Happy Earth Day! This year to celebrate we went outside and made some art inspired by a land art artist. So...
Meet Richard Shilling, an English land artist! Richard became inspired to create land art when he stumbled across the work of another land artist, Andy Goldsworthy. Though he had no training as an artist he began recreating artworks by Andy to see how they were made and learn how to use natural materials to create art. Then, he began making his own inspired artworks.
When Richard makes art he only uses natural materials that can be found in the area. Once he completes his artwork he will often spend hours waiting for the lighting to be just right to take a picture of his work. Some of his art lasts only a few minutes while other pieces can last for a few months. The beauty of land art is that it becomes part of the earth and changes just like plants do with the changes in weather and seasons. Since his work doesn’t last for long, he feels that the process of creating the art is a part of the artwork.
Teaching others about creating art in nature is something that Richard is also passionate about. His goal is to help people improve their health through making and being outdoors. He teaches a lot of workshops and even designed a website dedicated to teaching kids about creating art with nature.
For how to’s and inspiration you can visit his website for kids here: https://www.landartforkids.com
You can also look at some of Richard’s Art here:
With some friends we tried out a few of our own land art projects inspired by Richard! First we looked at some of his work and discussed what we saw and then we went and gathered a bunch of sticks, leaves, moss, and rocks.
Then we got to work. A few kids were inspired by the “beach people” project found on his website while another was inspired to make some sculptures.
This project was perfect for an afternoon outside exploring and creating. Plus we had all the materials provided for us! All we brought was some scissors.