Doug Anderson

Mrs. Ward
September 23, 2015
Unit 2
Throughout history and across cultures, people have been concerned with conservation and
ecology. We did many studios that represented conservation and ecology such as the studio where we
printed out an aerial view of nature/landscapes and painted over it on a transparency. Mine was an
abstract painting because it only had a few colors yet you could still see the landscape i was
portraying. We did another studio where we brought often discarded items and made a piece of art
out of them. We created something out of popsicle sticks and paper clips that looked like a license
plate frame with different pieces hanging from it and a key in the middle. In an article by Olivia
Gude there is a picture of recycled images that a student created about consumer culture Spoiled
Brat by high school student Tiffany McDuffy created at Spiral Workshop 2001. (p.7, 2004) This
piece was created using only recycled materials which presses upon the theme of conservation.
This unit on conservation and ecology has taught me to look at everything nature as art. One of
the videos we watched about the billboards of nature scenes showed how sometimes people forget
that nature is so beautiful and it should always be a part of art. Nature is the easiest thing to make art
out of because it is so unique. The artist Mark Dion makes art out of anything. He created a work of
art out of dead rats and tar/oil. I think i can use the studios we did in our class a little easier than
some of Dions methods. In my elementary class I can bring in several items that are often discarded
and let the kids make something out of 3 or less of the materials. This exercise is a very good way to
let kids be creative and make something they can be proud of.
References
Gude, O. (2004). Postmodern principles: In search of a 21st century art education. Art Education,
57(1), 6-14.