I decided to ultimately go in a slightly different direction than some of my proposals once I started working with my sticks and found that the idea of only doing frames was a bit boring and basic. Then, when I found a very straight and hefty pine trunk, the idea of an easel and the picture of the painter's studio transposed into nature came to me. I also became very tied to the idea of making this piece 100% biodegradable, so I could just leave it to decay back into the forest, but after a failed experiment with pine tar glue (it is not really strong enough to hold the very heavy logs of the easel) and the unfeasibility of sourcing other stronger alternatives (either due to location or cost) I unfortunatly gave up on this goal and chose hot glue whcih worked very well after carving notches into the larger logs. I also don't have a super strong justification for the flowers, but I already had the materials, and I thought, why not? I don't think it takes away from the piece, and if I wanted to stretch, I could say it juxtaposes a familiar interaction with nature with the defamiliarizing art objects.
En plein air painting (painting outside) was a revolutionary moment in the history of art and came to represent the artist's dominance and mastery of nature, and with the easel and frames, I want to show art creeping back in and dominating the artist for once. The original intent to make nature visible and create a moment with it is still there. I hope my viewers will see the piece as asking them to reconsider what the line is between art and nature, and whether or not that line is arbitrary. 
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