A Bit of Wonder

There is something wonderful about the natural world. I believe that all people have the ability to experience this wonder. As an artist, and as of recently, an artist educator, I know that this wonder is something people have long tried to capture through the creation of art. There are no bounds to this attempt to capture wonder. From the earliest drawings, to the most contemporary art, humans have been engrossed with bringing natural wonder to a place closer to home. Our project with the 7th graders at Mound STEM School is another attempt at bringing the natural world into a stable and controlled environment, to enhance their space, and to constantly exude some of the wonder that the outside world does. The students are creating ever changing man-made clouds. Through research, illusion, and of course, artistic creation, the students will pull visual elements directly from nature, and employ them in a large scale installation that will seemingly float, ever illuminated, in the lofty spaces at Mound. We hope that, and as it seems so far they are, the students will experience wonder not only in the final installation of these objects, but in the creation process. Whether this wonder comes from the “magic” of electrical circuits, or from re-purposing stuffing and medical gauze to create natural looking forms, the entirety of the project will give insight into how a little bit of creative thinking and hard collaborative work can transform a space into something wondrous.