The Cyclical Nature of Things

Artist Statement:

For this project I would like to focus on the cyclical life of a flower. I've recently developed an interest in gardening, and I've been looking into flowers that bloom at different times of year. I think it would interesting to tie this fact into my concept somehow. 

Right now, I have an image in my mind of the flower blossom giving off pollen, and as the pollen floats away in transforms through the stages of germination while in the air. 

This is one of the images I'm considering starting with...

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My Process 

Step #1: Creating the Background

To create my background, I layered a few textural images I have begun to collect for this very reason. Then I worked with blending modes and such to get an effect I like. 

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Step #2: Making My Flower

Next I manipulated the flower because I didn't want it to look like I'd just pasted a picture of the flower on to a textured background. 

          

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And then I pasted my flower onto the background I'd created and played with some filters for a bit until I got something I rather liked....

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I didn't like how the flower is just floating in midair instead of growing from something, so I decided to extend the stem using one of my other images and apply similar effects to those of the flower.

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  I added that image to my main image, played around with the hue/saturation tool on the background,
and introduced the idea of the pollen coming out of the flower.

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Step #3: Change in Direction

I began looking at images online of seed germination so I could start incorporating that idea into my image, but I wasn't satisfied with the concept. Instead, I decided to approach the issue of the rapid decline in the bumblebee populations across the globe and how they are a vital part of the flowering plant cycle. 

I wanted to capture the idea that our flowering plants would die off without the bumblebees, so I started playing with different ways to show that. 

I liked the idea of dividing the image in half to create a before-and-after effect, with the living flower on one side and dead flowers/bumblebees on the other. Here's the beginning of creating the atmosphere for that...

                    

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Step #4: Creating the Dead Flower and Bumblebees

I collected several images of wilting lilies and dead bumble bees and manipulated them in various ways.

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Then I added them into the main image and messing around with which ones to accent....

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Final Image

The above image was too dark when we had a critique in class, so I lighten up the corner and adjusted some of the colors. I also lightened the mustard color in the left side flower to connect with the tones in the dead flowers. I wanted to show that the living flowers were already being effected by the death so close to them.