Meet me at Squam
Squam is coming up in September, and there are a few more open spots in my Earth Art class. This class is based on Andy Goldsworthy's amazing work.
Andy Goldsworthy is one of the few artists that always, always inspires me. He works with whatever he finds that day in the surrounding natural world: rocks, grass, frost, berries, ice, leaves, whatever is lying about... He gathers it and turns it into a beautiful sculptural piece that he then leaves out in the world to decay and fall apart and go back to its natural state. Read more about Andy's philosophy here.
In Earth Art class, we are going to do largely the same thing, only make it a wee bit more personal. At the beginning of class, I will lead a meditation to get our minds still enough to discover our own personal word or phrase that we want to direct our attention to during that day (and even beyond). Then we will have the entire day to plan and work on how to turn this phrase into a sculpture that reflects its meaning.
That might sound a bit intimidating perhaps. You might be wondering if you could do that. And I assure you that you can!
Look at the pictures above... In the first one, Andy used a bunch of dandelions he found to make a ring -- maybe, for us, signifying building our community circle or narrowing our concentration on one area of our lives. The second photo show a gradient of gray rocks, all circling down to a small hole he dug to get it looking really black. Maybe this could mean pinpoint clarity or pointed direction. The possibilities are almost endless!
And of course, I'll be there all day to guide you. To help you come up with concept ideas. To help you think of different ways to work with the elements we find (and there are A LOT around Squam!)
This can be as solo/meditative as you'd like. Or you can reach out and get help/collaboration -- as much as you need. I want to make it meaningful for you.
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave me a comment. (Comments are now at the top by the post date.) I'll try my best to answer them.
And if you've been waiting, now is the time to register up for Squam. I'd love to have you in class. This one is my favorite to teach. We'll have a great time. :)