Detail from "Rain Dance," an original quilt by Sherrie Spangler

Friday, November 4, 2011

Zoom into abstraction

Pond at Wilkinson Farm Park, Gig Harbor, WA

When people say
"I don't get abstract art,"
I don't get it.

Abstraction can just be a different way
of looking at things!

Here's how to change real life into an abstraction by just looking closer. I took the photo of the pond, above, last week. Then I cropped it closer:


and closer:

Now it looks like abstract art -- maybe inspiration for my next art quilt.
Here's another closeup from the same spot but looking in a different direction:


Here's a leaf from the same walk at Wilkinson Farm:

 


Cropped closer:

 



Rotated and cropped in a different spot:



The old farmstead is full of holly trees:

 





Does anyone know what these mushrooms near the pond are? Dave thinks they're poisonous:



The main reason I like to wander through Wilkinson is because of the graceful arches of branches on the paths winding through one of the holly groves:




Have a colorful day

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Sherrie, WONDERFUL post...I do find that since there seems to be such a battle with abstract vs realist that I have knee-jerked reacted to abstract... I think one of the things which bugs me is the superiority thing (and that can be said for either side of this discussion). However, I do find that abstract speaks to me on different levels than realism (that is, abstract gets me on color/texture rather than comment/statement). I think partly because it sometimes seems like artists working abstractly write trumped up statements about what the piece means....

Nice post. Thanks! I hope to get back to walking myself...although I'm a bit nervous about it, and annoyed that I will have to drive somewhere to get some interesting shots...a development can only yield so much and sometimes you need a push to see different stuff to be able to see the other neat stuff in your own backyard. Lisa

ellen gets crafty said...

Beautiful photos!

Julia said...

Michael and I watched this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LemPnZn54Kw&feature=colike) last night, so seeing those first few photos reminded me of fractals. It's a little math-y, but you might like to watch some of the scenes about trees and nature.

Judy Ferguson said...

I always tell people that abstract thoughts are just like your dreams. In your dreams, anything is possible. Any color is possible, any shape or line. It doesn't have to make sense all the time. It is just your mind, playing.

Ladybug said...

Well said, Judy. Sherrie, this was a great post, especially for those who may NOT "get" astract. I sometimes think the trouble with us humans is that we seem to need to be "right" about so very many things... The world is full of differences - in seeing, expressing, experiencing - DIFFERENT ways, NOT necessarily BETTER ways. People I know who hate abstract art really mean that they would not want to live with it. Well, there is plenty of art out there that I might not want to live with, but I admire it and respect the artists who create it. And if you go with the art, let it speak to you, you may just find that it causes you to view the world, and the people in it, a bit differently. You'll be richer for it. Preachin' to the choir here, I'm sure! Thanks again, for sharing!!