Elements Series
The four elements: Earth, Fire, Water and Air live all around us everyday. As an artist, I have always been fascinated with world around us and I love exploring new ways to capture these elements around us in art. Using a variety of techniques and materials, I hope to inspire others to see the beauty of the elements around us.
Earth: The Bloom of Gaia
Mixed media piece created from ink, wood, polymer clay dried flowers, insects, moss, and textured medium
The Element of Earth is rooted in our very existence of the planet. It can be solid and gives stability to our world and allows for nature to grow in many different textures. When looking at this element as a visual piece, the idea that came to me was to create something that had all of the textures of earth; from rough to smooth to the layers created from plants over time and the creatures that find their home in the earth.
Fire: The Blaze of Hephaestus
Mixed Media piece created from ink, crackle paste, wood, burnt paper, copper, ash and metal leaf
Fire is the element that brings not only warmth and comfort but can also ravage and destroy. To create a true representation through art of the element, I first study the different ways that fire burns. From small flames inside the wood to a flurry of flames, I decided to the flames themselves out a material that reacts to fire by using different papers and copper that I hand burnt/texturized. This was to help create the movement seen when watching fire burn. As well as small details with ink, metal leaf and crackle paste to bring a live burning look. To top it off I collected ash from bonfires to bring in a bit of the remains that are left from the fire.
Water: The Bay of the Nereids
The element of Water is one of freedom, flow, and movement. Water cannot be restrained and in this piece I wanted to keep the texture of water very prevalent. I first mixed sand with acrylic medium to create the bottom of the ocean. Then with mother of pearl cut tiles I wanted to represent the elemental symbol for water (downwards triangle). Then adding real ocean creatures, seashells, and found materials to represent the real objects found in water. Finally three layers of resin were added on top of everything to make the water texture and consistency.
Air: The Breeze of Zephyrus
Out of all of the elements, Air was definitely the most difficult to create since air has the least physical objects to pull from. So I decided to look at the element as a feeling. Air is the lightest and calmest of the elements. I decided to use oil paint to create the cloudy background since it gave me the most smooth blending. From there, I decided that the three dimensional pieces needed to keep that clean peacefulness of the background and an open window to give the idea of open breezes and finally finishing it with a handmade bird’s nest and eggs to represent the creatures that make the Air their home.
Process Videos
Watch as I create each piece from scratch in these process/time-lapse videos