Artist Andy Goldsworthy

Land art by Andy Goldsworthy

Land art by Andy Goldsworthy

Artist Andy Goldsworthy is a modern artist who does "Land Art." He goes out into nature and, using only what he finds there, he creates art then photographs it. His art is fleeting and at the mercy of nature. I wanted to try land art with my co-op art classes. We meet at a church with some trees out back, but I worried a little about what we would find to work with. Should I bring some leaves, rocks, etc. in to guarantee that this experiment would work? I decided to try it in true Goldsworthy style using only what we found. The kids were up to the challenge.

We looked at some Goldsworthy work on youtube and then donned our jackets and headed outside to try it. I was delighted with how the kids jumped right in. I allowed them to work in teams or work alone. Some took the whole time to manage their one creation and a few had time for two arrangements. I photographed each creation and will make prints for each child to take home next week. Below is a sampling of our 5th and 6th grade land art.

Liam and Finn's

John and Thomas

Marie and Grace

Tessie's

Daniel's

Fifth grade-Hannah, Daniel, Jonas, Micah, W.

My fifth grade class finished their individual creations, then got together and worked as a group on another design. It was their idea to do one as a group and they threw themselves into it.

And, I had to try a couple myself. (above)