Finally done!!

Phew!  My final critique for digital art class was today.  I'm pretty happy with the end result of my portfolio.  You can find my final written statement and images below.  

My photographs are an exploration of organic form and texture. Like a scientific experiment, I reduce the number of distracting variables to isolate the object, moving the viewer away from everyday associations with nature. Stripping flowers, leaves, and trees of color reveals symmetry and detail in sharper focus. By removing plants from their natural environment or simply focusing on individual plants or parts of a plant, each subject is shown simply as it is in a moment of time; identity is defined outside its usual physical or culturally conceived environment.

For a moment, then, a gerbera daisy is not defined within human language by its latin name, Gerbera jamesonii, or culturally bound as a cheerful flower well-suited to floral arrangements. A close-up image of its central florets doesn't give that much away. An image of an eye, for instance, or a lily pad may surface for a moment before the mind snaps it neatly into place as "gerbera daisy." 

A pattern is revealed as these images are observed as a collection, transforming them into a case for Darwinian natural selection. Nature has, indeed, selected more successful forms and textures that are repeated over and over in the natural world. The rough bark of an oak tree is reminiscent of the exterior of an orchid's pseudobulb, while a close up of a daisy's flower head may remind the viewer of a field of corn. By examining form and texture outside of context, common links are revealed.