Finding Art in The Woods

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair."

- Khalil Gibran

When I was young, our parents used to shoo us out of doors to play for hours on end.  I would explore the yard and nearby forest through all four seasons, collecting shiny golden brown acorns with jaunty caps, fresh green Spring tree buds, fallen blossoms wet with dew, seed pods to open like fortune cookies, and other gifts from Mother Nature to stock my "store".  My "store" was a mobile one, with objects categorized into departments and displayed in my rolling red wagon.  My older sisters were then coaxed into purchasing items from my fresh inventory, handing over tarnished pennies they found in the pockets of Dad's overcoats. Who says you can't make money from your art?  I must have grossed at least 25 cents.

This habit of looking for treasures on my walks in the woods never left me.  As an adult, I often returned home with special found objects in my pockets to display on my windowsill or turn into works of art. Then when I became a mom, I taught my kids to walk through the world with curious minds and observant eyes looking for beauty and wonder along the way.  I was not surprised when, come laundry day, I would find my son's pockets filled to the brim with hickory nuts or hard red berries and once, black rubber pieces from the playground.

Give it a try.  Take a walk and fill your empty pockets.  Display your finds on a windowsill or porch rail.  Arrange them in a pattern or create a little work of art.  If you have a moment check out these links to see beautiful art made from natural objects: Andy Goldsworthy & more Andy Goldsworthy.  Consider investing in a glue gun which makes it possible to attach your nature finds to all sorts of things.  Make your next walk in the woods a treasure hunt. If you make this a practice, you will never look at a patch of bark or acorn the same way again, and hopefully you will not walk without actually seeing.

Have fun creating,

Arianne  

"There are always flowers for those who want to see them."  - Henri Matisse