03 October 2010

Mosaic project--YOU decide!

Trusted friends and unknown readers:

Over the course of the next eight weeks I will be attending a weekly art class on the creation of mosaics. The class is offered by the Art League of Alexandria through the Torpedo Factory. I've always loved mosaics and I have a lot of time on my hands since I finished school. So I figured, "What the hey? I'll take a mosaics class."

My assignment to complete before this Wednesday (6 October) is to bring in a picture of what I want to make my overall project for this class. It can be literally anything. I'm not a skilled artist by any means, of course, so it shouldn't be anything too complicated. But really, I can make whatever I want.

I've narrowed it down to two choices, quite different from one another. I like both ideas, so I thought I'd put it to you, my dear readers, for a vote. Democracy!

Idea 1: I love trees, and I think that tree roots are quite interesting. They're not the subject of art quite as often as their trees' lofty limbs, so I thought it might be cool to do a mosaic study of at least a section of a tree root system. Could be quite lovely. I did a quick Google image search for tree roots, and here's something that at least somewhat represents what I'm thinking:


It's not quite it--I would definitely set the roots in an earthy background (there'd be a lot of brown in this mosaic), and I think I'd make it clear that we're looking at roots by making a basic horizon with a strip of blue sky above the ground.

Idea 2: As most of you know, I love The Beatles. The US release of the cover of their album A Hard Day's Night differed from the UK release in that it took just four of the many images of the band members' faces and then cut them in half, showing the moppy tops of four young lads' heads. Cutting out the album title and focusing in on those iconic coiffures makes for a pretty cool image, and one that would do well in mosaic form, in my opinion:


So what do you think? Idea 1 or Idea 2? Roots or Beatles? Vote in the comments!

10 comments:

Ashley C said...

Definitely the roots for two reasons:

1) The Beatles cover is cool, but might be a bit complicated to pull off, especially with facial features and such.

2) I love the beatles, but I love trees more. I think the roots idea would look really cool.

3) (And unrelated) I also took a class from the Art League - it was great! Have a fun time!

Jalula said...

I like the root idea too.

Christina said...

I like the idea of the roots. In fact, I think it's a great idea! I do, however, I think the Beatles picture is a better choice. Why? 1. Because it is your first project and I think the monochrome will be easier to work with. 2. I think the Beatles picture is a bolder choice, especially given your already established penchant for music-themed art. 3. You can't get confused by the colors in the Beatles picture.

Stephanie said...

Beatles. Easier than the roots.

Anonymous said...

Roots.

For the sake of good taste, please, do the roots.

Leanne said...

I agree with Ashley C that The Beatles miiiiight be a little bit more complex and difficult to pull off for a novice. If you're feeling safe go roots, but if you're a little more daring go Beatles. Can't wait to see the end result!

AmandaStretch said...

I think either project would be really cool, but I'm casting my vote for The Beatles.

Anonymous said...

Why not do the Beatles' faces with roots wigs instead of their mop tops?
Bill

Jocelyn W said...

It's a stained glass mosaic?

So I vote for the tree for two reasons:
1. I like trees.
2. I've done stained glass mosaics before and it's difficult to get the pieces into the right shapes for facial features.

You could use a red/orange/brown/dark brown color scheme for the tree if you wanted more color, plus I like your idea of a blue sky in the upper half of the piece.

The Shark said...

I vote for Beatles. I personally think I'd have more fun doing that one.

And you can simplify it so it's not as complicated if you find yourself in a pickle (i.e. not quite as much detail and/or tone/gradient).