Featured image: Old Man and His Moss, Carolyn Thome, 2021, metal print, 12 x 12 in. / 30.48 x 30.48 cm.
Carolyn Thome's artwork serves as a compelling intersection between the natural world and the artistic sphere, challenging viewers to reevaluate the boundaries between organic life and human creativity.
Carolyn Thome is an artist who specializes in metal prints depicting natural elements, emphasizing themes of growth, resilience, and the interplay between man-made and natural worlds.
Through "Evidence," "Old Man and His Moss," and "3M," Thome forges a dialogue with nature, using metal prints to capture the ephemeral beauty of ecological processes and the footprints they leave on man-made objects.
Evidence, Carolyn Thome, 2022, metal print, 24 x 24 in. / 60.96 x 60.96 cm.
In "Evidence," Thome presents a sneaker reclaimed by nature, its fabric surface sprouting with moss and the earth it has accumulated. The striking contrast between the man-made shoe and the organic matter flourishing on it speaks volumes about nature's resilience and the passage of time. The metal print technique enhances the textures, making the moss seem almost tactile, and the black background isolates the subject, suggesting a specimen under observation.
Old Man and His Moss, Carolyn Thome, 2021, metal print, 12 x 12 in. / 30.48 x 30.48 cm.
With "Old Man and His Moss," Thome continues her exploration of growth and decay. This piece, more intimate in scale, features a mushroom surrounded by a tuft of moss, invoking the image of an elder in quiet communion with nature. The metal print glows with the life of the green moss, and the mushroom's textured cap contrasts poignantly with the delicate stems around it, creating a microcosm of life's diversity.
3M, Carolyn Thome, 2021, metal print, 24 x 24 in. / 60.96 x 60.96 cm.
"3M" elevates a single mushroom on a tuft of earth, surrounded by spindly mosses that seem to bow in reverence. The simplicity of the composition belies a complex narrative about growth, individuality, and the cyclical nature of life. Thome's use of metal printing gives the scene a luminous quality, with each element sharply defined against the void, symbolizing the isolation and prominence of singular beings in a vast universe.
Carolyn Thome's metal prints are a testament to the quiet power of observation and the profound connections that can be found in the smallest corners of our environment. Each work invites contemplation, encouraging the viewer to look closer and discover the intricate relationships between the elements of our world.
Thome's art blurs the line between the natural and the artificial, asking us to consider the beauty of life in all its forms. Through her lens, we are reminded of the persistent pulse of the natural world, even in objects long discarded by humanity.
Learn more About Naturalist Gallery of Contemporary Art.
Sombrero, Carolyn Thome, 2023, metal print, 30 x 40 in. / 76.2 x 101.6 cm.
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