The Sea - By: Briana Blye

Deep cold seas,
of oceans so blue,
warm, chilling sands,
differences so true.

Gulls flock around, bread is thrown,
when i hear the waves,
i fell as though my feet don't touch the ground.

A life of mystery,
some still unknown,
flattened, smooth rocks,
being thrown.

Hot driftwood fires,
millions of kite fliers,
where my heart is free,
on the beach, you and me.

Other Nature Literature

To Nature
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
(1634-1693)

Song
by Amy Lowell
(1874-1925)

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
by Bill Bryson
Published December 26th 2006 by Anchor (first published 1997)

The Control of Nature
by John McPhee
Published September 1st 1990 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (first published 1989)

Nature's Chaos
by James Gleick

AUTUMN
by: George Sterling (1869-1926)

THE PRAISE OF SPRING
by: Gonzalo de Berceo (1180-1246)

Nature Excerpts

The Carter Family
“Wildwood Flower”

I will twine mid my ringlets of raven black hair
the lilies so pale and the roses so fair
and the myrtle so bright with an emerald hue
the pale amaryllis and violets so blue
I will dance I will sing and my laugh will be gay.

Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Nature"

The stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are inaccessible; but all natural objects make a kindred impression, when the mind is open to their influence. Nature never wears a mean appearance. Neither does the wisest man extort her secret, and lose his curiosity by finding out all her perfection. Nature never became a toy to a wise spirit. The flowers, the animals, the mountains, reflected the wisdom of his best hour, as much as they had delighted the simplicity of his childhood.


Patience Taught by Nature
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
"And still the generations of the birds
Sing through our sighing, and the flocks and herds
Serenely live while we are keeping strife
With Heaven's true purpose in us, as a knife
Against which we may struggle! Ocean girds
Unslackened the dry land, savannah-swards
Unweary sweep, hills watch unworn, and rife
Meek leaves drop year]y from the forest-trees
To show, above, the unwasted stars that pass."

Into The Wild
Directed by: Sean Penn
"In 1990, Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), a college graduate from Emory University, rejects a materialist and conventional life. He destroys all of his credit cards and identification documents, donates nearly his entire savings of $24,000 to Oxfam, and sets out on a cross-country drive in his well-used, but reliable Datsun to experience life in the wilderness."

Dialogue Poem

The water was flowing,
near the river, a beautiful tree growing,
holding onto as bumpy rock,
the sun beating down was oh so hot.

Above the water i stood,
pull her to me, i know i should,
she enjoyed the cooling splashes,
of water jumping in tiny patches.

His laughter filled the air,
hanging around without a care,
summer was in our hands,
the ground was rocky, without sand.

The calling bird sings it rhyme,
but it doesn't fit int his part of time,
i don't think it could ever be,
with a sound as sweet as you are to me.

The water was shimmering blue,
as if it were only brand new,
maybe someday we'd come back to this place,
and I'd reminisce about your young face.

SHORT STORY

DUE:
April 27th, 2011



The sky was dark with just a bit of blue light shimmering across the water. There were stars only beginning to shine their gentle glow upon the sandy beach where I stood. The sand was crunching through my toes and it stung across my legs as the cooling breeze blew across the flat landscape. The lantern was warm in my hands and let just enough light out to see the edge of the waves flowing ashore. I missed home like a mother would miss her new born if it were taken away. That's how I'd describe this feeling. I felt like home was ripped from the palm of my hands; like it fell through my fingers like the rocky sand on this new beach. The sounds of the gulls was calming just like the ebb and flow of the water, but it was nothing like laying around in the soft grass, just laughing with your friends. For a country girl like me, it wasn't even close to being the same.
My home was Chattanooga, Tennessee and don't forget to really let the WAS soak in. This new home is called Old Orchard Beach, Maine and let me tell you, I was not a big fan. Although I had just moved in, I already wanted to take the first transportation out. It was so bad, I would fly if I had too, and I hate planes. My family seemed to really enjoy it. They would spend all day on the beach while I walked the board walk to look for people to make new friends with. Everyone seemed like they were either really young or teenagers which fit perfectly with me, seeing how I'm seventeen. The only good thing I found about this place was that they had a huge amusement park down the street from where I now lived and there were so many stores, finding a job wouldn't be so bad.
As I walked through the amusement park, licking my vanilla soft serve, a young guy approached me. "Hey" he said, grinning with his pearly white teeth. "Uh hey." I replied from him startling me. "I heard you're new here. Everyone's been talking about it." I looked at him with surprised eyes, "Really? That's odd, seeing how I just moved in last week." He smiled, "Well, there's a lot of kids around here in this small area, don't be so shocked." I laughed, "Haha, oh well. I'm Lorin." "I'm Jake, it's nice to meet you." I could feel that awkward moment coming on and I was praying he wouldn't ask me to hang out with him. "Cute accent." He said, sticking his tongue out. "Oh thanks, I guess." I said with a smile. He looked away and then looked back again, "Well, a couple of my friends and I are going on some rides if you want to join. It would be fun." I didn't know what to say as I stared for a second, "Hum, sure. Let me just throw this thing away."
It turns out, carnival rides are totally my thing, although I almost ended up with my head in a trash can for the rest of the night. Jake's friends left earlier and I was kind of glad because they were extremely annoying, in my opinion. "Well, I should probably get going soon. My parent's will freak." I said. Jakes eyes narrowed and he suddenly blurted out, "I'll walk you home." I hid my smile behind the sleeve of my Boston Bruins sweatshirt I got from an old friend from Massachusetts, "Haha, sure sounds good." We started walking down the street and I began to get the feeling Jake was going to be a really good friend of mine. Well I mean, he is like my only friend here, other than his friends that I just met like an hour ago. "So did you have fun tonight?" He asked with a nudge. I shrugged, "It was alright I guess." Jakes smile blurred to a frown, "Oh okay." I couldn't believe he took me seriously, "Of course I had fun! I'm glad we met." He smiled, "Me too. That's why I decided to talk to you." I stared at our feet, noticing they were both moving at the same time. Left, right, left, right. I looked up at the sound of a car horn. "Oh, that's my street right there." I staggered. Jake laughed, "Sea Shell Road?" I shot him a dirty look, "Got a problem?" "Oh of course not, it just fits to well and you just don't." I could see him looking at me from the corner of my eye. "Is that a bad thing?" I questioned his statement. "Not at all. You just seem so out of place here." I had to agree with him. Living by the ocean didn't seem all that great. It was going to get boring quick and I knew that for a fact. We walked to my house, number 24. "Well thanks for introducing me to people and stuff. It gave me something to do." He smiled at me, "Anytime, you're really fun. Want to hangout again soon?" I had this weird feeling inside, like this whole thing was supposed to happen. Like this whole meeting Jake process would change my entire life. I nodded, "Yes, I'd love too." "Alright sweet, so I'll see you soon." He gave me a quick hug and turned around to leave. "See you later." I said with a smile. He turned around and winked, "Maybe, new girl."

Classwork 4-15-11

This is another piece of Vincent Van Gogh’s artwork. There are also a few ribbon patterns that run through this image. One of these patterns in seen through the left side of the boat that is coming ashore. On the left pole coming from the boat, the ribbon line flows down at an angle and goes right into one of the people standing on the land. Another ribbon line Is in the center of the boat where the pole goes straight down and leads into the person on shore. Ribbon art can be found in many different paintings, some may be on purpose while others are accidental.

Classwork 4-15-11

This image by Vincent Van Gogh describes the ribbon pattern that we have examined in class. The beginning of the boat closest to us is a line in which flows from the front of the boat and towards the back of the boat. This line extends and follows the pattern to the tree and then flows up the trunk. Another area where the ribbon pattern is shown is one of the lanterns which then flows up the side of the bridge. This shows an example of how Van Gogh’s work follows the ribbon pattern.

Image for Short Story

Critique # 2 (:

This painting exemplifies the personality that Autumn brings into life for many people such as the ones living in New England. Autumn or fall, as some may call it, is the season shown in the painting. This season causes the leaves to change their color which creates a beautiful blend and also shows that it contains distinct differences than the other seasons. The hue of the colors in the painting are very eye catching along with other aspects. In the painting, Autumn Landscape by Benjamin Champney, the beauty of the nature in our world is shown through gentle harmony and dramatic chiaroscuro to portray how autumn is able to transform itself from the warmest season to a darker, more cool one.

One of the first major pieces the painting represented is the gentle harmony throughout the landscape. The harmony can be expressed in many parts and figures of the image. Harmony is shown through the delicate sun as it is just beginning to brush it's light over the trees. The vivid colors of the freshly altered leaves bring out the sense that although the life of the leaves is ending, it will begin again when spring shows it's first sign. The pathway leading to the back of the woods gives the emotion of peace and adventure. The color of the sky is expressive seeing how it can give the impression that the weather may still have a warm touch to it throughout it's period of change.

The final major aspect the painting expresses is the dramatic chiaroscuro. Chiaroscuro is divided throughout the image mostly between the trees and the ground below them. The sun plays a distinctive role when wanting to create this affect in the painting. Since the sun is painted as though it is shining from the left side of the painting, this generates the chiaroscuro. It is also shown when the focus is more deeper into the back of the forest. Less sunlight is being excepted into the brush which causes it to appear darker.

Sculpture and Painting

Owl's Head Penobscot Bay Maine 1862 Artist: Fitz Hugh Lane

Artists: Sandy James Gordon James.

A gentle waterfall in the forest ; critique one.

The gentle waterfall in the forest can be seen as showing a sense of peace among the land. It can bring happiness and can make someone feel a sense of relief. The photographer of the image tries to capture the attention of people as the sun is used to radiate the color of the waterfall. The trees and shrubs create a reflection in the water which makes it seem as though the plants are on both the land and the water. In the image of the waterfall in the forest, the photographer focuses on the color and scenery in order to express the emotional aspects in the examiners mind.

One of the first major aspects used in the image is the color. The color is used through the expression of the green tree's and shrubs reflecting in the water. The sun plays a huge role in the image when it gleams down on the water falling from the smooth mountain. The gleaming sun makes the water seem as though it is a glowing blue and white color. This can be seen as the focal point because it pulls the examiners eyes toward it.

Another aspect used in the image is allegory. The plants and water are characterized as allegory because they are symbolic in their own ways. Starting out with the water, it creates a generally happy feeling. It gives off a magical sensation with the way the water sparkles down the river. Second comes the plants and shrubs growing along the mountain side. The plants spread the emotion of happiness and excitement because they are very green and lively. They give off the sense of living a very healthy life which goes along with peacefulness.

Not only is color and allegory shown but movement and texture is also. The movement in the picture is seen in the image by the water flowing down stream. The water is being pushed by the waterfall which has gathered water from a higher source. Even though the examiner cannot actually feel the texture of the objects in the image, they can at least have a sense of what they would feel like. The waterfall pushing the water down stream seems to be smoothly moving and shows that the water would have a smooth texture. The plants growing around the waters edge would have a more moist and rough texture depending on the type of plant it is.

Lastly, the last aspect shown is rhythm. Rhythm is movement that is characterized by recurrence of a strong or weak element. The rhythm is seen in the image of the waterfall in the forest when the water falling off the mountain is splashing into the river at the bottom. More and more little water droplets are forming as each one collides against the smooth surface of the water, creating a  ripple affect. The second aspect shown as having a rhythm is the plants. Since some of the plants are dangling in the water from both sides of the river, they could be moving along stream with the water. The peacefulness and happiness is expressed through the aspects of color, allegory, movement, texture and rhythm.

My Concept

The concept I chose is Beauty of Nature. I decided on this concept because I find nature to have a very positive impact in the way people view the world. Nature is a very interesting part of life seeing how the plants can change their colors and textures throughout the seasons. Nature brings many emotional aspects to the lives of people and it is a great feature. Nature can be seen as one of the wonders of the world because some do not understand why things happen the way they do. I believe nature is beautiful and I would enjoy describing it's details through images.