Nature Art Workshop: Creative Forms in Nature

Five Days, Five Themes, Ten Creative FormsThis course revolves around natural materials and the environment. By stimulating students’ tactile, kinesthetic, auditory, gustatory, and visual senses, it integrates foundational knowledge in painting, natural sculpture, dance, sound art, photography, character modelling, and colour design.Day 1: Tactile World: Co-Creating Art with NatureLearning Goals: Through tactile perception of nature, understand the diversity and survival strategies of plants, learn about the application of natural materials in art, and build connections with nature through creation, release emotions, and cultivate environmental awareness.

• Tactile Perception and Tree Bark Exploration: Explore natural materials and textures through touch, understand the different textures of various types of trees, and learn about different types of plants and their survival strategies.
• Natural Material Sculpture Creation: Use the colours, textures, and shapes of different materials to create a striking natural sculpture (both 2D and 3D), and turn the natural environment into a children’s art studio and exhibition space.
• Seed Bombs and Emotional Release: Create and throw seed bombs to connect with the earth and release emotions.

Day 2: Kinesthetic Exploration: Discovering Natural MovementLearning Goals: Through kinesthetic and visual perception of natural movements, explore the expression of body movements and lines in painting, develop artistic expressiveness and creativity, and experience the resonance between nature and the body. Explore the beauty of body movements through dance.

• Observation of Natural Movement: Guide students to discover and observe movement in nature, including visible and invisible or slow movements. Van Gogh used lines to express visible and invisible movements in nature, creating a natural landscape sketch.
• Natural Movement and Gravity Painting: Learn from artist Tim Knowles how to convert natural movements into art, and draw inspiration from these movements to create a painting.
• Natural Dance: Participate in a natural dance session led by art therapist and registered dance therapist Ulan, exploring body rhythms through natural movement.
• Natural Movement Sculpture Making: Use natural materials to create a hanging sculpture that showcases natural movement.

Day 3: Sound Art and New Guinea Weaving ArtLearning Goals: Develop auditory sensitivity to environmental sounds, learn the fusion of weaving and music, and enhance handcraft and rhythmic perception.

• Auditory Perception and Sound Map: Open up auditory senses, record the sounds heard in the environment, and draw a sound map of the environment.
• Mandala Frisbee Creation: Transform patterns and lines from soundscape sketches into mandalas and draw them on frisbees. After completing, release emotions and energy using the frisbees in a natural setting.
• Natural Rhythm and Sculpture: Create lines using natural materials to express rhythm and melody in nature.
• New Guinea Weaving Art (Guest Instructor): We have invited the "Jungle Woman, " a natural artist from Papua New Guinea, who will share ancient wisdom from her homeland. This wisdom connects music and handcraft weaving, allowing students to experience the charm of working in sync with musical rhythms.
• Natural Instruments and Sound Ensemble: Create a natural instrument using materials collected from the environment and play it together with the teacher and other natural sounds.

Day 4: Visual and Gustatory: Characters with "Flavour" (Indoor)Learning Goals: Bring fresh creative inspiration through the interplay of taste and visual perception. From Zentangle to taste body mapping to character design, students will develop unique visual perception and expression abilities to create characters with the most “flavour.”

• Gustatory Transformation: Use body mapping to record sensations when a taste enters the body, then transform these sensations into visual images through colours and lines.
• Designing Characters with "Flavour": Combine colours and shapes to design characters with distinctive “flavour.”

Day 5: Photography Picture Book: Nature Adventure Story (Half Day Indoor, Half Day Outdoor)Learning Goals: Combine photography and writing to develop students’ narrative skills and creativity, enhancing their ability to observe and tell stories in natural environments. This course serves as a foundation for picture book and animation creation, laying the groundwork for visual storytelling.

• Composition Learning: Learn to use different compositions to express various narrative purposes and emotions.
• Nature Photography and Visual Storytelling: Practise photographing nature and telling stories visually.
• Writing and Storyboard Creation: Develop writing and storyboard skills.

Instructors:Arie Zhang - Wellness Teacher, Children Mindfulness Practitioner, Kids Life Coach, Anxiety Coach, Reiki MasterMarcus Ho - Art Teacher, Land Artist, Multimedia Artist, Art HealerUlan - Dance Therapist, Art Therapist, Early Intervention TherapistGrace "Jungle Woman" - University of Sydney Collaborating Art Facilitator, Weaving Facilitator, Art & Craft Specialist Artworks created of the day Read more details