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The angular handles reminded Cotton of arms akimbo (a human body position in which the hands are on the hips and the elbows are bowed), which led to the idea of making a photograph to express a dance theme. Olive tried several arrangements of the cups and saucers to convey the idea, without success, until she used a spotlight and realised how important the shadows were. In order to create a theme, she used the rule of thirds to arrange the teacups in foreground, background and mid-ground. To make it natural, Cotton didn’t use symmetry in her artwork, instead she used simplicity, contrast and leading lines using shadow and light. Cotton moved the cups about until they and their shadows made a ballet-like composition and then photographed them on a cut film negative. In it she used a technique of backlighting to cast bold shadows towards the viewer to express a dance theme between the shapes of the tea cups, their saucers and their shadows. The aesthetics in the piece is beautiful and unique which creates a naturally creative