Recently, I presented my issues to Tom about the upcoming work for senior portfolio. I explained that I felt like I had come to a dead end with my work. I was reconsidering turning to an old concept I had worked with, the themes of my childhood. We dove into a deep conversation, as he tried to guide me to find a connection between my fascination of childhood and that of nature. When we ended our conversation, Tom left me on the edge as he smiled and told me that the connection was very obvious. He prescribed to me the collection of poems, "Leaves of Grass," By Walt Whitman.
Eager to find inspiration, I went to the library and checked out the book. I've always had problems reading poetry. I can acknowledge that there is beauty in the creation and masterful language. The poems are pages and pages long, and I found myself losing interest and confused. I was looking for some deep message. I put down the book and decided to research the Internet. My excitement returned when I saw an analysis of the poems. They were described as "exalting the body and the material world. Influenced by the Transcendentalist movement,itself an offshoot of Romanticism, Whitman's poetry praises nature and the individual human's role in it."(Wikipedia) Returning to the poems, I became frustrated by not finding this message. However, I was enamored with the language he used to describe nature. Whitman writes of virgin soil and of mystic nights. I'm envious that he was able to convey his experiences with such success.
Abandoning this book, I still pondered Tom's so-called connection. As I went on to have a meeting with Paul, I began to re-think the subject matter and presentation. I walked away reconsidering every aspect of my work. I am now considering using nature as a backdrop rather than the subject. I realized there is another text that I can reference. The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett can be considered a classic novel of children's literature. I grew up reading this book frequently, as it was one of the only books in English that I owned in Thailand during my summers. As a gardner hobbyist, my mother has always sported her green thumb. I never had an interest in gardening, but now I find the elements of the plant biology fascinating. I have memories of elementary science class when we would grow lima beans in a plastic cup. The opacity of the glass gave us access to watch the roots extend. Now as an adult in college, I have always been interested in growing a vegetable and herb garden.
I believe I found the connection between my obsessiveness with my childhood and nature. I plan on constructing a garden using the mass marketing materials. I want to create something similar to a "secret garden" where I can build and interact with my work. I'm looking forward to creating something fantastical so that my interactions with the habitat will be of wonder and play.
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