Gregory Euclide miniature environmental dioramas
By tony leather, 1st May 2012 | Follow this author
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A strong advocate of environmentalism, he supports things as diverse as public transport and pine forests, public parks and wheat fields.
- Gregory Euclide miniature environmental dioramas
- Artistic Licence
- Genius recycling
- Excellent Environmentalism
- Innovative Imagery
- Impressive Inventiveness
Gregory Euclide miniature environmental dioramas
Born in Milwaukee, in 1964,Wisconsin born artist Gregory Euclide is to be found these days in Minneapolis, from where he exhibits his amazing art, working mostly on paper, used by him as both surface medium, exhibiting mixed-media works, paintings, and even site-specific installations, exploring his experiences, and memories, through landscapes created in art
Artistic Licence
A strong advocate of environmentalism, he supports things as diverse as public transport and pine forests, public parks and wheat fields. Gregory began using oil on canvas, as his introduction to art in high school, but found them too messy and moved to acrylics instead, He found that this medium absorbed well into paper, making the painting process n much easier.
Genius recycling
Finding that was able, also, to draw on top of the paint, he began employing diverse materials, from thread to litho tape, top make more three-dimensional representations of what he had in mind. It was this realization, that different things could be incorporated into art to make it more realistic, that led him to do the type of artwork he exhibits today.
Excellent Environmentalism
Using things taken from actual locations, such pine needles from particular forests, or grass from specific fields, he creates miniature dioramas that are both beautiful and breathtaking. Gregory tries to portray the totality of things in his creations, reasoning that a particular word for something can evoke many different strands of thought. Thus, when he begins envisioning a landscape, he will have no idea what the finished thing will look like.
He often starts by imagining the natural chaos of the outdoors, working from that, by answering the questions such as if water is present, will the landscape be marshy, and will birds be around if trees stand there? The complexity of these natural systems through which the world moves is what fascinates this artist, whose obvious and profound respect for nature, vast and unpredictable as it is, shines through in all of his work.
Innovative Imagery
He says that used to meander through fields and forests, in his childhood homes, doing all of the creative things that kids do in the huge natural playground of the great outdoors, making objects from materials that he unearthed in his travels. As a child, he had no conception of these things as artistic, but that process, gathering found objects, then transforming them into things with some meaning for him, came back to him in adulthood.
Childhood, he maintains, was pure enchantment, though the children are unaware of that fact, never really understanding what it is they are part of, though Gregory does say, that looking back, he clearly sees connections between t carefree days of childish exploration, and his adult exhilaration in the wonders of nature. He puts a lot of store by gestures, thinking about the way leaf shape might dictate how the leaf will fall, when detached from a tree. His joy in the natural world is what makes his art so appealing, his attempts at depicting nature subject to the laws that govern the natural order of things, which is exactly how he wants it.
Impressive Inventiveness
Awarded two Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grants, in the past as well as a Jerome Foundation Residency, via the Blacklock Nature Sanctuary, Gregory teaches high school art, in South Minneapolis , in these hectic days, as well as and creating new art works in his studio, which is always busy. He is a remarkable artist, giving environmental art a real boost, with his imaginative talent, and obvious passion for the natural world.
Comments
2nd May 2012 (#)
Wow those are stunning works of art. I had not heard of Greg Euclide, thanks for showing off his talents
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2nd May 2012 (#)
I try to find artists that are not exactly mainstream. Thanks Mark.
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