Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Grab a Twig of Rosemary and... Paint!

I'm super excited to share with you an event I went to at the Mattress Factory on Saturday. It was an art lab specifically focused on using herbs in pieces of artwork; the title of the lab was called "From Herbs to Art." Imagine my excitement when I found out about this event!! So many !!!!!!.

While not quite what I thought it would be (we didn't get to wander in the herb garden on the grounds because it wasn't in bloom yet; we used herbs that were bought from the grocery store instead), I'm glad I went. It was fun to use herbs as inspiration for artwork and not just as objects in a still life, but as actual implements used to create a piece of art, to be touched and felt (and smelled!) and included as an active, participatory agent in the creative process. I also had been putting off going to this exhibit on water, the artist of whom I had the pleasure of meeting and hearing speak about her present work in Larimer. So, in addition to leaving the museum feeling refreshed from some herb-centered art play, I walked away with a honed, revamped appreciation of water.

I can't wait to experiment more with herby artwork. More layouts, more herbs, more colors, more chaos. Endless possibilities! Here's a sample of my first experiments to leaf you with. ;)

What you're looking at: a print of a rosemary twig with separated leaves on the sides, and smudging in the bottom corner that was made using sage leaves.