Winter’s Transition

                        Winters in Ohio are long and typically harsh. At first I welcome winter and look forward to the change in weather and the beauty that comes with everything being covered in white. However, by the end of February I’m anticipating spring and its struggle to break through. This series of brooches commemorates this transition between these two seasons in Ohio.

            The work titled “February 21st” starts off the series with a sidewalk in winter that has been shoveled. This piece is meant to pay homage to the experience of winter with the wet, snowy sidewalk and the cold that comes with it. “March 5th to May 5th” is the middle piece in the series. March is the time period when spring first starts to make its appearance in Ohio. I have decided to represent this time period with a work that shows the transition of winter to spring through a tree. At the bottom of the brooch the tree is barren and surrounded by a snow covered ground. As one ascends the tree new growth appears. “May 15th“is a close up view of the center of a tulip. Tulips are one of the first flowers that emerge in spring and by mid-May they are flourishing gardens all over Ohio. I have always thought of them as a sign that spring is finally here.

            These works are meant to correspond with the time of the year for which they are named. They are meant to evoke the same feelings one would get from that time of year. The use of colors has helped me achieve this. The colors used in “February 21st” are greys and whites and are rather dreary in comparison to the other pieces, much like the bleakness of winter compared to the emotional lift that comes with spring’s arrival. “March 5th to May 5th” begins as winter at the bottom, drab and void of color, and ends with the bright blues and greens of spring. “May 15th” is saturated with color. The pinks are cheery and the greens are vivid, a lot like the mood spring awakens in people.

            The works are illustrative yet abstracted by the segmented nature of the design. The two pieces that represent seasons are segmented with circles and the piece that depicts the transition is segmented with rectangles to differentiate it from the seasons. The segments break up the composition and force the viewer’s mind to complete the images with implied lines. Circles and rectangles are standard, simple shapes that won’t distract from the image within them.

I decided to execute this idea using cloisonné because of the layering used in enameling and the hard graphic line the cloisions make. You are able to get a very graphic look as well as accomplish values. The layering of cloisonné aided me in achieving both aspects in the final products.