Art from Ordinary Objects

Last week a group of 10 creative KG-Grade 2 students explored the art of Andy Goldsworthy. He is a well known sculpture artist who used mainly natural elements and nature itself to create stunning and simple yet interesting artwork. We talked about the patterns we noticed (simple shapes, using the thing such as rocks or leaves repeated over and over again, sometimes adding color but usually keeping the natural color of the natural object).  

We wondered:

What would it be like to find one of his artworks in nature? surprising, awesome, funny, weird

How does this art make us feel?...and Why? calm, peaceful, curious, excited, happy... the environment and music also help us feel this way

How could we get or give that same effect using materials we found naturally around us at school? naturally found objects at school might be markers, pencils, crayons etc...

How would it feel to make a piece of art that is temporary, or will not last forever? sometimes just making art can make us happy, it's ok to break or remove a piece of artwork after we have shared it with others, not all art has to be perfect and in place forever

Where would we choose to build pieces like this to inspire people around us? in our home, in our private room/bedroom, at lunch, in school where lots of people will see it...

Using the most natural objects we can round up in school (without harming any plants or living things), we assembled designs on the ground using office supplies, rocks, sea shells, pencils, rubber bands, gems, and assorted wood blocks.  While these elements were not the same as those Andy Goldsworthy would use, they are easily found, simple and common, and can be used to create surprising and interesting designs. As a group they created an amazing collage of items that really wowed the people passing by. We also tried using ordinary objects in drawings and in cards we could give to other people to inspire and surprise them with creative beauty. What a fun day using our imaginations and putting our creativity on display!