Naturally Occuring Patterns: My AP Art Concentration

Guinea Hen
Acrylic Paint 20"X24"

Advanced Placement Art was the most difficult but also one of the most rewarding Art classes I have ever taken.  Mrs. Jill Shoffiett my teacher, guided 13 students so the we each could submit 24 pieces to the AP Board in May.  12 of those pieces are Breadth, a variety of your strongest work, and the other 12 are Concentration pieces.  It was daunting to choose a concentration to dedicate 12 pieces to; never mind the challenge of making it strong, interesting and meaningful.

My concentration focuses on naturally occurring patterns.  I have always been inspired by how repetitive colors, shapes and textures come together to create interesting prints both in nature and the man-made world.  As I created my 12 concentration pieces and dissected each pattern, I became fascinated by the intricacy of pattern in nature specifically.  I wanted to shed light on the complexity of the patterns and the vibrancy and richness of hue that nature is filled with. 

The works sprouted from my appreciation for patterns.  I began my journey by drawing man-made things that had interesting repetitive patterns.  The bike seat was purely mechanical repetition, and though it created interesting design I found that it was stark, without much room for organic expression.  Working with the mixture of natural and man-made prints in the Popcorn drawing pushed me to create more organic pieces.  I became very interested in how each kernel had a crosshatched pattern, and how the swirl of the wood grain repeated the swirls that created reflections in the plastic popcorn bag.  This piece was a turning point for me.  My third piece of the light fixture incorporated the uniform lines of man-made light, but brought a freer expression of those same shapes with the shadows on the ceiling above.  From there my concentration headed full tilt into natural patterns, and though each pattern was unique in its colors and textures, they all possessed an organic quality that I wanted to express.  As my work progressed I was able to incorporate more complicated patterns and subtle colors which strengthened the visual language of my concentration.  

Didn't want any of you to MIS my concentration this year!

  

Enjoy,

Margo Isadora

Bike Seat
Pencil 18"X24" 

Popcorn
Pencil 18"X24"

Light
Acrylic Paint 16"X22"

Bark
Acrylic Paint 13"X17"

Shell
Gauche and Colored Pencil 16"X20"

Branches and Shadows
Acrylic Paint 10"X24"

A Colorful Stump
Acrylic Paint 10"X14"

Agua
Acrylic Paint 10"X14"

Leaves
Acrylic Paint 20"X24"

Pulpo
Acrylic Paint 10"X11"

Peacock
Acrylic Paint 10"X14"