Monday 31 October 2011

Autumnal fun for free!

So what do you do when it's sunny but cold, the leaves are falling & you have a spare day?


I am a bit of an Andy Goldsworthy fan (& so is my Dad). A few years ago we decided to have a go at some environmental sculpture ourselves. We dressed up warmly, took plenty of good things to eat & some bits of board from my Dad's shed. I think my Mum thought we'd both gone a bit mad.




We chose a large piece of woodland, checked with the forest ranger & set to work...


It was much harder than it looked. First there was the decision of what to make & then how to make it.


Precision was difficult to achieve...
Apart from occasional squirrels giving us inquisitive looks, we went unnoticed all day long...



OK, so we were basically playing but it was a brilliant day & I have yet to meet someone who doesn't like a freebie.

When I was a child I would have loved this sort of thing. It's the woodland equivalent of sandcastles but without the gritty sandwiches for lunch.

Might it, perhaps, encourage some winter-haters (Emma!?) to get wrapped up & produce their own Goldsworthy project?


Later that evening when we'd warmed up we did wonder if anybody would ever find our pieces of art (& what they would think)

18 comments:

Crafts @ Home said...

That looks like a lot of fun :)
Sue Xxx

Pomona said...

What a fantastic idea! I love what you have done - I have always loved Andy Goldsworthy and the Christos - maybe you should wrap something next . . .

Pomona x

Anonymous said...

I love the idea that it's the equivalent of sand castles but in the woods.

Have a great trip tomorrow.

Celia Hart said...

Oh this is fab! I'm a Goldsworthy fan too and so is the OH... did you go to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park the other year to see the special Andy Goldworthy installations?

And winter is the best time of year to create art in the woods ... all that colour and wood and ice!

Celia

silverpebble said...

Yes! Yes! Right, when you get home we're doing this. I ca hardly wait.

Nor can I wait to find out where you are.

noknittedknickers said...

Oh what a treat! I hadn't come across AG's work, but this is just lovely. And there's nothing nicer than mucking around in fallen leaves. C.x

Thrifty Household said...

Thank you for all the comments! I've never seen a real life Goldsworthy only pictures...but I'm on for another sculpture play session!

All I can reveal at the moment is that we're staying with a friend in Guildford & that we're leaving for Gatwick at 5am tomorrow morning...(Mr TH & friend are trying hard to persuade me that I'm being whisked off to either Libya or Cleethorpes- humpf...I hope not!)

Not So Granny said...

would we be heading to wandlebury to find them I wonder?

Annie Cholewa said...

Another Goldsworthy fan here ... and if it weren't dark and windy and wet and spookily Halloweeny I'd be off out now to have a go myself!
Have a lovely time, wherever you are going :D

Frances said...

I'm visiting here courtesy of Pomona's invite, and, as yet another AG fan, really love this leafy post.

In past years, when the mood has struck me, I have done some leafy arrangements in Central Park, and am pretty sure that no one actually noticed what I was up to. But what fun it way to draw with colorful leaves!

Anonymous said...

Yes, a great way to spend a non-rainy day. I think only the truly dedicated would do such a thing in the rain!

Cheryl@Gingerbread Crafts said...

Didn't know who Andy Goldsworthy was so had to take a look, very cool.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog, the orange cordial turned out so delicious.

vicki johnson said...

wONDERFUL!! And he can inspire us again in January. And February.

Penny said...

This looks amazing fun! I LOVE Andy Goldsworthy. Now I need to find a playmate!
Penny (PlanetPenny)

Calico Kate said...

Another AG fan here too! What a brilliant day you must have had, just spending time like that with your dad too (mine is in hosp having an operation today so 'Daddy's' are particularly on my mind!) I remember clearly my 10th Birthday I had six friends - mum drew 'SS' Secret Seven invitations - round for trail following in the Park (Sutton Park in the West Midlands). We followed signs and pieces of wool tied to branches through the woods, that dad & my brothers had set earlier that day, then it was back home for sausages and baked potatoes. A very inexpensive birthday party but SO much fun for all of us.
A lovely post bringing back some fabulous memories, Thank you.
CKx

Ali said...

What fun! The kids and I like to leave conker messages in pour park when they are superabundant. But you've inspired me to think more laterally next time we are outdoors.

Julie said...

This is such a lovely idea. I'm a forester/ecologist and love being out and about in the woods but stupidly have never thought about making our own sculptures. Will have to try it out on our next walk. Juliex

Anne Wheaton said...

On a smaller scale, we had fun with some wild apples here - http://greatslamseys.blogspot.com/2011/09/art-on-footpath.html
I hoped others would join in but sadly not. Maybe they'll read your blog and be inspired.

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