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Hannah Harrison

Jamie Franklin

Advanced Art Major

24 October 2022

The Depiction of Nature and Spirituality through Mixed Media

For my senior mastery I am researching The Depiction of Nature and Spirituality through

Mixed Media. The medium will be all diverse types of art ranging from wood to wire and even

acrylic paint. The works will be in 2-d and 3-d, but mostly 3-d. My pieces will be a mixture of

nature and spiritual, with some being intertwined to show connections between them. I can show

nature through growth and see how being in nature helps you grow spiritually. I chose this

exhibition because I have a growing love for the environment and I was always interested in how

people grow spiritually. It is important to me to understand certain connections between a

spiritual world and the environment, and hopefully I will be able to relate myself back to my

pieces. Since I am a double major, this topic will help me harmonize the two majors together. I

can grow in this topic because it will teach me about other spiritualities and how people affect

our environment. The knowledge I will gain from this will help me in life. I will be using certain

skills that I learned from Environmental Engineering to create pieces for this exhibition. These

skills may include how to use a soldering iron, attentively research. I will also be using my math

skills to calculate degrees and measurements for my work.

Humans have many emotions, we can be happy, sad, scared, worried, stressed, etc. The

best antidote to stress may be the outdoors. You must take yourself outside even if it is just to

your backyard and pay attention to the beauty around you. Everyday inconveniences make our
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stress, frustration, and anxiety rise. In overwhelming times our brain is in constant overdrive.

The best antidote to it all: nature. “Standing in the forest reminds me of my ability to cope with

challenges. Trees spend their lives rooted in one place. They flourish in the good times and find

ways to endure the stressful times, too.” —Lauren E. Oakes, ecologist, and author of In Search

of the Canary Tree. To redress your stress and maximize your time in nature you must tune in

and use all your senses. What do you hear around you? What are the smells? What can you see?

What do you feel on your skin? Observing different textures and patterns helps you focus and

relax. When you are stressed and flustered, breathe deep. Focus on an object and slowly inhale

and exhale. Of course, there are times where nature is not formidable. Mosquitoes could attack

you, or you get soaking wet from the rain. In these times you need to switch your thinkimg and

focus on the beauty you can find. It is all about perspective (Lindley).

The natural world and its cycles play a critical role in the development of a balanced and

sustainable way of life. A life that is built in harmony and a deep recognition of what is out there

in the natural world. We live in challenging times and with each day comes a new challenge. Eco

theologian Thomas Berry believes that when we activate modes of being, physical, biological,

and psychic, we can experience the sacred dimension of the Earth and the greater universe. Each

mode of awareness, our individual self, biological self, Earth self, and universe self, help to

shape our experience and relationship to Earth (Berry). There is a deep relationship between

earth and humanity and when it is not in proper alignment it may present chronic stress. Stress

occurs when environmental demands exceed our ability to adapt and cope with what is going on

around us. Global environmental crises are a chronic stressor and can result in elevated negative

emotions. We live in a state of constant stress. If the brain perceives danger, it engages the

sympathetic nervous system. Stressed individuals are most susceptible to colds, flus, diseases,
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etc. The relationship between the Earth body and the human body, as one uniquely connected

entity, has often been cited by Indigenous cultures around the globe (Carry).

There are specific points around the world, the earth churns with tangible energy at sites

known as vortices. In the 1980s, the term “vortex” was used to describe geographic energy areas.

A vortex in a sense is a cyclonic flow of energy. Earth is a giant spinning magnet due to its

molten lead core. and a moving electric charge produces an electromagnetic field—the same type

found surrounding humans, due to the nature of DNA, says biophysicist and certified energy

medicine practitioner Christina L. Ross, PhD. Medicine. “Quantum physics teaches us that there

is no difference between energy and matter,” she writes. “If Western medicine applied the

principles of modern physics, it would understand human beings are composed of information

(energy) interacting with other energy (environment) to profoundly impact our physical and

emotional health” (Ross 2019). Dubbed the earth’s root chakra and the base of our planet’s

energy system, Mount Shasta is an active but dormant volcano standing 14,200 feet high in

Northern California. The mountain is like a massive battery and full of energy. The native

Modoc people consider it to be a place of light (LOTT-SCHWARTZ).

The word “spirituality” comes from the Latin spiritus, which means “breath of life. It can

also be traced to the Greek word pneuma. In today's time spirituality is seen more as a way of

experiencing identifiable values regarding self, others, nature, life, and the cultures supreme

being. The internal aspects of spiritual well-being include: (a) sense of life purpose and ultimate

meaning; (b) oneness with nature and beauty and a sense of connectedness with others; (c)deep

concern for a commitment to something greater than self; (d) a sense of wholeness in life; (e)

strong spiritual beliefs, principles, ethics, and values; and (f) love, joy, peace, hope, and

fulfillment (Hawks, 1994). Another spiritual outcome of nature-based recreation is leisure-

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spiritual coping. This refers to how people receive help from spiritual resources during periods of

life undergoing stress. In a model of leisure-spiritual coping, connection with nature has been

identified as a leisure-spiritual coping resource (Heintzman, 2008a). “The way in which

individuals react and interpret the natural environment is a multifaceted phenomenon, and the

ways in which various individuals derive or attach meaning from various landscapes is equally

complex” (Fredrickson & Anderson, 1999, p. 35). There are many influences that would cause

one to step outside and connect with nature spiritually and physically (Heintzman).

I have been inspired to make art my entire life. Growing up with an artist as a father

makes it easy to be influenced by the artistic world. My dad has taught me many different

techniques to create art. He has been one of my influences to make art since I was a little girl.

Growing up I developed my own techniques and found inspiration from other artists as well.

Throughout highschool I really felt connected to nature and with being a double major with

Environmental Engineering, I was able to grow my passion and connection. Some artists I have

found inspiration from lately are Daniel Popper, Javier Senosiain, Lene Kilde, and Elisabeth

Louise Vigée Le Brun.

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun was a French painter born on April 16, 1755 in Paris, France

and died on March 30, 1842, Paris, France. She is one of the finest 18th-century French painters

amongst all the women artists. She was very good at portraiture. Her husband's profession kept

her from getting into the prestigious Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture. Through the

intervention of Marie Antoinette, she was admitted at the age of 28 in 1783, becoming one of

only four women members. She was then obligated to flee France in 1789 because of her

association with the queen so she traveled to Italy in 1789. In 1790 she was elected to

membership in the Accademia di San Luca, Rome. She worked in Florence, Naples, Vienna, St.
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Petersburg, and Berlin before returning to France, taking sittings from, among others, members

of the royal families of Naples, Russia, and Prussia. Also while in exile, she exhibited at the

Paris Salons. She was a part of the Rocco, Neoclassicism era (The Met editors 2021). I love how

much detail she puts into her work. She draws your attention to the little things and the more you

look the more you find. Even though I'm not the best at portraits and making my paintings very

realistic, she gives me inspiration to try and try again. She pushed the limits to get the school she

wanted and be the best person she could and it showed in her artwork.

Daniel Popper was born December 22, 1983 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Daniel

Popper is a multidisciplinary artist known globally for his larger-than-life sculptures, and

spectacular public art installations. He specializes in Interactive art, Public art , stage design,

installation art, and interior design. He creates art inspired by life and nature. He studied fine art

and was interested in still life drawing and oil painting but changed his mind when he began

working outdoors. His work deals with themes of nature and humankind’s relationship with it.

His over the top structures are visually meditative and almost transcendental in their form. He

always wants to create something out of this world that transports people out of their familiar

surroundings. The pieces he creates are often places for people to engage, connect and share

experiences, sometimes internally with themselves and sometimes with each other (Nair 2020). I

am very inspired by the way Daniel Popper incorporates nature into his pieces. I love how all of

these massive structures all have a different meaning connecting back to one topic. I have done

research with zen and nature and he takes it to a whole new level. I chose to research Daniel

Popper because nothing stops him-not rain, heat or bugs. He inspires so many people with his

works and I and many others would agree they are enjoyable.
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Javier Senosiain was born on May 5, 1948 in Mexico. He was born into a middle-class

family. He was very involved in the art community at a young age and he also takes inspiration

from simple things in nature like peanuts or animals like snakes. He is a graduate from the

National Autonomous University of Mexico, and is currently an architecture professor at the

University. Javier Sensiain is an Organic architect and he is known to be one of the first

architects to design organic architecture in Mexico (Morollo 2019). He is also the author of Bio-

Architecture. He is known for his colorful organic architecture inspired by Friedensreich

Hundertwasser. The architectural style is a reflection of the colorful Mexican art. It remodels the

aspects of the human form and organic architecture is the harmonization of humans and the

environment. I like his use of nature in his works. It really inspires me to think out of the box and

not stay with what I am comfortable with. He uses lots of different mediums and colors in his

works. For example, in his snake house and The Satellite Set he uses different colored tiles and

glass. He painted the cement in different bright colors. He uses his structures to draw your eye

and keep it wandering.

Lene Kilde was born in 1981. She is a Norwegian artist and specializes in sculpture. She

focuses on “Incomplete” sculptures to capture the playful and timid personalities of children. She

believes that body language is the purest form of communication. She creates poses and uses

cement to create the hands and feet of the children. The “incomplete” pieces invite the viewer to

use their imagination to fill in the visual gaps and illusory contours, and perhaps delve into their

own childhood memories. Curious children are depicted standing on their tippy toes and

adventurous kids are shown with confident stances. When explaining the meaning and mediums

for her pieces she includes air. I love how she incorporates air as a medium, it's a bold risk

(Taggart). Looking into this artist really inspires me to think out of the box for my pieces. Seeing
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how amazing her pieces turned out helped me realize I don't need to have my sculptures super

detailed and to leave room for imagination.

Being a 3-Dimensional artist I have gone through many difficult challenges while

creating my pieces. I also have a different set of principles than those who are 2-Dimensional

artists. 2-dimensional artists try to create the illusion of space in their work, but sculptors create

their work in space. Skophammer challenged her sixth graders to create mood by creating

roundness and depth, all using wire hangers and hosiery. The four basic techniques in creating

sculpture art are carving, casting, modeling, and assembling. Carving is a method where material

is cut or chipped away. Casting is a method where melted material is poured into a mold.

Modeling is a method where a soft material is built up and shaped; it is an additive method.

Assembling is a method where diverse kinds of materials are gathered and glued or joined

together (Skophammer). I have used different types of sculpting techniques. In my grapevine

piece I used modeling and assembling. I wrapped the chicken wire around a mannequin to create

a model and a base. I assembled many branches from trees inside on the chicken wire. I

repeatedly added the grapevine to add depth and definition.

Mary Giles is an artist that creates earthy mixed media sculptures. Giles was enlightened

and inspired when a boulder cracked open for the first time. She said, “It had not been exposed

before, had not accumulated lichen, moss, and corrosion. That idea of inside and outside became

so vibrant to me.” Most of her works are landscaped inspired sculptures, made of coiled waxed

linen, with richly textured surfaces. Giles' work is in tones of brown, black, gray, and gold (the

colors of wood, stone, water, dirt, and sunlight). Giles grew up in a family that valued nature and

its beauty. She also did basketry and that is how her art began. She took workshops and visited

Native American basket-weavers to pursue her passion furthermore. Simple vessels evolved into
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anthropomorphic sculptures and totems. Circles and ovals gave way to irregular structures,

twists, and turns. Giles uses geometric shape to show human form/ natural form. Metal to her

emerged as a “luscious material.” Giles cuts the wire (copper, brass, lead, tin, iron) into pieces

that are a couple inches long. She hammers the pieces out and torches them to bring out different

hues of colors. Giles wraps the wax and linen over the core of the structure, slowly building up

the walls. “Over time, some of these metals are going to change, and that’s fine,” she says.

“That’s part of all of our processes, nature's process, the aging process.” She keeps her mind and

hands moving. The giant boulder that once lived under the house now sits just outside her back

door reminding Giles that even a rock-solid foundation can have a different context and be seen

in a new way (Lovelace). The way Giles makes her works of art is similar to some of my pieces.

I am heavily inspired by the way she incorporates her imagination into her pieces as well as the

use of nature symbolism.

Ceramist Erin Smith has found a new direction thanks to neon. Her neon lamps consist of

curvy, colorful porcelain vases, electrical wire, tubing, or a lone lightbulb. For Smith, they

represent long- awaited success, the merging of her creative and career ambitions. Smith used

her knowledge from neon class and combination of science to create these lamps. Shestarted

adding neon to her ceramic lamps, making them as sculptural as they are functional. “During the

day, you could see the colors of the ceramic bases,” she says, “and then, at night, the neon would

take over and light up the room in all different colors.” Smith loves the complicated nature when

working with neon. You must plan out your bends so that [pieces do not break or run into one

another. Smith uses a ribbon torch on a sliding arm, controlling the flame that helps her twist the

glass she is trying to manipulate (Martin-Johnson). Her use of flow and curvature in her pieces

are like those that I use in some of my works of art. In my larger sculpture pieces, I have used
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grapevine and/or natural fiber rope to create flow and harmonization. In my piece growth, I made

sure the grapevines were flowing with each other and building shape, rather than the grapevine

being straight and making the sculpture look flat and undetailed. The natural fiber rope in the

piece was placed so the viewer would continuously look at the piece, it was not added in as one

continuous line. This source helps me explain the thought process behind continuous lines and

free flowing lines. I can use this source in my research project and developing products. I can

look at how the artists created “lines” without them really being lines.

Researching the connection between nature and spirituality has opened my eyes to new

things. My pieces are no longer going to be strictly natural or strictly spiritual. They may lean

one way more than the other, but the piece will have both topics intertwined into one. The

relationship is very complex and difficult to truly say one is strictly natural or strictly spiritual.

Rather than just creating works of art border lining the topics, I am able to really dig deep and

connect my pieces to nature, spirituality, or both. I didn't realize how much the human body is

affected by the environment around us.

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Works Cited

Lindley, Jennifer King. “Back to Nature.” Health, vol. 34, no. 5, June 2020, pp. 84–91. EBSCOhost,
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=143016788&site=eds-live

Carey, Donna, and Ellen F. Franklin. “Deepening Our Connection to Nature, Earth, and Self: Alleviate
Stress with Acutonics and the Three Treasures.” Oriental Medicine Journal, vol. 19, no. 1, Jan.
2011,pp.12–32.EBSCOhost,https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=awh&AN=7
0289146&site=eds-live.

LOTT-SCHWARTZ, HANNAH. “Find Your Flow.” Yoga Journal, no. 319, Jan. 2021, pp. 78–85.
EBSCOhost,https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=awh&AN=147632730&site
=eds-lie.

Heintzman, Paul. “Nature-Based Recreation and Spirituality: A Complex Relationship.” Leisure Sciences,

vol. 32, no. 1, Dec. 2009, pp. 72–89. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400903430897.

Future, Rethinking The. “Javier Senosiain- 15 Iconic Projects.” RTF | Rethinking The
Future,23Feb.2021,www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/design-studio/a2142-javier-senosiain-
15-iconic-projects.

Morollo, Michele Koh. “Organic House by Javier Senosiain.” Dwell, 31 Jan. 2019,
www.dwell.com/article/organic-house-javier-senosiain-070aac3d.

“Vigée Le Brun Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story,

www.theartstory.org/artist/vigee-le-brun-elisabeth-louise. Accessed 15 Oct. 2021.

“Vigée Le Brun: Woman Artist in Revolutionary France.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 23 June
2016, www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2016/vigee-le-brun.

My Modern Met. “Artist Daniel Popper Places Public Sculpture ‘Thrive’ in Fort Lauderdale.” My Modern
Met, 10 Dec. 2020, mymodernmet.com/thrive-daniel-popper.

Nair, Shraddha. “South African Artist Daniel Popper Creates Art Inspired by Life and Nature.”Starworld 10
June2020,www.stirworld.com/see-features-south-african-artist-daniel-popper-creates-art-inspired-
by-life-and-nature.

Lovelace, Joyce. “Breaking the Surface.” American Craft, vol. 74, no. 4, Aug. 2014, pp. 62–69.
EBSCOhost,https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=b9h&AN=96990888&site=eds-live.

Martin-Johnson, Destanie. “Bent Into Shape.” American Craft, vol. 77, no. 6, Dec. 2017, pp. 24–25.
EBSCOhost,https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=b9h&AN=126177687&site=eds-live
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Skophammer, Karen. “Creating Mood with Sculpture.” Arts & Activities, vol. 143, no. 4, May 2008,
pp.16–17.EBSCOhost,https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=voh&AN=31717739&site=eds-live.

Taggart, Emma. “‘Incomplete’ Sculptures Capture the Playful and Timid Personalities of Children.” My
Modern Met, 5 Feb. 2018, mymodernmet.com/figurative-sculptures-lene-kilda.

Lene Kilde - Bio, Artworks, Exhibitions and More - Artland. www.artland.com/artists/lene-kilde. Accessed
27 Oct. 2022.