LORI DUNN SCRATCHBOARD ART
promoting conservation through artistic efforts
Harmony
20 x 10
SOLD
Individual notes coming together to form pleasing sounds”. Aside from this obvious musical definition, the analogies are endless when it comes to the use of the word.
In art, harmony is created when each element, value and mark allows the viewer to visualize the final image. This was very much the case with this piece as I had to break it down into each tiny shape and value, which on their own would look like nothing, but together, created a recognizable image.
In biology the references are endless, but in this case, the individual leaves, each gleaning energy from the sun, absorb carbon dioxide and produce food energy for the tree in the form of sugar. As the tree grows it requires more leaves to sustain it. Without the individual leaves, the tree would die.
When it comes to human relationships, we can draw numerous references to how people working together help create something bigger than what they could accomplish on their own. This is especially true in neighbourhoods and communities. In the past, if a barn needed to be raised, it took many members of the village to assist. In the case of natural disasters, most of us know firsthand how people coming together to help can rectify a situation more quickly. Shared experiences can create more empathy towards one another and a sense of unity. Feelings of pride and a sense of accomplishment tighten bonds with our friends and neighbours and encourage others to join in acts of kindness. Harmony. We have lost this sense of community in many ways and for many reasons - the industrial revolution, population growth and expansion, war, social media, politics and disease. Isolationism has become normalized. The tree is dying.
It may seem a stretch to compare an artwork of a group of leaves to the human condition, but these are sometimes the thought processes that drive artists to create. As I continually seek solace and mental stability within nature, I am often musing over how intertwined we really are with it. The more we seek to understand the elements of life, the more we should seek to understand our own role in preserving a harmonious balance on earth between individuals and between man and nature.
