An Impression of Easter Island in My Collage for LMAC #146
Sometimes, when I'm trying to go to sleep at night (it does not always come quickly) I turn on a YouTube video about something, or someplace, interesting. Usually sleep comes quickly then.
Easter Island was featured in one of the videos recently, so when I saw @shaka's template photo, it was natural for me to think of this scene.
@shaka's Template Photo
The most recognizable artifacts from Easter Island are the gigantic Moai statues. I have represented these (approximately) in my collage.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, there are 1000 Moai statues on the island. All are megaliths, carved from volcanic rock. The rock came from the Rano Raraku volcano, and was carved into statues with the use only of stone implements as tools.
The statues weigh an average of 14 tons, and average 13 feet in height. There is a lot of speculation about why the statues were built. Most experts theorize that each statue represents a powerful chief.
Moais on Easter Island
Credit: Aurbina. Public domain
The first European to set foot on the island was a Dutch seaman, Jacob Rogeveen. He saw it on Easter Sunday, so he decided to call it Easter Island. However the first people to discover the land and settle it were Polynesian. These were seafaring people, who navigated thousands of miles by observing the stars, wave direction, and by observing landmarks.
Modern Replica of Polynesian Double Hulled Canoe
Credit:HongKongHuey Used under CC 2.0 license.
Knowledge of the sea was a skill passed down through generations. Such was the skill of the Polynesians, that it is believed their explorations took them to the shores of South America. DNA analysis has shown that there was contact between Polynesians and native Americans.
As is true of virtually all indigenous cultures that had contact with Europeans, the population of Easter Island, the Rapa Nuiwas eventually decimated by the association. At one point there were approximately only 110 indigenous people left on the island. Indigenous flora and fauna also suffered as a result of European contact.
I did some reading about the kinds of plants and animals that might be found on the island today. There are turtles and lobsters, a variety of birds (yes, herons, as in my picture) and a lot of grasses. There are not a lot of trees. There are, remarkably, no snakes. One of my early renditions of the collage featured snakes. That collage was discarded when I realized my error. Plus, the collage was a mess.
You can see I had a lot of trouble with this collage :) The rooster had to go also. There are roosters on Easter Island, but this one just didn't fit. (The snake was courtesy of @seckorama on LIL and the rooster courtesy of serhottest on LIL). There is a heron, borrowed from @redheadpei on LIL, in the background of this collage. The heron also didn't make it into the final.
I began by separating the cliff in @shaka's template into sections:
I found some Moai statues on Pixabay, authored by
Hugo-Leroy and antoinese0. With great difficulty I blended the heads of the statues onto the pieces of cliff.
I played around with the template. Separated the sand. Added water, from @muelli on LIL, and a turtle I had contributed to LIL some time ago.
You'll recognize the double-hulled canoes. I couldn't find one with a sail, so I just drew that in. This image came from Pixabay. Thank you seguir. The herons and grass (sedge is found on Easter Island) were also from Pixabay. Thank you james demers.
You'll notice the odd texture in the background and in the statues. I ran the image at several stages through different GIMP filters, including Emboss and Neon. Eventually I got the effect I was going for, though I'm not sure how ;))
LMAC runs a contest every week, starting on Thursday. So, tomorrow a new round starts. The contest ends on Monday night. Wednesday, today, the winners are announced. You can check out the winning collages on the LMAC blog. I don't compete in the contest because I'm on the jury, but I make a collage just about every week. It's great fun and a challenge. The announcement for this week's contest was here.
LIL, the LMAC Image Gallery, has become an intrinsic part of the LMAC community. Anyone on Hive may borrow from the library (as I did today) and anyone may contribute to the gallery (as I do regularly). Instructions may be found here.
Thank you for reading my blog. I wish everyone a peaceful, productive week.
this one is really creative! the chicken was hillarious haha
i love chikens as pets
Hello @malos10. My grandmother used to keep chickens. She ran a farm with my grandfather, so that was natural for them. I would love to have a few chickens but I don't think there will be room for them in my yard :))
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
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I watch comedy, really. I understand that I’m vacuous. 😂 Haha 😆
Love this idea 💕🥰🤗🙃
Hello my friend, @itsostylish,
So nice of you to stop by.
You are not vacuous. I'm afraid I've been a nerd my whole life :))
Nerds are good. I’m nerdy too ❤️
Very interesting display and I really like the articles you share
Thank you! I love to learn and to share what I learn. Every time I write a blog with information, it's new to me also. That's what makes it fun.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
You're welcome, I'm also happy to be able to visit and see posts as good as the ones shown.
It seems this one was a piece of work 😂
I've read about the statues once before. Although oddly I can't seem to recall what I've read about them 😂
This was very informative, Thanks for sharing 🤗
Hello @seki1,
You are right. This one simply would not come together. I probably should have chucked the concept and started over, but I'm stubborn. I wanted to work with those statues.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
😂😂no problem, your collages are always a delight
Greetings agmoore, very good idea to create moai with the background image, I really liked the documentary, one head for each king means that they spent almost 2000 years making moai generation after generation. It's funny that they didn't have a snake in the whole island : )
Hello @innfauno12. Thank you for lioking my concept. It's more fun for me when I write about ideas, I think because I'm not so much an artist as someone who enjoys creating art. LMAC makes room for all of us.
I appreciate that you stopped by and commented.
I thought it was cool also that there were no snakes.
Thank you, @cuddlekitten !
Interesting stuff. I always thought they were called eastern Island heads but with the history you gave, I can never forget. Your work was also interesting. I'd like to learn how to build a collage...seems fun
Thank you for stopping by, @ebingo. You don't have to learn how to build a collage. Just do it. My first collage was so simple and unsophisticated. Mine are still unsophisticated, but I love it. And skills do improve with time. It offers us another way of looking at information, and really does open up perspective.
Thanks so much for stopping by. I really appreciate it.
You are welcome. I will check out more collages and see iff I can try my hand out with some.
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You fall asleep from watching interesting places?! 😄
Your collage made me realize that Easter Island heads look like thumbs!
You mean viruses or wars?
It doesn't work unless I'm interested in the content. I need something to drive those other thoughts (the ones that keep me awake) from my head. 😄
According to an article in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette (citing scholars) the population was decimated by:
"Disease that was introduced and slavery that brought people off the island"
Hello @alexanderalexis. Very nice to see you here. I hope you are well.🌺
Very interesting history of Easter Island that you share through your collage. That each creation tells a story is what I intend when I make them each week. It's not about placing images randomly, it's about going a little deeper and imagining a situation (real or fictitious) or reflecting something that existed. That gives credibility to what you do. I loved the journey you took us on through the story. @agmoore.
I apologize for the translation, but it's the only way I have to communicate.
Hello @evagavilan2,
Thank you for visiting and for your comment. I share your interest in making a collage that is more than just an arrangement of beautiful elements. I like the picture to mean something, to tell a story of some kind. I guess that's my background in history coming out :)
Please do not apologize for your translation. I studied Spanish and German rather thoroughly and yet never have the courage to write in those languages. You do a great job with your translation. Quite smooth and clear. I really appreciate the effort. But, if you ever want to answer or comment to me in Spanish, that's fine. I love the language.
Have a great week ahead.
Wonderful drawings on the amazing statues at Easter Island and an interesting writeup, A.G. @agmoore. Those large figures certainly have puzzled the modern world with questions like,,, How did they move these gigantic human figures? What do they represent? Why are they facing out to sea?
No snakes there …a place I would like to visit, 😆
Have a wonderful Sunday dear A.G. 😊
Hello my friend @redheadpei,
I forgot about your snake phobia. This would be a perfect place for you😁 It is fun learning about places I will never see. Sometimes, I get so involved that it almost feels as though I have visited the place. That's especially true if I try to express the impression through art. It's a different way of having an experience, isn't it?
Thank you very much for visiting and for your kind estimation of my collage. Have a most peaceful week, although there will be less sunlight now for us to enjoy the outdoors.