Suzie Barry Art 5 th period December 12, 2014

This piece was created by Christina Woodrow, and is called Cultural Harmony. From the title of this artwork you can infer that the piece would be about countries coming together and uniting. In the piece I recognize the Irish, Chinese, and American flags. I also recognize the clover, the rose, and the Peony, China’s national flower. In this piece line, shape, color, value, and space really stand out. In the artwork she used paper, watercolor, and pastels to create depth. She used shading and I am surprised because its hard to do so with pastels.

The first thing that catches my eye in the piece is the Peony because its so bright and full. There is a nice even balance, she did so by putting the Peony on one side and the clover and rose on one making it even. The proportions look very normal because they aren’t lopsided and look similar in size. Yes in the flags in the background and around the sides where its dark only in the corners and light only in the middle. My eyes follow a circular path going from the Peony to the clover to the rose. They circle kind of bring together the piece by holding the plants together showing unity between countries. The triangle in the background just makes the piece different and unique.

The symbolism in the artwork has to do with the different countries and their national flower. It shows how countries should come together and stop fighting. She probably wanted to convey the feeling of love between countries. This reminds me of America because there are tons of different ethnic groups coming together and uniting as one. Yes it relates to the start of America in AC Social Studies when all different types of people immigrate to America.

I feel this piece is a success because it is very different and unique. It also has good thought put into it and very good design and layout. I would say that it is based off of Celtic illuminations and explain to them what it is, for them to understand how this piece relates to it. This work is very unique because the use of the three flags in the background and the use of their national flowers brought it together to make it different. I feel she could've blended the pastels together more than she did but that is really all I have to tell her because her piece is very good.