Creating a stone sculpture is an excellent way for a child to relax, create, play, and learn.Īfter being inspired by the many possible forms of ephemeral nature art, head outside with your child and see what strikes up his or her fancy.Ephemeral messaging apps such as Snapchat, Wickr and Frankly, all of which advertise that your photo, message or update will only be accessible for a short period, are on the rise. One of the ancient known uses for these rock piles was to measure the sun for solstice and equinox celebrations. This simple and expressive form of art predates the bible and can be found all over the world. Show your child this video and watch how this artist tests the laws of physics when creating his sculpture. Rock sculptures can be as simple or complex as the artist desires.
Rock balancing, also known as stone stacking, stone building, and stone balancing, is when you balance or stack rocks on top of each other without any outside support. He takes these very materials and reweaves them back into the environment in a deliberate manner then lets the effects of the natural conditions take over.Įxploring balance in nature as Pine does with sand spheres can be practiced by your child when making a balancing rock sculpture.
He listens, he observes, and then when he seems to be drawn to the way the materials express themselves he creates. To create one of his site-specific works, Goldsworthy must first tune into the environment mentally, physically, and emotionally. Here is where I can learn."-Andy Goldsworthy
I stop at a place or pick up a material because I feel that there is something to be discovered. I take the opportunities each day offers: if it is snowing, I work with snow, at leaf-fall it will be with leaves a blown-over tree becomes a source of twigs and branches. "I enjoy the freedom of just using my hands and "found" tools-a sharp stone, the quill of a feather, thorns. Goldsworthy works with whatever comes to hand: twigs, leaves, stones, snow and ice, reeds, and thorns. Nature will supply all you need.īefore you head out, introduce your child to works from other ephemeral artists such as British artist and sculptor Andy Goldsworthy. So you can leave the artists' supplies behind. There are no rules and no tools required. With ephemeral nature art, the only limit is the imagination. Just let their creativity flow when they get outside. How can your child experiment with ephemeral art? Easily. More than an image seen with our eyes, ephemeral artwork is an actual moment in time. Creating ephemeral art teaches kids about the impermanence of life and nature, as the most beautiful things such as a winterscape or a sunset aren’t permanent. The process of making art is fulfilling enough to be the focus at times. Not everything we create has to be taken home or even returned to. The beauty of ephemeral nature art is that it can teach your child that not everything we value has to be material. It can be a sculpture, performance art or a temporary design such as a mandala. One wonderful bonus of ephemeral art: no clean up is required!Įphemeral art is a work of art that only lasts for a short amount of time, perhaps occurs once, and cannot be embodied in any lasting object. Nature art can also enhance nature connection in a child, as one recent study found.Īs beautiful as a wall montage of your child's landscapes, bird portraits and flower close-ups can be, an accessible, expressive, beautiful and completely non-messy form of art to do with your child is ephemeral art. It's only natural that children are also moved by nature to create art.Ĭreating art inspired by nature helps children express themselves, tune into the natural world, and also to express their own appreciation of nature. We are inspired by nature, moved to emotion by it, and have attempted to capture its essence in our own works. Art is a harmony parallel with nature.-Paul CezanneĮver since humans started to create art, nature has been our muse.