Fall 2024
Thanks to the generosity of a private donor, I am thrilled to be offering more 'Art with Nature' lessons to elementary school children till the end of this year!
What is 'Art with Nature'? As an artist trained in traditional fine art techniques, I place great emphasis on the basics of art-making, that is, made from natural materials. This logically means engaging in an ecological and no-waste approach - refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, in that order of priority. My 'Art with Nature' lessons are about making art with nature - using solely organic and compostable materials in a way that also engages positively with and does no harm to our environment, and, by extension, ourselves. All my lessons take place outside, in a park or school playground, be it rain, snow, or shine.Our first lesson began last week, with a celebration of Fall, by gathering different colored leaves which we arranged as a collage on pieces of re-used cardboard, pasted with homemade glue - the children learnt to make their own by simply mixing wheat flour and water. I encourage children to use their hands and improvise tools with sticks and other objects foraged outside.
As Maria Montessori noted, children are naturally curious and enthusiastic beings and need very little to thrive beyond a simple natural and free environment. My goal with my classes is to show children what endless artistic and aesthetic possibilities there are with basic awareness, knowledge of and interaction with natural matter, simple things and no need to go buy ’stuff’.
I plan to organize an exhibit of the children's artwork at the end of the year, so keep all your senses on alert for more info on that!
For more about my practice and approach: https://go-green-locally-northern- nevada.castos.com/episodes/childrens-eco-art-classes-zoe-bray-phd
.jpg)
