Description:

In this project we were to combine something that represented each of the four elements of nature into a form that was or at least resembled a building section. I chose mechanical elements, elements that instead of being a part of each element, were something that manipulated each element.

The separate parts are a windmill, a combustion engine, a hydroelectric plant, and an earth-mover. The colors of each correspond to their respective elements, and I paid close attention to the way everything interconnected. I wanted it to seem more like a single building or machine than separate elements. I used pen and ink on top of tracing paper and prismacolor pencil on the back for the color so that it did not interfere with the sharpness of the line. I think I’d like to make another drawing like this one because it turned out well. I apologize for some of the random disconnected edges: the picture was too big to scan in its entirety, so I had to connect a few separate scans.

This shows how mechanical creations can be complex, elegant, and organic too.