Strong, solid, brilliant, inflexible and reflective are all words used to describe metal as an element. Its mood is melancholic and serious. Metal is also a conductor and can represent bright ideas and communication. In nature, metal is associated with white, grey, silver and gold.
Although green in the daylight, the leaves on the trees at left shimmer silver in the moonlight. Their eerie look was made even more so by the presence of bats flying above me as I took photos along the Salt Marsh Trail in the minutes before dawn.
The metal images from our scavenger hunt reflect the greatest diversity of interpretations of an element yet. Despite metal’s quality of rigidity, two animals, a frog and donkey, and a human scalp were featured as subjects in our set.
An iron buoy, wrought metal, bone and flowers add to the mix. These images left me with such questions as… Which is more important, shape or color, in helping us determine what something is? At what point does yellow become gold or grey become silver? What role does white play in revealing a subject’s reflective quality?
An excellent man, like precious metal, is in every way invariable; a villain like the beams of a balance, is always varying, upwards and downwards.
~ John Locke
This montage is the last of our five elements. Tomorrow, I’ll offer a summary of our scavenger hunt.
Images in the montage were taken from submissions to a Midsummer’s Scavenger Hunt.
Um, it’s a fish. OK, a decomposing fish, so it’s kinda hard to tell . . . but a fairly fresh decomposing fish.
Good grief! Why on earth did I think it was a frog?!? Thanks for the clarification Gerry.
I thought it was a frog, too! Ha! Love the one of the head….:)
Thanks Cindy. Glad I’m not the only one who had frog on the brain. As for the head… Joan says it’s native to Canada, though I wonder if it might be an invasive species south of the border.
I have a fine example of this head right here in the house with me!
Actually, Amy, the Canadian Silverhair really is native to Canada–to Abbotsford, BC, in fact! 🙂
Thanks again for the collage and commentary. For me, I guess two things were at work, my self imposed farmer’s market constraints, and the feeling of metal as fluid and changeable in form when confronted with temperature. I liked the flow of golds and shapes in the sunflower, from cool to warm, with differing textures as metal has when heated and cooled. The petals seemed like they were stretched from heat. Oh, and by the way, I knew it was a fish! 🙂
Your comments make me want to have a closer look at that sunflower Robin. Sunflower seeds are arranged in a spiral pattern which makes them all the more interesting.
You knew it was a fish! Good for you (and Gerry!)
Umm, guess I didn’t look close enough. Just read Gerry’s words that it was a fish, and believed her! Has the collage summary come to an end? What a delightful show it’s been!
Yes, this was the last of the collages Kathy and it’s been quite a show of images. A final summary will be posted Monday morning.