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Discovering Land Art in Aix-en-Provence
Meet at 9 am at the foot of the Sainte ‑ Victoire mountain, in Aix-en-Provence. Sushan, 4, Jade, 5, Romain, 4, Noélie, 4, Capucine and Coraline, 6, accompanied by their parents are in the starting blocks, eager to get started. Clotilde, the painter who runs the Land Art workshop, gives explanations and instructions: “We are at the bottom of the famous mountain that Cézanne painted and that thousands of people have come to admire ever since. We will climb, walk, paint, draw and imagine ephemeral forms. We’re going to do Land Art. Land, that means countryside, Land Art, that means that we make art only with the things that we find in nature. Your creations will last as long as they last, the wind, the rain, the small animals will destroy them, it does not matter! “
To give artists ideas, Clotilde shows them photos of magnificent and poetic works, made by pioneers of this art, born in the 60s in the middle of the American desert. The compositions – made of rock, sand, wood, earth, stones… – were subject to natural erosion. Only photographic memories or videos remain. Conquered, the children agree to “do the same” and highlight the superb place where everyone is going. Along the way, they collect stones, leaves, sticks, flowers, pine cones, and slip their treasures into a bag. Clotilde specifies that anything in nature can become a painting or a sculpture.. Romain picks up a snail. Oh no, we leave him alone, he’s alive. But there are pretty empty shells that make her happy. Capucine sets her sights on a gray pebble: “It looks like an elephant’s head! “Jade shows her mother a piece of wood:” This is the eye, this is the beak, it’s a duck! “
Land Art: works inspired by nature
Clotilde shows two grandiose pines to the children: “I suggest that you pretend the trees are in love, as if they were lost and find each other again. We make new roots so that they meet and kiss. Okay with you ? ” The children draw the path of the roots on the ground with a stick and begin their work. They add pebbles, pine cones, bits of wood. “This large stick is beautiful, it’s as if the root came out of the earth”, underlines Capucine. “You can reach all the trees on the whole mountain if you want!” Exclaims Romain enthusiastically. The path grows, the roots twist and turn. The little ones make flower skewers to add color to the pebble path. This is the final touch. The artistic walk continues, we climb a little higher to paint the trees. “Wow, it’s rock climbing the way I like it! Sushan exclaims. Clotilde unwraps everything she has prepared: “I brought some charcoal, it’s used to write on wood, it’s like a black pencil.” We will do our colors ourselves. Brown with earth and water, white with flour and water, gray with ash, yolk with egg yolk with the addition of flour and water. And with egg white, casein, we bind colors, as painters used to do. ” With their paint, children cover trunks and stumps with stripes, dots, circles, flowers … Then they glue juniper berries, acorns, flowers and leaves to enhance their creations with homemade glue.
Land Art, a new look at nature
The paintings on the tree are finished, the children are congratulated, because it is indeed very beautiful. No sooner do they leave than the ants start a feast … New proposal: make a fresco, paint a large Sainte-Victoire on a flat rock. Children draw the outline with black charcoal and then apply the colors with a brush. Sushan made a paintbrush out of a pine branch. Noélie decides to paint the cross pink, so that we can see it better, and Jade makes a big yellow sun above it. Here, the fresco is finished, the artists sign it.
Clotilde is once again amazed by the talent of the children: “The little ones naturally have great creativity, they have immediate access to their imagination. During the Land Art workshop, they express themselves in the immediate and pleasure. You just have to encourage them to observe, focus their attention on their natural environment and give them tools. My goal is that after the workshop, children and their parents look at nature differently. It’s so beautiful ! In any case, these are original ideas for transforming family walks into fun and enriching moments.
*Registration on the site www.huwans-clubaventure.fr Price: € 16 per half-day.