Make Front Yard Flowers Last Forever with Sun Prints

It was a hot summer day during the pandemic of 2020 and I needed to escape the pressure-cooker space for refuge under commercial air-conditioning units. Any open museum would not only be my oasis, but also one to get some inspiration for making new work. 

I drove as far as the National Gallery of Art for A/C (and maybe to check out Degas’ work). 

I drove as far as the National Gallery of Art for A/C (and maybe to check out Degas’ work). I’ve recognized these famous works as far back as my brain will allow me to recall anything from art history class in college, though I have never really been interested in thoroughly investigating these period pieces. Oh, ballerinas and dancers? 

Hmm, I’ve been on a dance team once, but haven’t been a dancer or taken a class, and I don’t personally know any. 

Opera scenes? Not yet interested enough to go to one. 

I stood up against the challenge to find a way to appreciate this body of work. Without large crowds behind me, I invested the time to read each description that accompanied each painting until I was able to find a detail that would trigger something. And there I found it near the statue, “Little Dancer Aged Fourteen”, (1878 -1881). Girls as young as 6 years old often came from impoverished backgrounds to make a living as ballerinas. They helped their families make a living through performance and sometimes with sex work. Men with privilege, wealth, and lust were often present backstage behind the curtains watching and awaiting to spoil their dancers with “promises” of a new and better life and competitive edge than ever before. 

Degas had captured the sinister side of the ballet scene of Paris. I collided with emotion. All the paintings’ details suddenly hit different for me. His art had given me the chance to think deeper about the story being told. 

I discovered that sun print kits were easy fun.

I discovered that sun print kits were easy fun. My favorite post-exhibit ritual is to hit up the souvenir shop. While perusing through the galleries, I get curious about new ideas to push my own work. Amongst the shelves, I found these sun print kits as ways to make art through a little bit of science. It looked easy enough as a neat activity that didn’t require spending a lot of time. 

Throughout the following days, I’d take breaks to step out in front of the door and notice the relief of the breeze against the grassy lawn. Every blade of grass and delicate flower would bend to the will of the wind. These little (clover) weeds would show up as summer gifts to rejoice in. 

The experiment was simple. Pick up small found objects that could be flat enough to lay between a sheet of glass and the paper and wait for the sun to do its work. 

I made the summer last forever.