My Mini-Installation

       I sought to make an environment similar to the experience that I had over my last journey to Arizona. I wanted to make an installation piece that was 'safe' for students, but once they peeked into the vessel, they were transformed into an environment whereas their eyes drifting subtly drifts into a downward spiral of flight. I wanted to create an environment that made me feel as I did when I was in Arizona visiting the magnificent, but yet dangerous peaks. I knew that as I ventured close to the edge that I too world possibly be casted aside with a slight push of the wind down the tumultuous Cliffside. Through the creation of this piece, I feel a swirl of butterflies and anxiety as my eyes glance down the tunnel into the ever abyss that the mirrors had given an allusion to be.

        My creation consisted of a multi-tiered Plexiglas sculptural piece inside of a planter. I opted to keep the planter its normal neutral color and paint the inside of the vessel a metallic silver color to further bring out the mystical experience that the mirrors reflect and create. The piece is made up of over five hundred broken pieces of mirrors. I wanted to use mirrors because I always find it an adventure to set up and explore different venues of an art piece with mirrors. As we know, mirrors reflect the objects surrounding it. I tried setting up my piece inside, outside, with bright lights, and in the darkness. Every single location created a very different environment within my miniature piece. However, regardless of the location, the feeling of looking over the edge of the cliff continued to loom.  

         I explored playing various music off of my iPhone at the pottery vessel occupied the 'developing' art sanctuary outside of my classroom. Throughout the latter half of the week, I kept finding students occupying their recess time by looking into the vessel, and some of my fifth graders even holding a conversation about what they thought it was. I wish that I was allowed to submit photographs of my students, but picture a half dozen students circled around a two foot radius of a circle where each child is edging themselves to have the best view of the vessel while attempting to guess where it came from, who made it, were they going to get to do something like this, what is it, and what does it mean? I found my students to be a lot more creative with their understanding, interpretation, and appreciation than the grown adults. One parent went as far as to think that it was an outdoor table.