Making art with nature

Dr. Gil Dekel.

Nature is not just a great place to work in, but also to work with. Nature provides for ‎resources for the art-work itself, and teaches us to work with its properties (the wind, ‎colours, and shapes found in nature).‎

Making art with Nature (16). Nicole and Gil Dekel.[/caption]

In the following project I have used paper, glue-stick, as well as ‘items’ from nature.‎

The first step was to overcome the strong wind, which blew off my paper. The solution was ‎to work with the wind, not against it. I held paper stripes in one hand, and simply ‘let’ the ‎wind blow against them. As the paper was ‘dancing’ with the wind, I simply lowered it on my ‎card, and fixed it on the card in the angle and ‘pose’ that the wind blew it. The wind became ‎the ‘hand’ that was holding the brush, so to speak, as it was ‘shaping’ the stripes the way she ‎wanted to. I was only fixing the paper on the card.

‎Then I looked at the cars across the streets. The cars were driving off from ferry that docked ‎not far from us in the port. As I looked at the cars driving, I noted each car’s colours – and I ‎chose the same colour stripe to include in the art. The colour stripes in the art are a ‘map’ ‎to the colours of the cars that were driving as I created this work. ‎

I then decided to include some petals and leaves I saw around me. In an artistic-manner, I ‎felt that belongs to the Earth and not to me, so I have ‘asked’ permission from each petal, ‎leaf, tree branch or blade of grass. Just before picking any of them, I have asked (in my ‎mind): ‘Would you like to be part of my art work?…’‎

The trees had no problem sharing some of their leaves and small branches. Likewise the ‎flowers were ok with this, apart of one red tulip who refused (so I felt)… The tulip next to it ‎was happy to participate.‎

As I started to ‘dot’ nature in the work, a small fly landed on one of the leaves. A good sign ‎that nature was living in the work…‎

For some reason, I felt that I need to cover the first ‘layer’ of nature with coloured paper. ‎Quite a decision – to cover nature – yet then I added new leaves on top of the paper. It felt as ‎if nature was blooming at first in the art work, then dying (being covered by paper), and ‎then blooming again. A perfect artistic representation of the real process nature goes…‎

The last stage was to create a paper ‘frame’ around nature. I have chopped parts off from ‎yellow paper, which looks as if the leaves were ‘eating’ into it. Around it I added a blue ‎frame.

I then ‘sprinkled’ some green grass all over the work.‎

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The following photos are from a project to work with clay in nature. The initial idea was to sculpture nature with the clay.

Snow Art with food colouring:

8 April 2015. Last update 24 Aug 2019.
‎© text and photos by Gil and Natalie Dekel‎ ‎ ‎