Art with things from nature
Art & Design · Early Years · The School
Collecting from outside
Go outside and collect things. Leaves. Small stones. Twigs. Petals. Pick things that have already fallen, not things still growing. Collect a few of each. A small basket or a pocket works well for carrying them. You now have your art materials, and none of them cost anything.
Arranging, not sticking
Lay your things out on the ground, or on a tray. Arrange them into a picture. A face. A flower. A pattern. Nothing is stuck down. Nothing is coloured in. You are just arranging what you found.
Changing your mind
Move a leaf. Swap a stone for a twig. Try a totally different arrangement. That is one big difference from painting. You can change nature art again and again, as many times as you like, with no mess at all.
Try making a face. Two round stones for eyes. A long twig for a nose. A curved leaf for a smiling mouth. Small petals for hair, all around the top. Stand back and look at it. Now change just one part. Swap the twig nose for a different shaped stone. See how much that one small change alters the whole face. Take a photo before it blows away, because nature art rarely lasts.