Assignment 13: On Hands and Knees

Dirt, and shapes

Sara Fowler

May 08, 2024

Dear Friends,

Assignment 13: On Hands and Knees

Supplies:
–Looking Eyes
–Paper
–Mark-making tools (pencils, pens, paint, markers, etc. the works)

Instructions:

Find plants, preferably outdoors, preferably very small ones, just barely growing ones, preferably less obvious ones.

Now, on hands and knees, and possibly even on your stomach, look very closely at the plants you’ve found.

Observe them carefully. Notice what you see now that you never would have seen from standing height. Note shapes, colors, tiny tendrils, water drops, minuscule bugs.

Photograph them if you want to reference them later (I used the Moment app this morning with manual focus), or draw right out there in the field. Both methods have their benefits.

Draw what you see! Adjust your perspective! How low can you go!?

Here are a few artists (among many many many) who I enjoy & who are noticing the shapes of small growing things, then interpreting them in their work:

Liana Jegers' Newsletter

, Rosie Brand, Jesús Cisneros (I took this course of his on Domestika, brilliant), Hannah Waldron.

This morning, it happened that I collected images for this assignment in my pajamas. My pajamas now have dirt on the knees and bum, which is good. It means I was getting close enough to see the really good stuff.