Compositions in the Garden
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From Ephemeral to Enduring Designs
As a KMS value, environmental awareness means building an
understanding and compassion for the world around us. Working in a
natural setting, like the garden, nurtures the child’s empathy and builds a
deep understanding of their role as a caring member of the world.
Since the start of the year, the Elementary children have been
immersed in cultivating the KMS garden. A proposal was made that we
should decorate the grey tiles that surround the garden floor. When
discussing how we could decorate the tiles, I shared a book about the
work of artist Andy Goldsworthy. We talked about how his designs in
nature are temporary, or ephemeral. The students were struck by his
compositions with leaves and rocks, as well as his idea of “rain
shadows”(laying in the rain to see the imprint you leave behind).
Children began to work in the garden, building designs with rocks and
leaves, creating “rain shadows” of their handprints with water, and
painting stones with watercolors. Every new day, children noticed how
their work changed, either through natural elements or human impact. In
this way, they were embracing the idea of change, and the beauty in
transience.
When discussing how we could integrate all our tiles, one child
suggested we “could make one picture that all connects, like a cloudy sky.”
Randall saw the opportunity to introduce the children to fractal designs, a
natural occurring phenomenon in which patterns repeat. We looked at
pictures and natural materials that depict fractal designs, like clouds, pine
cones and shells. The children noticed that a common shape was the
spiral. They’ve decided that the garden tiles we decorate should create
the form of a spiral, beginning from the flower bed circle in the garden
center, spiraling out to the orange tree.
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So began a thorough and thoughtful process of designing and
painting the garden stones. The children first selected their stone, traced
it with drafting paper, and created a design plan. We discussed and
practiced color mixing, using just red, yellow, blue, black and white as our
starter colors. Students used paint pens and acrylics to complete their
designs on the garden stones and then we finished with a coat of varnish.
The entire project evolved from the inspiration of transient design, to
fractals, to these enduring creations. It’s a beautiful example of how a
long-term project can grow into varied pathways of study; pathways that
meet back together in the end.
Eleanor, Colter and Arlo create their plans on drafting paper.
Come check out the documentation of the project in the Atelier, and see
the painted stones in the KMS Garden.