planning land art workshop

Last week, when we still had some snow, I visited a little piece of nature close to a preschool.  I'll be giving a series of land art workshops there in April - but now it was hard to imagine what it will look like in spring. Last year's workshops looked like this (but that was in another location and with another preschool).

April will be full time out doors for me as I will give another series of workshops - like this one - to four more preschools. All-in-all 15 full days (+ preparations and test). I might have to get new rain clothes!

land art workshop 4

last workshop yesterday with the preschool

land art workshop 3

last week we returned to the special place we had constructed and found it filled with white magnolia petals! Just next to it was a nest with clay eggs. The children got the task to build a field of "alien flowers" (that's what the children called them, alien flowers). 

The day was dark and I feared it would rain, but it didn't. In the end the sun appeared above the trees and almost reached the alien flowers.

land art workshop 2

the second workshop with preschool children in the forest the other week. We constructed a half circled special place. The following week we returned to this spot - but more about that in my next post!

very much spring

I've been a bit absent from the blog as spring came with an incredible intensity and distracted me - here are some glimpses from how spring entered my working days.

my son spent a whole day with me trying out some land art ideas for some workshops with preschool children - and enjoyed all the spring flowers.

I exposed a wood anemone directly on the screen printing frame and printed it in 3 colours in one go - as a demonstration print for my students at a weekend course in screen printing

Preschool children full of spring energy at my second workshop in the forest (last week).

soon workshops in the forrest again

The other day - a very rainy day - I went out in the forrest to try out some land art ideas for a series of workshops with preschool children (age 5). But I came to the conclusion - especially after meeting the children - that I couldn't be this subtle if I want to reach all of them...

It has to be something totally new for them - surprising and magic - or I won't get them interested. The pedagogues at preschools here in Sweden are excellent and often use nature as a tool - so I have to be really creative in order to give the children a new experience.

bottled music

On our fourth and last workshops (last week) we visited the little princesse's house again. By now the children knew how the the story went in the tiny book - or at least the start. What came after was different every time. Or as a girl said " we went on a new adventure"

This time we were led to glittering bottles in a tree

and filled them with water and magic drops that gave colour and ...

that extra beautiful sound when we made music on them ...

This was my last workshop with the preschool. It's the first time I make a series of workshops like this - so site specific and focused on experience - and I've been enjoying every second! And I'm happy to tell that I get to make a suggestion for a public art piece for this preschool's new premises (it's being constructed right now)! I've now got six weeks to come up with something.

a secret garden

On the third workshop rose petals led us to the little princesses house in a new tree - this time with a garden!

we knocked the door and learned that we had managed to catch spring with what we wove the last time - but in a different place. We followed the rose petals again...

... and this is what we found

We picked the flowers and made a magic garden in the forrest.

And it sure was magic - it was still standing there fresh two days later when I came back for the last workshop ! last workshop >>

flowers for outdoor play

I've been far too busy to blog these last days; both an important grant application and visual play (outdoor art workshop with preschool) this week. And Friday-Sunday I'm teaching screen printing - but after that I'll let you in on all the fun I've had with the preschool children! The flowers above? Donations from a flower store for one of the workshops.

follow that yarn!

Today, on my second workshop day, we followed a green yarn to the princesse's magic tree house (now in a new place). In another tiny book we got the task to follow an almost invisible thread to ...

... a bird's nest where we found yarn eggs - and then we got to work.

Two more workshops next week! see next >>

the magic stick road - part 2

... the magic road led us to another road that shrank and became a tiny path leading to a tiny tiny door

we knocked and opened the door

No one was at home, but we found a tiny tiny book and learned that a tiny princess lived in the house and then we read about ourselves!

..

... and got the task to build with the magic sticks

this girl built something very different from the others

next part of the workshop >>

the magic stick road

Today I had the first of four outdoor workshops with children at a preschool. Together we found at magic road in the forrest. By putting the last part first - over and over again - we made it move forward through passages towards a secret place ... continue >>