Beth Droppleman

Interviewed by a professional, talented 12 year old!

Oysters, Art, and Armor—The Surprising Creativity of Artist Beth Droppleman — Adventures of a Young Naturalist Post by Adventures of a Young Naturalist

UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant “Water is Life” is a narrative jug that tells the story of the Georgia oyster’s water filtering superpowers. Legend has it that the sea monster Altamaha-Ha has lived centuries in the salt marsh thanks for pristine waters cleaned by oysters! So many creatures—shrimp and crab we love to eat, playful dolphin, exotic birds—thrive thanks to the humble oyster. from oysters. Many thanks to UGA Marine Extension Sea Grant for supporting this work!

Oyster superpower!

Fun fact: Did you know that oysters spit? They suck in water, filter out plankton & detritus to feed on, and then spit the filtered water back out! This is how they are able to filter our water and keep it clean! One oyster is able to filter 20-50 gallons of water PER DAY! So the next time you say something along the lines of: "Ew, that water is gross!" you might want to think about how that might offend our oysters who work overtime to keep it clean! (It's the spartina grass that makes it green and the plug mud that makes is murky - it's not gross! What IS gross is that y'all eat them along with all the things they filter out!)

Inspired by medieval scale armor, but sized for a woman. 2023 Artfields competitor. Check out my art:
https://bdropplemanart.com

Celestial reflections,36x36, acrylic on canvas
Speaking of imperfection, I just posted wrong pic!

An oyster shell is a metaphor for a woman's life. She becomes more beautiful with age. A shell's layers of nacre, chips, scars, & imperfections tell its story. When we are lucky enough to survive life's multiple difficulties, we become more sturdy, more beautiful, more who we are as individuals. As an artist, this is what I am interested in capturing.

www.bdropplemanart.com

Oysters are battered by wind, sun, sand, tides and salt. Miraculously they not only survive, but thrive.

To me, an oyster shell is a metaphor for a woman's life. She becomes more beautiful with age. Uncountable layers of nacre, chips, scars, & imperfections tell a story of a life well-lived.

When we are lucky enough to survive life's harshest conditions, we become more sturdy, more beautiful, more who we are as individuals.

As an artist, this is what I hoped to capture with this piece "Celestial reflections."

acrylic on canvas, 36x36
www.bdropplemanart.com

Oyster Armor right up front greeting everybody who walks in, just the way us southern women do. ArtFields 2023

Up close at Artfields 2023

Forged for a WOMAN.

Scale armor is one of the oldest technologies, dating as far back as 1400 BC. No known armor for females has been found. But surely female warriors have existed since the beginning of time? This piece reimagines scale armor, forged to fit a woman and created differently. Instead of leather or metal, this armor uses castaway oyster shells. What does she stand for? What do these shapes bring to mind?