It took me several days to choose the poem for this project.

Finally I made my mind up, here is the winner: The Silence of Plants by the Polish poet Wislawa Szymboska. Here is the link you can follow to read the poem:

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-silence-of-plants/

So...first step done!!! ;)

I've choosen this poem because I like plants very much and I think we are living now very separated from Nature, it's like we don't care/we don't have time to think about it.

Sketches will follow!!

The Silence of Plants - image 1 - student project

The Silence of Plants - image 2 - student project

These are my annotations.

Characters: the author and plants

Objects: leaf, petal, kernel, cone, stem

Tone/mood: in the first part I felt a feelign of loneliness (a one-sided relationship). The poet try to get close to Nature but she feels her curiosity "is unrequited" and she has no name.

In the second part I feel the opposite: the poet uses words like common, together, connects, same star, same shadow, resemblance to express connection.

In the last part, everything is in contrast: question/answer, necessary/impossible, urgent/postponed.

And now...time to do some sketches.

The Silence of Plants - image 3 - student project

I decided to work on two ideas: the one with the big bold letters over a layer of leaves (like if someone is looking through the window of a greenhouse) and the one with lips and a leaf (like the silent mouth of the plants).

The Silence of Plants - image 4 - student project

The Silence of Plants - image 5 - student project

It's very difficult for me to choose between the two options, but maybe the first one is more clear and elegant. feedbacks are very welcome!

The Silence of Plants - image 6 - student project

The Silence of Plants - image 7 - student project

Ilaria Benedetti

watercolours and ink, the perfect couple

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