Under the Stairs and Under the Sea?

At first, I was rather apprehensive about the project at hand. Having a few bags of blue plastic tableware to work with--I wasn't sure that I was about to create, or in which direction I would take the project. My initial reaction was to create something representational, I'll do little mussels, and maybe some fish, I thought. The mussels worked out, and I decided to nix the fish--and go for some underwater "plant life," that didn't have any detailed representational value, but would rather have an assumed representation when placed together with the other works. It was a medium I'd never worked with, but it was interesting for me to observe my own comfort zone growing with the plastic tableware as I worked over the allotted two class periods.

When we began to put the work together, my concerns grew with the overall form, thinking that it looked a bit too much like a diorama for a science fair project. Once we began placing everything together, though, the work took its own form--and with an added lighting source, individual pieces began to complement each other in what came out to be a pretty decent seascape. After its completion, it was fun for me to see how all of the household odds-and-ends no longer were household odds-and-ends, but had become media that effectively portrayed our theme.

I was disappointed that our work had to be taken down before others were given time to view and react to it. Mostly my disappointment stemmed from the fact that we weren't given an opportunity to observe reactions of those not privy to our class's assignment and the process by which we had created it. I think the project would have been more effective if we had more time for others to view it, and more time to play with its overall form. Considering the time frame, our materials, etc., I think it turned out pretty well.