Merry go round - "Introduce us to an artist you find inspiring"

It's the last Friday of the month, so join us on our merry go round for a quick spin.  The merry go round is where a group of 11 artists/craftwomen link together around the world and tell you a little about their art and craft, through blogging on the same topic.


This month's topic is to talk about an artist whom we find inspiring.

The first artist that came to my mind is Andy Goldsworthy OBE. Andy is a sculptor, photographer and environmentalist who was born in northern England in 1956.

The materials he selects for his work include brightly coloured flowers, icicles, leaves, mud, stones, pine-cones, snow, twigs, thorns, etc.  His work is often ephemeral and transient, only lasting a matter of minutes or hours before nature over takes it.  Thus his photography of his work plays a crucial role in his art.

Other more permanent pieces, like his dry stone walls, just meld into nature and seem to start and end with nature..... Andy says he doesn't try and can't improve on nature - but loves the collaboration. 

Ultimately his goal is to create "a beautiful moment" and he often uses the word "time" to describe his work.  It may be that for only one instant in time the sun is in a particular place to illuminate the piece completely, or the tide comes in and interacts with his piece as one wave laps against it ....and then he gets that beautiful moment.

So often we seem taken up in using archival materials, creating art that will last "forever" or at least a long time, but Andy is so 'present' in his work and is happy to create something that lasts just minutes or even seconds.  He inspires me to interact more with nature and be spontaneous!  I have enjoyed creating a few goldsworthy-esque 'moments in time'.....and maybe writing about him here will encourage me to get back out there soon and try some more. And maybe you too? 

If you want to see more of Andy's work, he has numerous books - many of which I have and also a wonderful documentary DVD called  "Rivers and Tides" that I highly recommend.  For those in the US, the DVD is available on Netflix.  There is a podcast of an interview with him here too, well worth listening to, as it tells about his inspirations etc.

While Andy may not be a new artist to you, I hope you have enjoyed a recap of his work and maybe he can rub off on us a little and persuade us to get out there and make something transient!

I hope you'll take the time to read about the artists that other members of  the merry go round have selected. You will find their post through the links below.  We all live in different places around the world, so time differences may impact when we all get our blog post up.

Samantha at Vintage is for lovers - http://www.vintageisforlovers.com/
Jen at Painted Fish Studio - http://paintedfishstudio.com/
Bethany at Dirksen Dabbles - http://www.dirksendabbles.com/
Laura at Blue Terracotta -  http://blueterracotta.com/
Monika at Red2White - http://red2white.wordpress.com/
Mitsy at ArtMind - http://artmind-etcetera.blogspot.com
Kim at Vilt a la Kim - http://viltalakim.com/blog/
Sara at Crafts of Texture - http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com
Mariana at Florcita - http://florcita.eu/wordpress/
Agathe at Le Bar du Vent - http://lebarduvent.blogspot.com
Ruth at Birdland Creations - http://insidetheartisan.blogspot.com

Or else you can click on the blog hop below.  If you are a merry go round participant, please add your link if it's not already included. You can then copy the code and put it on your blog post too.