accueil site > Paysage et patrimoine > 01. Teaching materials > 01. Nursery school > Footpaths and nest
To sculpt within the landscape : to use the site
As a setting up place
As a material
OBJECTIVES
To work out an artistic project
Connected to the approach of contemporary artists working in the landscape
From a sensitive approach of the environment
From structured lines drawn on the floor
MATERIALS
Natural elements (branches, flowers, leaves…)
Flour
A camera
REFERENCES
Nils-Udo and, more generally, Land Art artists.
PROCEDURES
Before the sequence, make the children aware of contemporary land art, particularly the short-lived works made from plants and photographed by artist Nils-Udo.
1) Work outdoors. Collect natural elements (branches, flowers, leaves). Work out the project of making sculptures put up in the landscape, from the collected elements, on the theme of the nest – a recurring theme in Nils-Udo’s work.
2) Classify the branches according to their lengths (short/long). The shorter ones will be used to build the nests while the longer ones will be set aside for the footpath.
3) On this line, position the longest branches homogeneously, respecting the alignement -
Sort out the flowers by sort or by colour.
Make a “footpath ? : Draw a line on the floor with flour. ignment.
4) Set up the “nests ? :- Elaborate the nest-making collectively, then form groups of children responsible for :
Shaping nests by forming circles with the twigs
Filling in the circles with various sorts of flowers
5) Take a picture of the work once it is finished.
FOLLOW-ON ACTIVITIES
Work out the project to set up installations : drawing , making a model
Draw again “the footpath ? and “the nests ?
With Indian ink and cotton buds, try variations combining circles and sticks
Mathematical activities about : open/closed lines ; inside/outside ; short/long
Imagine a story about this footpath and these nests. Who lives in these nests ? Who walks on the footpath ?
ASSESSMENT :
It will deal with the children’s ability to :
draw lines on the ground, to imagine the general design, to respect its orientation, to identify its elements (for example : open/closed line).
take an interest in the works of artists who, like Nils-Udo, work with and within the landscape.
Michel Valentin. Auguste Renoir Nursery School Trappes (Yvelines ) France