1st Grade: Andy Goldsworthy Prep

First grade at SFA will be visiting Ledges State Park on, October 8th, to celebrate the artist Andy Goldsworthy. He is a British sculptor, photographer, and environmentalist who produces site-specific sculpture and land art situated in natural and urban settings.

We learned that the materials used by Andy Goldsworthy often include brightly colored flowers, icicles, leaves, mud, pine-cones, snow, stone, twigs, and thorns. He creates much of his work knowing that they will not last a very long time, such as the image above. The art may be blown away, fall over, or eaten by animals. Sometimes the only evidence of the art pieces are the photos he brings back to share.

When creating his art, Andy Goldsworthy often uses only his bare hands, teeth, and found tools to prepare and arrange the materials. He is willing to let nature give him what he needs to be inspired.

Rowan Leaves & Hole  inspired us to create our own version using paper ‘leaves’ around a black circle representing a hole in the earth. We cut out our own leaves and added other items we might find in the woods such as berries, rocks, sticks, and feathers.

Image (C) Andy Goldsworthy

1st Grade Andy Goldsworthy inspired artwork