Forest Art Workshop in Lesvos Island.
The Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest in collaboration with Geo-Naturpark Bergstraße-Odenwald UNESCO Global Geopark and the International Forest Art Association – Verein für Internationale Waldkunst e.V., organized a three-day event dedicated to “Forest Art – Nature Art” highlighting the characteristic features of the forest ecosystems of Lesvos UNESCO Global Geopark. This event, organized at this Greek island, was directed at students, educators, environmentalists, artists, museum educators, cultural facilitators and NGO’s staff and took place between the 13th and 15th of October. It explored the links between nature, art, history and local sustainable development.
The workshop included a lecture by Ute Ritschel, Curator from the International Forest Art Association, focusing on the various aspects of the relation between art and nature, introducing several artists working on this domain and exploring the way “forest art” can tackle the theme of Climate Change and its impact on art.
Together with Kim Rathnau, Forest Art Pedagogue from the International Forest Art Path, a two-day intensive workshop was organised in the forests of the Lesvos Island. This workshop included several experimental activities using natural materials and combining the experiences of Forest Art, Nature Art/Global Nomadic Art and pedagogical ideas around the concept for Education for Sustainable Development.
The participants, students and adults, created art works from natural materials (pine needles, pine cones, leaves, branches, figs, olives, flowers) such as “mandalas”, human figurines on the ground, decorative mobiles and dream catchers, clay faces on trees, eco-print and printing art works(cyanotype method), frottage with stones and bark and more.
This event, a successful collaboration between two RURITAGE project partners (a Role Model – Lesvos UNESCO Global Geopark and a Replicator – Geo-N UNESCO Global Geopark) shows how knowledge exchange between regions, one of RURITAGE’s premises, can lead to the design and implementation of projects that use the local natural and cultural heritage and tailor them to the needs of local rural communities.
