During the presentation of my Creative Display 2 on Tuesday, I learned a lot of valuable information about my project. The informal presentation setting, combined with the peer feedback, allowed me to look at my research and project from a more objective perspective, and more easily identify its strengths and weaknesses. It seems as though the audience (so far, just my classmates and instructors) is able to grasp the idea of my project fairly easily. When I presented my first Creative Display, my ideas were less articulated and I hadn’t yet chosen a specific project path to take. As a result of this, the audience was (appropriately) confused about the direction of my project, and the connection of the artistic and scientific concepts involved. Now that I have majorly fine-tuned my ideas, research, and specific project display, the audience is now able to more fully understand my purpose and thought process.

Based on feedback I received, my peers really enjoyed my artistic portrayal of the connection between the Fibonacci sequence, nature, and environmentalism. The incorporation of all of these elements into my 3D sculpture display is one of the strengths of my project so far. Other strengths of my project include the incorporation of recycled materials (another tie to my message about environmentalism), and the relatively unconventional media I am choosing to use in my display. My peers were very intrigued by the use of mirrors in my project! The social issue I am choosing to address is a very serious and relevant issue, and it seems as though my creative display will effectively engage viewers and encourage them to seek out more information. A few people commented on the “emotional depth” of my topic/project, which shows that my project is effectively engaging viewers and making them want to act upon the emotions uncovered by my sculpture. Several people were also intrigued by my creative process and the new glass-working skills I had to learn and apply to my project – because of this strong interest, I will make sure to include photos/descriptions of my process on my blog site!

One of the current weaknesses of my project is a lack of evidence of my related scientific research that went into my creative display. Even though I did a lot of research about the Fibonacci sequence, its presence in nature and its biological importance, I didn’t make this as clear as I should have. By the time I present my final project, I need to have defined this research and directly connected it to my own project. Further, I need to make a stronger connection between Ned Kahn (my artist of interest), this scientific research, and my sculpture. Lastly, I will need to have thought of a better, more thought-provoking title for my project – “The Fibonacci Phenomenon” (my current title) isn’t engaging enough.

This feedback has illuminated a few very important opportunities for the completion of this project: first, I can visually showcase some of my scientific research about the Fibonacci sequence in nature by including examples of its natural occurrence on my blog site, or as physical photos accompanying my creative display (if time permits!). I have taken many photos of this type of pattern in nature throughout the past few years, and this type of visual would be a perfect type of “evidence” that would tie together many aspects of my project. Another opportunity presented by feedback from my creative display 2, is the opportunity to encourage viewers to learn new skills (like the glass-working skills I learned during my creative process). By including the photos of my creative process and newly-acquired skills, I can interact with viewers and encourage them to pursue learning new skills too. To take the interactive component of my project even a step further, I can engage with viewers by explaining their role in making a difference in environmental health. By explaining the importance of recycling materials (I used recycled materials in my sculpture!) and avoiding unnecessary waste from entering the environment, I can hope to facilitate social action in my audience. With any opportunity also comes a certain amount of risk – by taking these steps to make my final project interactive, I am assuming that viewers will be interested in the interactive components. Also, time is running out! In order to accomplish the goals I have outlined, I will need to efficiently and effectively utilize my feedback to finalize my project.