Masterpiece Monday: Nature Art with Andy Goldsworthy

"I enjoy the freedom of just using my hands and "found" tools--a sharp stone, the quill of a feather, thorns. I take the opportunities each day offers: if it is snowing, I work with snow, at leaf-fall it will be with leaves; a blown-over tree becomes a source of twigs and branches. I stop at a place or pick up a material because I feel that there is something to be discovered. Here is where I can learn. " - Andy Goldsworthy

I was not familiar with the work of Andy Goldsworthy, but I was intrigued when I found this project in The Usborne First Book of Art. Andy Goldsworthy uses items he finds in nature to capture his artistic vision. After he completes a piece of artwork, he takes a photograph and leaves the art to decay.

For more information and photographs of Andy Goldsworthy's work, go here. I also interlibrary-loaned a coffee table book of his entitled Andy Goldsworthy: A Collaboration with Nature.

You need:
Bag
Place to hike
Pinecones, leaves, acorns, etc.

1) Find a place where you are allowed to pick up items from nature. We only picked up things that had already fallen (dried pine needles, pinecones on the road, leaves on the ground, etc.).

2) Place the items in a bag or just create artwork on-the-spot.

3) Spend time creating, building, and exploring natural items. If desired, capture the artwork through a photograph!

I love how this project encourages children to explore nature. In our fast-paced, technological world, many children are deprived of natural, sensory experiences. Access to creeks, ponds, and other "wild" places is often limited by new developments and ever-expanding cities (see Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder for an interesting look at the subject).