Drumheller artist Vicki Myers is looking down for inspiration as she explores land art.
Myers is an accomplished artist and works with myriad of media. Her latest inspiration comes from the colour she finds among the rocks, soils and plants. While it is new to her, land art has been happening all over the world. She started a Facebook Page site to discover who else is doing it.
“I am trying to find other people trying to do this kind of stuff, but they are often in Europe, Germany and California. I found someone in Ontario a couple days ago, so I thought, why not make a Facebook page and try to find land art people in Canada?”
Part of her interest sprung from some of the ice art she has experimented with over the last few years, and moving toward land art was a natural progression for her.
While the craft itself takes many forms, there is some commonality. Often it uses natural items, it is typically constructed and displayed in nature, its impact is minimal, and it is often fleeting. A work may be constructed, but then left to the elements, it fades back to a natural state. This could be said for creations made in the snow or drawn with chalk. Other recognizable variations could include plant landscaping or rock balancing.
“All of these thing fall into land art, or eco art,” she said.
This puts it on the outside of many traditional disciplines that create tangible, reproducible, lasting commercial works.
“Part of preserving it is capturing a photo before they disappear,” she said.
Myers has a parcel of land where she has been experimenting using plants, rocks, coal dust, glass, bones, and just about anything else she finds. The results are striking.
Myer is hoping to take in a festival called Art in Nature.
“I was accepted into Art in Nature, it is in a Redwood forest in California,” she said.
She says with the unique landscape of the valley and interesting raw material, she envisions more of these kinds of creations.
To learn more, see some of Myer’s and other artist’s work, check out the Alberta Land Art Facebook page.
