David Nash

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Work of Blaenau Ffestiniog artist David Nash.

Video footage (present-day) of wood sculptures and the artist talking about his work. Commentary about how artist has known Blaenau Ffestiniog nearly all of his life; how he and the natural world around him are influenced by the weather and that these natural cycles affect the wood. Archive footage of David Nash splitting unseasoned wood with an axe and describing how a tree warps and bends even after it has been cut. Commentary about the fact that in 2010 David Nash had a major retrospective in Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Present-day footage of 9 cracked ash woodballs having split open on their own and the excitement and wonder of working with unseasoned wood.
From: Framing Wales Episode 4
First Broadcast : 17 March 2011

Teachers' notes

Age Group : 7-9,9-11,11-14,14-16

Subject : Art & Design

Topic : Natural world, Sculpture

Keywords : 3d, 3 dimensional, Wood, Welsh artists

Notes : Research the work of David Nash and other sculptors inspired by the natural world. Gather natural materials (leaves, small branches, pebbles, shells etc.) and make transient sculptures / arrangements. Freeze largish blocks of ice with leaves etc frozen into them and let them melt watching their form change over time making sketches at certain intervals. Make very simple 3D shapes from scrunched-up newspaper roughly held together with masking tape, paint plainly and experiment with their arrangement in relation to each other. Explore with sheet cardboard slotting unusual shapes together to create abstract sculptural forms.

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