It started with fairy houses and this Andy Goldsworthy video from the library. Or now that I think about it, maybe it started with sand castles and pine cone collecting. Or did it start with muddy sticks, flowers, and little piles of rocks? It's hard to pinpoint exactly when it started because "Land Art"
has been a part of our family for a long time. Actually, I think it is part of everyone's family. There seems to be a primal need to collect and create with bits and pieces of nature that surround us. Just watch any child in action outside and you will see a natural born "land artist". It's inspiring to see what can emerge from the collaboration between nature, imagination, and a pair hands. No fancy tools. No expensive art supplies. No elaborate directions to follow or pressure to produce a specific product. These natural creations are not permanent or static. They will be impacted by the wind, the tide, the rain, the sun. They will change and disappear. Just as they can easily tumble down, they can easily be re-constructed into something new or just fall back into their previous state of existence.
They can be collaborative installations.
Sometimes our whole family will work together to build a large structure. Other times it is a solitary task.
The medium changes based upon our location and the time of year: rocks, sand, shells, leaves, sticks, beach balls, feathers, flowers,etc. These bring along their own set of challenges requiring us to figure out ways to balance, compose, and design something that is pleasing to our eyes while working with natural materials that might be fragile or too heavy to move. It means that there will be moments of frustration when things don't come together the way we wanted them to, but often that will lead to a new possilibility that we never would have considered. It's pretty amazing to watch the natural world merge with the world of imagination.
Made any land art recently? Want to learn more about land art? Check out these links:
The Artful Parent Interview with Richard Shilling
The Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail (England)
---Lucia
