Little Worlds Inspired by Big Places
The Blot: Issue #4
Art Within Nature
Did you know walking through nature has been proven to boost the production of creativity by more than 20%? This should be no surprise since architects have been doing this for years by studying structures created by insects and animals to replicate designs seen in apartments, museums, and restaurants.
Bull Ants
Bull ants are found throughout Australia. Bull ants build extravagant colonies underground that can reach up to several meters. We are lucky to live in a time where technology allows us to know what ants create when they go into the ground. We can be inspired by the worlds they are creating right under our feet.
Bull Ant Aluminum Cast
2. Sociable Weavers
It’s hard to miss the fantastic nests Sociable Weavers create in the trees of South Africa. Sociable Weavers are birds that create nests from branches. What makes these birds unique are the way they design their nest on the inside. Similar to the houses we live in they divide spaces with the branches to create individual rooms. These are not your typical five bird family nests! The largest nest known is able to house 400 birds!
Sociable Weaver Nest
3. Mound Building Termites
What looks like a large rock, is actually an intricate structure sculpture by termites! These termite homes can reach up to 25 feet tall and can extend around that same length underneath the ground. These homes are created by soil, saliva, and other termite feces. The termites nest underground and only go to the upper part of the mound to make repairs. It helps that there are millions of them in one mound to work together! Since there are so many, toxic fumes can build up. Don’t worry! They know to construct an opening to serve as a ventilation system.
Artist Spotlight
ERIN SULLIVAN
Erin Sullivan is an artist that allows the viewer to see a familiar world from an ant size view. Five years ago, Covid could understandably be a nature photographer’s worst nightmare. However, Sullivan used this time to explore a new realm of nature photography; miniature nature photography she calls “The Great Indoors”. The years of working in nature has allowed Sullivan to look at the items in her house differently. Chopped and stacked cucumbers can be considered a rigid mountain an explorer has conquered climbing. Strategically placed broccoli are large trees within newly discovered woods.
Although quarantining is behind us, we can learn a few things from Sullivan to apply to our artwork today.
1. Start Playing with Your Food
We have all heard the phrase “stop playing with your food”. One of the most crucial parts of Sullivan’s work is the sense of play. We all remember as a child that we could turn a cardboard box into anything we imagined. A rocket ship, a school bus, a building, etc.. Looking at ordinary objects and telling yourself that the possibilities are endless can open a door to undiscovered creativity.
Sullivan describes mornings waking up with an idea that she isn’t sure will work but begins the process anyway. This should encourage us as artists. We tend to put immense pressure on ourselves to create the perfect art piece on our first attempt. We forget to show ourselves grace and to play around when creating. The demand to create an interesting piece, to consistently post everyday on social media in order to gain traction, and stay relevant, is what has made art feel more like a chore rather than living in the moment of creating a piece for enjoyment.
Sullivan inspires us to look at the world as our “inner child” would. We can play with our food and not feel guilty. We can create something unexpected by exploring and playing with elements in a way other than for its original purpose.
2. Creating New World’s from Familiar Places
Sullivan’s experience capturing beautiful images of nature from all around the world has made her able to use unlikely elements to build organic structures that resemble the world around us.
In one of her pieces, Sullivan created the wintery scene of a woman exploring untraced trails that are surrounded by rounded mountains. Sullivan sets the scene by using donuts with powdered sugar to portray mountains. The miniature with winter clothes and a backpack, adds a story to the image. The viewer is allowed to be in touch with their own imagination and given the opportunity to create the untold story from what they see.
What’s so captivating about her artwork is knowing that from our own experiences within nature, we have enough knowledge to make up a story that could be true. Sullivan By using powdered sugar for snow and the miniature wearing winter attire, Sullivan creates a sense of realism that is easy for the viewer to connect to a real place they might have visited before. Be intentional to add realistic elements from real places for your audience to be more engaged in the new worlds you are creating.
3. Rest in God’s Creation
God has made us in His image. He shaped, crafted, and molded each one of us, who He calls beautiful. He has graciously given us the ability to step out into His creation and create from what we see around us. By observing the world, our Father has shown us that He created us to be creative.
Something Sullivan does right is sit and rest in nature. An important process in photography begins by just observing. In her Ted Talk, she mentions that many times she wishes she didn’t have a camera in between herself and what she is trying to capture. This took away from her being able to enjoy the world around her and live in the moment.
Each of us has the opportunity to rest and sit in nature everyday. The difficult part is to observe without the distractions of the world, the worries of our lives, or what hasn’t been completed on our “to do” list. Allow your mind to rest in God and ask Him to show you what to create. Ask Him for creative direction and to give you eyes through His lens. He might just surprise you and challenge you to look at the world outside of your own perspective. Maybe a perspective from something a little different, something a little smaller, like from the eyes of an ant.
I recommend exploring Erin’s instagram and website to be inspired from both her photographs within nature and the miniature photographs inspired from those real places.
https://www.instagram.com/erinoutdoors/?hl=en
https://erinoutdoors.com
“What Can I Create From Observing the World Around Me?”
APRIL CHALLENGE
During the month of April, Instagram calls painters to participate in the Instragram #PleinAirpril campaign. Each day the artist is called to go into nature, paint what they observe, and share using the hashtag.
Not all of us artists are painters, so I have a challenge for you: find a way to incorporate the nature around you in your choice of medium! Allow yourself to soak in the creation around you. Like Sullivan, think of yourself when you were a child. Would you investigate a spider web longer? What could inspire you from a pile of leaves? When you stare at the clouds, what shapes do you make out?
Once you discover that idea, allow yourself to open doors to the endless possibilities of creating a new world that is inspired from places all around you!
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