October 7, 2010

By: Mary R. from Woodbury, MN
Comments: 27

Posted By: Mary Romoser
On: 8/20/2008 11:21:14 AM

One of the goals that my colleague and I have for our students this coming year is to get them outside doing a variety of design activities. Andy Goldsworthy is an amazing artist who uses items in nature to create things, then photographs them. For those interested in integrating some art into their lessons (line, texture, etc.) may find this link helpful. https://www.writedesignonline.com/history-culture/AndyGoldsworthy/overview.htm#value

Posted By: kat corrigan
On: 8/26/2008 9:14:44 PM

Wow! Thanks! that is a great help- I've been wanting to take my students outside as well. I hope to do snow-sculpting this winter with 8th grade and this site will be a feature.

Posted By: Joanne Toft
On: 9/13/2008 3:54:39 PM

Andy Goldsworthy - wonder if using his ideas with leaves might be fun this fall as the season changes a great connection with science- leaf identification, life cycles of plants and design changes over time Joanne Toft Minneapolis, MN.

Posted By: lisa arcand
On: 9/13/2008 6:30:16 PM

What I admire the most about Andy Goldsworthy is his versatility. He creates art in a variety of environments as well as a different weather conditions. The environment is his guide -the art emerges from the relationship of the setting, weather, his mind and the natural materials at hand. I have seen this fearless approach to creativity in young children. If they are allowed an open arena of possibilities, they are capable of creating amazing things. My concern with todays society is that in our good intentioned effort to protect our environment we have turned the great outdoors into a "look but do not touch" museum. Of course this is not true everywhere but I do feel this is a message that children often hear. "Don't pick the flowers, careful not to step on the plant, stay on the path, leave only footprints, take only memories." All good messages but what if Andy Golsworthy was never allowed to pick pretty leaves off a tree or collect interesting rocks and build with them. I feel we need to allow children to physically interact with the Earth in order for them to gain respect and compassion for our planet. Many of our inner city youth do not have back yards to dig foxholes in or a tree to nail boards in to build a tree house or even a patch of dandelions to make a necklace with. If we deny them to pick, touch or take small pices of nature to claim as their treasure, how will they learn to treasure the Earth. This may seem a bit off topic but the reason I am adding this comment is because a teach at an environmental elementary school and sometimes I get tired of taking my kids into the woods and saying "don't pick the wildflowers." I have many ideas for outdoor art which have been inspired by Andy Goldsworthy and plan to use them this year. Somehow I need to reconcile the different messages that the children will be hearing about "do not disturb" the environment and "let's use the elements of nature to create another naturally beautiful piece." Any ideas?

Posted By: Vincent Goeddeke
On: 3/1/2009 11:07:37 AM

I am also struck by Andy Goldworthy's work. I went to a Reggio workshop this summer, which is a child centered approach to education. One of the projects that the exhibit I saw showcased was one where the kids went to a local park and collected natural materials to explore back in the classroom. They sorted the materials, crushed them, and explored them in many other ways. The idea that I was intrigued with was that in thanks for the experience that the children had they created a gift to the park. There were several photos of the children taking some bright leaves that were crushed and using them with water to paint on some of the big tree trunks. To me it seems like this is an example of the balance you were wondering about. The deep respect for the materials and the thought in creating a gift allows that respect of nature to still be held up as a value.

Posted By: lisa arcand
On: 3/3/2009 10:06:44 PM

Vince -fellow kindergarten teacher - where did you go for this Reggio workshop? I'm very interested in learning more about this approach. If you have any info on summer workshops or actually any local contacts -I'd love to know. Thanks for any info you might have.