickblick.com/ara/lists/2695/manage/settings/
If you would like to sponsor a specific barrel for $50, please contact me at: [email protected]

Arty on!

The theme of our rain barrel design is to show that the most effective solution to solving our issue on resource consumption lies in the beliefs and practices from cultures of the past. We used various structures throughout the painting to display our belief and fill any visual void. The lighthouse found in the midst of the water is modeled after the Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt. The lighthouse represents the ancient Egyptians’ ability to construct grand structures without major pollution to the atmosphere or destroying the land around them. How difficult would it be for us, (without new machines and technology), to maintain the natural environment around us while building structures not nearly as grand as the pyramids, Great Sphinx, or Lighthouse of Alexandria? The teepees found in the fields outside the city represent a culture which we believed to be savage and in need of extermination. Looking back we find that for thousands of years these North American tribes were able to live comfortably and happily without wasting the natural resources and land they were given. Many tribes even believed it was their duty to conserve and protect these lands. This is an idea that should be embraced by our society today. The road found in between the lighthouse and the teepees represents the road we are currently utilizing to “solve” our environmental issues. If we continue on this path we will plummet into an ocean of chaos. All the while stands the lighthouse, trying to guide us in the right direction. All we have to do is look.

Our design is a young girl and her dog going outside on a sunny day. Her umbrella is filled with rain to ‘save it for a rainy day’ similar to the purpose of a rain barrel. The young girl represents us and our youth while, her shirt incorporates the Cincinnati Zoo with a giraffe. The dog in the picture adds an animal to our design. Even though it is a domesticated dog he stands for the whole animal kingdom. This is important because in order to help save the earth animals and humans have to live in harmony. The umbrella with the water stands for conservation of resources like water and is our ‘rain barrel’. Our drawing for the rain barrel came together with asymmetric balance, a pattern, and a focal point. The pattern on our drawing are the spots on the giraffe which is on the girls tee shirt. In the process of our design we made our focal point be the girl which is jumping in puddles. As a group, the illustration reminds us of the wonderful feeling as a child to go outside and play in puddles. The illustration for our rain barrel relates to a lot of children around the world, since children generally love to go outside after a rainy day and play around in the mud and puddles. It also relates to a lot of people, since most people at some point in their childhood have gone out and played in puddles. I feel that our rain barrel is a success in the sense that it displays animals and humans playing together and that it displays the umbrella full of water which represents the rain barrel and conservation of resources like water. It is also a very original idea having incorporating many of our individual designs.

Opposites Attract was our first project together. We were in a small group which allowed for all members to participate. The process was explained to us and we completed the work at the same pace as the other groups. First, we sanded and primed the rain barrel to ensure the materials we used would adhere properly. The design was completed on the rain barrel for us to paint. Upon completion, we added a clear polyurethane to seal the plastic rain barrel. The design is completed in a realistic manner, with a contrasting abstract theme. Since the colors of the bears were contrasting we had to use our knowledge of value, which is the relative lightness and darkness. Using sculptures of the animals, we were able to apply appropriate highlights and shadows to our painting. The artwork creates a sense of love and caring since the two different bears that are in some level of danger on this planet are in it together. They both are facing problems, and one another, that cause their species harm in different ways. The polar bear is facing the threat of endangerment due to the decreasing of their habitat and food supply. The black bear poses threats from hunting and destruction of their habitat. We want to bring attention to both problems; even though their causes may be unknown we shouldn’t just ignore them. All the elements of art that is put into this design will hopefully create a positive outcome. We believe that the design will be accepted and liked among the public because of the message and awareness it sends.

The title of our rain barrel is Calm Before The Store. We created this artwork at Bethel-Tate High School in Mrs. Bierkan’s art class. As we began to sketch, we individually came
up with concepts and presented them to one another. It was in this phase that we collaboratively chose the rainforest theme. The rainforest incorporates wildlife, water conservation and “going green.” If you look closely you will notice a storm rolling in which has caught the attention of all the animals. It is here that we chose to incorporate our visual with our title. We emphasized the storm by centering it in the painting and having the animals come forward, almost as if they are warning us about the storm and calling us to action. When working on our painting, we decided to incorporate our abilities and prior knowledge in art. Then to make it feel more natural we changed the texture of the paint. Adding gloss makes the rain and slimy frog seem life like. Then the crackle paint shows the pattern on the frog. This adds more detail and depth to the barrel. By creating this rain barrel, we are hoping to motivate others to take a stand to help our planet. Not only will we be conserving water, we will visually represent the depleting forest. We hope people will see all the detail and work that was put into the barrel.

The design of our rain barrel shows the cycle that nature goes through with the seasons. The scenes change from the gentle green flowered fields of spring to the strong colors of summer, the warm shades of color that autumn invokes, to the dead and neutral tones of winter. The intensity of color tends to change with each season, a sense of rhythm being intended as each scene transitions into the next. The trees feature an implied texture, the bark appearing rough while the leaves appear as smooth as it would naturally. We used the same tree in each of the seasons, showing change while providing a sense of repetition and consistency. The tree becomes the focal point for each scene, all of them representing the season that the background is. We constructed the piece with paint. The barrel is a physical representation of the change society needs to make in order to save the planet with the barrel being the literal change. Trees and nature also remind us of child hood and innocence, which is something we wish to protect. We need to go back to that sense of cleanness and safety like the change of seasons. Our work is like a positive call to action, the natural change also shows that change can in fact happen.

We designed our rain barrel with the African savanna theme in mind. Depicting a young giraffe and its mother running through the landscape with a colossal Mount Kilimanjaro in the background, it expresses the beauty and bounty of nature in order to further induce a willingness to partake in the use of rain barrels. Through these influential means, we have helped to produce a more environmentally –oriented world and to further the conservation of our global water supply. Our project has been named Savanna in regards to its literal depiction of the African savanna. The base concept was largely formulated in hopes of producing a mosaic-styled giraffe body. However, we were forced to reduce our means to those of a simple ring of mosaic tiles around the top and bottom rims of the rain barrel. The work is meant to provide a calm, soothing feeling to the person observing it. The giraffe is meant to provide relief because this was the first giraffe born at the Cincinnati Zoo to survive, and when it did everyone was excited. The giraffe gives the image the sensation of beauty and bounty of nature and provides its observer with a desire to partake in the use of rain barrels. The fact that we were able to manipulate materials granted to our greater benefit. Ultimately, we were satisfied with the optimal completion of our rain barrel, and were excited to have participated the project.

The rain barrel is made of plastic, as well as a Solo cup. We decided that the visual and material relationship would assist in conveying our message well. We wanted to compare two items of different sizes. If Solo cups were filled up and dumped into a rain barrel, it would take 360 to fill the 45 gallon barrel. This theme is reinforced in the writing on the side of the cup, “please fill me up” has water droplets filling up the “u” similar to how a rain barrel would be filled with water. Mrs. Bierkan has given us the opportunity to create this community-based project, in which we continually improved the options available for our design through collaboration that has lead to a realistic solution and to educate others to informed choices. Working together, we will increase awareness for others to assist in reducing our environmental impact on the planet.

On my rain barrel, I will use an analogous cool color scheme with a value scale containing green, blue and dark violet. To me, the continents on a map are commonly seen with these colors. Also, these colors can realistically relate to the

location of where the rain barrel will be placed, in the Cincinnati Zoo “Go Green Garden.” On the continents, I will use small tiles of mirrors to create the shapes. These will create a sense of depth and space within the design on the rain barrel. The quote can be read at two different paces, “change the way you see,” and “the way you see change.” By placing mirrors on the rain barrel, the viewer will walk around to read the entire quote and throughout this process, will be able to see their reflection and the environment around them in the mirrors. This should be the point of self-reflexivity where the viewer asks themselves what change they are a part of and what they would like to now be a part of. The artist can portray a message, but an audience member must be the one to react to the work and decide if they will change. To be successful, we must listen to one another and be able to communicate our ideas clearly, to be understood in today’s ever growing society. Art is a deliberate recreation of a new and special reality that grows from your response to life. It cannot be copied; it must be created. I believe that through the concept of my rain barrel, change will be seen.