After taking a look at Partrick Dougherty's Stickworks a couple weeks ago I have been dying to try my hand at making some sort of stick structure. I knew it wouldn't be as easy or work as well, but the woods near our house are full of fallen branches and they were just laying there waiting to be used... so I snatched up as many as I could find and went to work.
I have always been a been fan of experiential works of art, and I love the fact that in land art, you never know who might stumble across what you've left behind. It is that person, that unknown discoverer of the work that fascinates me. What must they think they've found!?
I remember when I was a little girl and my sister and I would go exploring in the woods, anytime we discovered something that had been left behind (a tree fort, a campsite) there was always something so magical about it. Like we had entered another realm of reality created just for us.
In our community there are a lot of kids and I wanted to make a work that they could discover while playing and be able to experience that same magic my sister and I did as little girls. What story will they create around it? What myths will it hold for them? Where will they dream that it came from? I suppose in a way I wanted to be their own personal magic fairy bringing a little mystery and magic into their lives.
Kadie, this is lovely! You've built a sanctuary for the imagination. Do you know the names of the trees whose branches you've used? It is an important practice for eco-literacy to learn the names of the plant and animal life in your surroundings.
ReplyDeleteYour reflections about you and your sister, and wanting to leave something for other children to discover, brought to mind an animation by John and Faith Hubley. Did you ever see "A Windy Day?" The sound track is a recording of their young daughters' conversation and the magic they enter. My favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cit6iUEEdyo
I want to come over to play at your house!
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