Geoda
Size: 49.53cm X 63.5
Medium: watercolor and acrylic on watercolor paper
Date of Completion: April, 2018
Geoda or geode in English was heavily inspired by the beautifully organic sharp formations of crystals and the imposing Reims Cathedrals in France. This building is meant to serve as plant conservatory and was ultimately inspired by my will to re-envision the Mitchell Park Domes. This building with its religious presence is meant to praise and conserve what is often taken for granted.
Inspiration
When I first began this project I was immediately inspired by my time going to church and gawking at the beauty of the architecture and stained glass. with their relative antiquities and beautiful art, to me as a child going to church was another chance to go to a museum. However, despite my overflowing inspiration and ambition, I knew I lacked the skills to be able to recreate the type and details that I praised the gothic cathedrals and basilicas of my childhood for. This along with my tumultuous attitude towards the church, in general, made me refrain from creating solely a church.
For these reasons I delved into passions and interests, I have kept through childhood. One of these was my fascination with nature. This brought me back to my time as a child visiting the Mitchell Park Domes almost daily during the summer. It was there that a passion for learning about nature was cultivated and there where I learned about the importance of conservation. When creating Geoda I was inspired by the utility of conservatories and the grandness of the cathedrals and basilicas of my childhood to create something where nature could be praised and conserved like religion is.
For these reasons I delved into passions and interests, I have kept through childhood. One of these was my fascination with nature. This brought me back to my time as a child visiting the Mitchell Park Domes almost daily during the summer. It was there that a passion for learning about nature was cultivated and there where I learned about the importance of conservation. When creating Geoda I was inspired by the utility of conservatories and the grandness of the cathedrals and basilicas of my childhood to create something where nature could be praised and conserved like religion is.
GeodesWhen attempting to replicate the man-made beauty of cathedrals I looked back at nature. In essence, since I knew I didn't have the technical aspects to create what I desired I streamlined the essence of what makes those cathedrals so grand and what that equivalent would be in nature. I searched for inspiration in many aspects of nature around me. Geodes were something I began to collect as a child because I found the contrast of their insides fascinating when taking into account their worthless appearance outside. It was reflecting upon this aspect that I was inspired to use geodes in my design. When taking inspiration from these rocks In looked at multiple aspects from the contrast of the organically shaped outside to the geometric and sharp inside. I looked and reflected on what made them so beautiful to me and to others and tried to take note of that when beginning to design my building.
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Reims CathedralThe Reims Cathedral also referred to as the Cathedral of Notre-Dame at Reims is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in France. The church was constructed in 1211 in order to replace an earlier church from 1210 which had been destroyed by fire. The construction lasted well over 80 years with the immense amount of detail being added every year.
The Reims Cathedral was reminiscent of the memories of churches I had visited as a child. The cathedral with its grand pillars and Gothic style is what I have come to envision and associate with churches. When taking inspiration from such a beautiful complexly detailed building I attempted to isolate the aspects that I believed if the building went without would change the imposing grandeur.
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Planning
In this first sketch, I tried to incorporate basic shapes and aspects from both geodes and the Reims Cathedral. I was very attracted to the towers of the cathedral as I thought they added variety within the otherwise very uniform pattern around the cathedral. Along with the four tallest towers, I added glass panels with pointed ends around the whole building. In doing so my hope was to simplify and attempt to emulate the pointed arches on the Reims Cathedral. I believed these glass panels would not only resemble some sort of church design but the appearance of crystals in the Geode. The bricks and dome were also added to not only contrast the sharpness of the glass panels but to attempt to create a geode out of the building. In the end, I abandoned this sketch due to the complexity that would be the dome in 2 point perspective.
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In this second sketch I took the dominate shapes I observed from the Reims Cathedral, arches and created a building out of solely glass arches. The sole use of glass and then bricks at the bottom were added to create a sense of layers much like a geode. Although I greatly loved this idea I believed it to lack contrast and interest. There was too much of the same shape, unlike churches and geodes this design didn't appear to have a sense of the complexity of beauty.
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In this last and chosen sketch, I combined my favorite aspects from the two previous sketches. In this sketch, I keep the pointed end glass panels to emulate crystals but also use arches and bricks to create a visually interesting contrast. Unlike in the previous sketches where the bricks seemed a bit brute for the design here, they are able to contrast the glass material through texture and their formation. In this sketch, I also added separations along the glass sections so that they may resemble the details on churches. I believed this sketch to be the best because it was able to capture both of my inspirations in an equal and interesting manner.
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Process
Once I had a clear Idea of what my design was I began to translate it on to paper. The first thing I did was designate the horizon and vanishing points. After those were clear on my paper I began to draw the building in the same perspective as my sketch. I started this drawing from the ground up, therefore, the very first thing I drew was the brick arched. When drawing these arches it was incredibly vital to master the division of space equally and creation of arches. To do this I practiced on and off on other papers before I was confident enough to separate the space in the actual drawing. Separating the space in my drawing was not a one-time thing but most of the work for the whole piece. Other than the arches I had to divide the inside of the arches and the glass panels. It was my hope that If I had been proficient enough in dividing the spaces in the right way the arches would be easier to create.
After I had finished dividing the space for the arches, their boarders, and eventually drawing them I moved onto using those divisions to help divide the pointed glass panels and finish the. To do that I followed the same steps for the towers at the corners of the building but altered the process for the side of the building. Since I wanted the building to appear a bit irregular like a geode I divided the space on the side of the building separately from the space that belonged to the towers on the side. This separation required additional steps of finding the center, creating a "V" and then a chart in perspective to show how tall I wanted each glass panel to be. Once this was done all I needed to do was follow those same steps for the sides on the front of the building.After this was completed the building was finished but it looked like a mess.
Once I had seen how hard it was to distinguish an important line from a guideline in my drawing I decided to color it recklessly and transfer it. I used transfer paper to trace the original and transfer it onto watercolor paper. While I initially believed transferring only the actual lines of the drawing would result in a cleaner drawing and it did, the drawing itself had many divisions. This became a problem when deciding how to finish the drawing. Part of my original plan was to highlight the detail through intricate shading with sole graphite. I ultimately decided against that because I knew It would be muddied and lines would begin to get lost. It was for this reason that I chose to use watercolor and acrylic to finish off the drawing. After the drawing had been transferred I retraced it in a permanent pen and began adding washes of watercolor. The work was finished off by adding gold acrylic to the division of the panels and white highlights on some of the glass.
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Experimentation
My experimentation in this project came across through my use of watercolor. Though I adore the qualities watercolor bring to artworks I am very unfamiliar and uncomfortable with the medium. In general, I tend to prefer mediums in which it would be easier to cover up mistakes and be a bit reckless. Using watercolor and gradually adding depth through washes and controlling the water was a great lesson in discipline. Though it was a struggle I believe that in the end the watercolor really helped tie both of the concepts I had in mind together to create one cohesive piece.
Reflection
Overall I'm satisfied with the outcome of the piece. I know there to be multiple areas where my inexperience with the medium or my clumsiness is very legible. With this in mind, I thoroughly believe this piece was a great way to relearn certain techniques and disciplines. With this piece, I learned to be patient, to think carefully and in correlation before acting. Most importantly this piece for me was about creating something that might not be as elaborate as what I had envisioned but have the same effect. In the end, I believe this simplicity furthers the point of the building, letting the simplicity of nature shine, be praised, and protected.
ACT RESPONSES
1) Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your work?
The cause of my inspiration was the desire to create something for which I no longer had a purpose for which lead me to create a piece of substance which has a purpose not only to my life or others like me but universally.
2) What is the overall approach(point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall approach to my research involved studying the general aspects of objects which I thought were beautiful and pondering over how I could draw their essence into my work.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
From my research I generalize the importance of architecture in society. It serves not only a purpose but it is ultimately a testimony of the values and people who it serves.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea for my research was understanding the ways in which something can be both beautiful, useful, and simple.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
While conducting research I came to the conclusion that architecture is not a product of its time but a product of the needs,values, wants of a people at a certain time.
The cause of my inspiration was the desire to create something for which I no longer had a purpose for which lead me to create a piece of substance which has a purpose not only to my life or others like me but universally.
2) What is the overall approach(point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall approach to my research involved studying the general aspects of objects which I thought were beautiful and pondering over how I could draw their essence into my work.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
From my research I generalize the importance of architecture in society. It serves not only a purpose but it is ultimately a testimony of the values and people who it serves.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea for my research was understanding the ways in which something can be both beautiful, useful, and simple.
5) What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
While conducting research I came to the conclusion that architecture is not a product of its time but a product of the needs,values, wants of a people at a certain time.
Citations
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Reims Cathedral.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 20 Apr. 2017, www.britannica.com/topic/Reims-Cathedral.
French Moments. “French Moments.” French Moments, 11AD, frenchmoments.eu/reims-cathedral/.
Istock. “Geology.” Geology, geology.com/articles/geodes/.
French Moments. “French Moments.” French Moments, 11AD, frenchmoments.eu/reims-cathedral/.
Istock. “Geology.” Geology, geology.com/articles/geodes/.