June's Lesson
The Colors of
Mother Nature
Of all the artists that we know, Mother Nature is by far the most colorful. Nature's bright colors and exciting patterns have been copied by artists since the days of the cave dwellers. Today you'll meet two artists who were inspired by Mother Nature's masterpieces.
William Morris
William Morris was born in England in 1934. He was an artist who designed
wallpaper, fabric, rugs, and many other types of things that decorate a
home. All his designs have something in common. They all were inspired
by the beautiful patterns and colors in nature. Let's take a look at some
of his work.
The artwork at the top of this page is a design for wallpaper.
You can see that William Morris loved flowers. He often filled his pictures
with flower stems and leaves that twist and twirl across the design. In
this wallpaper design he added flower blossoms. Sometimes he added birds
and fruit. He used his imagination when choosing colors. Notice that many
of the leaves in these designs are colored blue.
This second design is called "Strawberry Thief". Can you guess
who the thief is? William Morris made this design after he watched little
birds creeping under fruit nets in his garden. Click
here to take a closer look.
In London, England there is a gallery of William Morris' work. If you'd like to learn more about William Morris and his art, visit his gallery. Click here.
Nancy Smith Klos
Nancy Klos is a present day artist who "paints" with colors of
yarn. The pieces of yarn are woven into a picture using a loom. This type
of art is called tapestry weaving. Her love of nature shows in her work.
She gets many of her ideas from the colors and patterns of nature. This
colorful design was inspired by the beautiful patterns on the wing of a
monarch butterfly. We usually think of a monarch as being orange, black,
and white. Look at how many different types of orange Nancy uses in her
design! That's what makes it so beautiful.
To see more of Nancy Klos' work visit her web site. You'll see how she
has turned her one-of-a-kind tapestries into greeting card art. Click here.
Craft Projects for This Lesson
Let nature be your inspiration! Make a paper quilt
using the colors and patterns you see in the great outdoors. Or, make a
design from the colors and patterns of your favorite things in nature as
you Focus on Nature.