Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Oh wind, a blowing all day long, Oh wind, that sings so loud a song!


Oh wind, a blowing all day long,
Oh wind, that sings so loud a song!

(poem excerpt taken from ‘The Wind’ by Robert Louis Stevenson)




Today I set out to my observation location: 8:30am, 70 degrees, winds 10mph.  It was as if nature was composing a song and dance through the wild grasses(see video above).  

What do I see? 

  • Wild grasses and tree branches blowing in the wind
  • Natural dirt and rock paths made way by animals traveling through life
  • Neutral color palette: greens, grays and tans.
  • Vibrant sparks of color seen in the patches of wild yellow sunflowers growing and small purple flowers budding.  (I even saw a vibrant red ladybug crawling up a wild grass stem as I took a closer look)  
  • Unique shapes made as growth occurred


What do I hear?
  • Rustling of the grass
  • A small tick, tick, tick…could this be a rattlesnake?
  • Fallen tree branches hitting a nearby fence
What do I smell?
  • Fresh Air: clean and crisp
What do I feel?
  • Prickles on the wild grass stalk as I ran my hand through the blowing grasses…which left me surprisingly itchy!

Natural Patterning, Layering and Shaping...

I noticed many things through my initial observation this morning. One of the first was how nature uses  elements and principles of design. As an interior designer I am driven from these foundational pieces: line, shape, form, color, pattern, texture, balance, contrast, harmony, etc.  As I sat an observed today, I noticed a carved pattern in the tree bark (way up high) possibly made from a bird or other animal making this their future home.


I noticed how the wild grass grows on its stalk and the unique 'left, right, left, right' pattern it upholds to keep balance on the lean stem.  


 I also noticed how each piece of nature is layered uniquely from the tree's bark to wild grass's next to each other, even flowers have multiple layers! And finally, I saw first hand how these layers are naturally pulled apart (see tree bark on left of tree) and at the same time made cohesive (see grasses blowing) via external forces ...  the wind!


Thanks for reading my first post. I look forward to learning more and seeing God’s masterful design and handiwork.


1 comment:

  1. Hi Sarah,

    I so enjoyed reading your post. Your sketches of the wild grasses "left right left right" pattern and the unique patterns on the tree bark have inspired! I look forward to reading more posts…

    best, Mary

    ReplyDelete