This papercraft doodle, colorfully constructed by guest artist Julia Cone,
brings to life the “Three Sisters” of North America’s native
agriculture: corn, beans, and squash. While it’s common to see the
Sisters at today’s Thanksgiving tables, these crops prospered through
thousands of years of careful domestication.
This planting technique, combining the three crops, originated in
Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) villages, and was commonly used at the time of
the European settlements in the early 1600s. This indigenous practice
revolutionized horticulture and helped stave off starvation in many
areas, including the Old World — an incredible agricultural achievement
for which we can all give thanks!
Creating our doodle harvest was no easy feast—err, feat. First, Julia
put pencil to paper, sketching various arrangements for her patch of
special veggies. Once a direction was set (the cornucopia sketch stood
out the most), she tested tons of colors to come up with a rich,
seasonal palette. “I started to play with how to move the color across
the image, while still basing the shapes off the traditional google
logo. It was a fun challenge!” said Julia. Then came the big finale:
painting, cutting, and pasting it all together “In the end, I hope that
viewers will enjoy the craft of cut paper as an art form in a digital
space.”
The result is a festive reminder of what we have to be thankful for this holiday. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Google!
Julia’s initial pencil sketches explored a mix of compositions
A more refined sketch shows the winning cornucopia concept
The bright colors of a Thanksgiving harvest were tested and tweaked
Textures and shadows play within this detail of the corn basket
The collage-in-progress – right before it all came together!
