Compassion project for Introductory to Studio class

Date Completed 10/2/2023

Edwin Ellis

Materials: An Exacto knife, several magazines, paint, hogpoge glue, and one solitary pinecone.

When I was working on these projects the hardest part was the catchphrase. I made multiple revisions to not make my idea of coexisting with nature sound uninteresting. My first idea was ‘’Recycle the People” which was supposed to be a play on “We the people” but I quickly realized that it had nothing to do with my idea which was the co-existence of man and nature. After a couple of hours of red bull, it hit me “Build with nature not against it”. I can’t truly say how I came up with this due to the five cans of energy drinks running through my veins at the time, but I think it had something to do with the eco-friendly construction company, Southface. I used a variety of magazines to make my collages, the most helpful was a makeshift catalog of animal species made by a Girl Scout Club led by my Intro to Studio Professor. Hilariously the pinecone seeds that line the page of my second collage “The Flower City” was a last-ditch effort to add something new to my art piece. I felt that If I kept with the first idea of filling the background with paper and paint it would get creatively stale. The idea behind the collages was the betterment of construction for nature. Think of green spaces not only for man but the creatures there before him.  Also, a word of advice for any potential interviews that you might have when you make a compassion-based collage. Do a subject close to home. Why? Contacting big companies Like Coca Cola isn’t impossible but the time I had trying to do so was horrible. I truly believe that contacting the dead is easier.