Something of the ordinary

Sometimes I can't help but think that the best of days are the days where nothing extraordinary happens, but the day rolls along with all the wonderful ordinary things. Having the ordinary tends to make one see and appreciate the extraordinary. Have you ever taken a simple item and thought, "how can I change this or enhance it to make it into something else?" Is this something that artists do, or is it something everyone does? I tend to believe everyone does it to some extent or another. How does one color, or stroke of a brush, or a word on paper change the whole prospect of the outcome?
As I was disgusted at all of the leaves falling in the yard, and the thought of having to rake them all off of the lawn, I took a minute to realize how each one was so beautiful in its own way. I picked up one leaf, then two, and then all of a sudden had a whole basket full. And it was so pretty with all the colors and different shapes. Now, from turning the thought around of having to rake all of these leaves, to thinking I want to pick them all up was a thought that made me smile. The basket of leaves was pretty, but they would soon dry up and I would have to throw them away.
How could I change that process, and what tools would I need to accomplish that? Having plenty of canvas boards handy from my attempts at oil painting, I decided to adhere the leaves to the canvas and surround them in oil colors that remind me of fall. Knowing the leaves would decay the way there were, I decided to dip them in Mod Podge, and that in turn would adhere them to the canvas. After that was totally dry, I brought out the oil colors of fall. The bright oranges, reds, golds and yellows. Then before the paint dried, this big old spider crawled in, so I left him there. :D
So, this ordinary leaf that I was dreading raking up, was incorporated into a piece of art that will be enjoyed. It might not be your particular choice of art, but it is a representation of metamorphosis art--turning an ordinary leaf and changing it.
Take a look around you and decide how you could change one ordinary item and make it expressive in whatever medium you like. Share with us your creations. And, if you haven't stopped down at Seranya Studios Art Boutique lately, do yourself a favor and come on in the see the work of several new artists. Some are fabulous in taking the ordinary and turning it into extraordinary.


Stay tuned.