The snow is just melting here, and we Canucks are emerging from the comfort of our well-insulated abodes to rediscover the beauty of a warmer natural world. I get excited about the idea of my gardens starting to grow again; spring, after a long winter, is always a hopeful time of year. One of the things I start to dream about is using more natural materials in my artworks: what new material can I find? What new material will find me? Nature is the best art supply store; the materials are plentiful, inexpensive, biodegradable, and if harvested properly, sustainable as well.  I often get asked about the ethics of harvesting natural materials, especially in urban spaces; I think that, in many ways, going all natural is more ethical than using manufactured materials. The latter typically has a much bigger ecological footprint, and is more toxic, so moving to biodegradable materials can certainly be a positive step in the right direction. But ensuring that you are finding sustainable sources of natural materials, that don’t harm their living sources, is crucial. So a few ideas for including more natural materials in your art-making:
- painting on leaves, rocks, or bark
- dyeing fabric with natural dyes made from onions, beets, red cabbage, etc.
- creating collages made with natural materials
- pressing natural materials into wet clay to make tiles or ‘fossils’
- rubbings of natural textures (leaves work beautifully for this)
- blowing bubbles with food dye and pressing onto paper
- making handmade paper with natural components such as seeds or leaves
- using branches as ‘frame’ for weavings
- using beeswax as pigment or adhesive
For more ideas, check out the following website:
Art and your Natural Environment  http://arts.umich.edu/programs/funpages/environmentart/
