Journal 26 - Reflection on Colloquium

Growing up on Sanibel has allowed me to inherit a grand appreciation for my environment and the creatures that live here. Colloquium has given me a sense of the environments fragility and the need for things to be in balance. The environment works much like a piece of marble before a sculpture carves into it. I can see nature as it is normally and how it is when humans invade. Nature is like a shell that Anne Morrow Lindberg picks up and describes  “pure, simple and unencumbered; It is like the artist’s vision before he has to discipline it into form” (Lindbergh, 1955, p.55).  It was, however, in my colloquium journey that I realized that I could use my strengths and appreciation for the environment for a better good, at the same time discovering how to make my art more personal and meaningful. “The Role of the Artist in Conservation,” Adams declared, “I believe the approach of the artist and the approach of the environmentalist are fairly close in that both are, to a rather impressive degree, concerned with the ‘affirmation of life' (Turnage, 1980, p.1). I find myself constantly painting birds, turtles, lizards and animals without any reason for it and without really thinking about it. It just comes natural for me to want to paint what I see around me. Oddly enough I am however un-attracted to and unmoved by man-made objects. I have always been drawn toward animal subjects rather than people and my art shows that. “By responding to their own surroundings, artists often incorporate a sense of place in their work. This is particularly true of Southern artists” (ogdenmuseum.org).  I found this quote on a museum website and it is relevant because it shows how much our environment can influence us. “Art doesn’t come from fancy equipment. It comes from a way of seeing the world” (Clydebutcher.com). For me, art is a way of seeing and telling the world that we need to protect nature and that nature is important.