Goldsworthy Nature Sculptures (Rashi School Online Lesson)

Hello everyone! This is a lesson for my students at The Rashi School. I hope you'll join us!

Spring has sprung, and I'm loving being able to get out and walk around my neighborhood and explore all of the new and amazing sights. The beauty of nature is wonderful!

This made me think of one of my favorite artists, Andy Goldsworthy. He uses natural materials, and only natural materials, to create his sculptures:

No paint!

No glue!

Just nature!

Awesome!

Here are some of my favorite things made by Andy Goldsworthy:

So, here's what you're going to do! Read all the directions before you begin. 

• First, find an outdoor space and look for a sign of spring- a new bud, a flower, etc. I found this blue one on my lawn in my backyard.  This is going to be the middle of your project. 
• Now, collect and make piles of other things from nature- but don't pick or destroy anything, please! I used sticks, fallen leaves, rocks, and pine cones. 
• You can take a few days to do this, a little bit at a time, and when you have enough stuff, start making your sculpture.  
• You can rip or cut or break your things, but you can't use any art materials like paint or glue. 
• Using your natural materials, create a series of shapes surrounding your sign of spring.
• Photograph your finished work!

Here's the little blue flower I found growing in my lawn:

First, I surrounded it with a layer of pinecones. My son helped me collect them! 

Then, I made a frame out of sticks.

Next, I used rolled-up dead leaves to make triangles

Finally, I put rocks between the triangles.

Just for fun, when I was putting together my sculpture, I took a photo at each step and used the photos in iMovie to create a fun animation to show you. This is called stop-motion animation, and it took 75 photos to create. Enjoy!