Wild arts and crafts for autumn
Autumn is one of the most beautiful times of year. The leaves on the trees are turning amazing colours, from bright yellows to russet reds and browns and everything in between. It’s enough inspire anyone to create something beautiful and artistic!
In fact, one creative soul – Andrew Goldsworthy – doesn’t just use the natural world for inspiration. It’s also his canvas, paint and pencils! He uses materials found in nature like leaves and twigs to create amazing natural sculptures that are eye-catching, and make you look at the world in a different way.
You can see more of his work by visiting the following websites:
We love a bit of landscape art, using the things you find in nature to create beautiful, strange and wonderful shapes, colours and patterns. Best of all, it’s free, you don’t need to bring anything with you, and you can do it anywhere! So if you’re out for a woodland walk, or have autumn trees in your school grounds or nearby, why not create some landscape art yourself?
We’ve got a few ideas to get you started.
Wild arts and crafts for autumn
1. Using leaves as a canvas
Collect some big dry autumn leaves from the ground, give them a wipe to make sure they are clean, and use them to paint on instead of using paper or canvas. You can created anything from pictures of your friends to pretty patterns. How about painting a picture of an autumn tree on an autumn leaf? Afterwards, you can put them together to make a display in your school.
2. Natural sculptures
Pick a feature such as a tree stump, puddle, fallen log or rock, and – using Andy Goldsworthy as inspiration – decorate it using natural materials such as coloured leaves and twigs to make it really stand out. Don’t forget to take a picture! If you do this with a group or class, you can make a art exhibition with the photos you take of your creations.
3. Faces in the woods
Don’t you somethings think that the natural shapes formed in tree bark and leaves can look a little like faces? We like to think they’re like nature spirits looking out for the natural world. Why not create your own nature spirits? Using mud, sticks, leaves and stones, you can create faces on tree trunks, on paths and in riverside mud.
Looking for a forest?
Not sure where your nearest woods are? Check out the Forestry Commission website. It shows the locations of woods and forests across the UK and, even better, many of them have car parts, cafes and trail centres so you can spend the whole day exploring amongst the trees and creating art!
The Forestry Commission love autumn too, which isn’t a surprise! They’ve got loads of activities and events going on so you can join in and have fun in the woods. Check out their Autumn events page!
Posted on November 3rd, 2016 by Aoife Glass
Keep up to date with Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots
Why not sign up for our weekly newsletter, filled with inspiring stories from the Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots community in the UK. Not sure what to expect? Take a look at some of our recent emails.
Or follow us on Twitter or Facebook for updates as they happen:
Help us keep our resources free!
All of our resources are currently free and you can help them to stay that way and support the other work of Roots & Shoots in the UK by making a donation, no matter how small. The easiest way to donate to the Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots programme UK online is by using Virgin Money Giving. This can be a one off donation for any amount you want (every pound helps!) or if you prefer you can set up a regular, monthly donation.