EarthWorks

My 8th grade students attended Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Finland, Minnesota during the week of November 12 - 16.  During that time, the environment was their classroom.

In one class, EarthWorks, the students used the environment as their canvas.  Items they found in their environment were their media.  The Earthworks objectives, listed on the Wolf Ridge Web site, gave students the following experience:

"Students will experience seeing and expressing themselves creatively through contact with the natural world. Drawing activities, site-specific sculpture, and group discussion generate awareness of one's own influence on the environment and appreciation for artistic expression."  http://bit.ly/S1veUf

During class, students looked at and talked about a variety of environmental artworks created by a variety of artists. Then, the students hiked to the site where they were going to create their works of art.  As they walked, they pointed out items in nature that were sources of inspiration, stuck out, etc.  When they arrived at their site, as an individual or in groups, students had an hour to create a work of art with the natural media they found around them.  Finally, they shared their works of art with their classmates.

The link below contains photos I took during the EarthWorks class.

http://bit.ly/RJZPVd