Creating Earth Art

Head outdoors and create some eco-friendly earth art using gathered natural materials and the sand as a canvas.

This is a fun process art activity for all ages, and can also be a great collaborative art idea.

You might also like these nature craft ideas

We live in an area surrounded by natural bushland and far from the ocean but that doesn’t mean we can’t go to the beach. We’re lucky to have some nice river beaches in our local area and my kids love going there to swim and play in the coarse river sand, sometimes collecting the smooth flat rocks that can be found in abundance. 

Last time we visited we decided to use some of these rocks to create earth art.

Earth art is a simple, fun and free nature craft for kids of any age – and maybe even for adults too. It’s creative, open-ended and environmentally friendly. There is definitely something about getting your fingers and toes in the sand that is soothing and relaxing, so don’t be afraid to have a dabble with it yourself!

Sand makes a great base for creating earth art, although of course you don’t need sand. You can create earth art anywhere outside using the earth as a canvas; it might be grass, dirt, leaves, mud, clay, you get the picture.

I started it off by idly making some rock faces whilst the kids were splashing in the water and my daughter joined in by drawing heads and bodies for my faces and together we added more rocks and sticks to the picture. We used pine needles for hair, small rocks for teeth, sticks for arms and bark for a nose. It’s pretty easy to get carried away with this activity. 

Miss K requested I make her a mermaid tail like I’ve done once before, and we also created a giant flower using large rocks for the petals.

It was a sunny, rainy, cloudy sort of day and the kids were caught swimming in the rain but that just adds to the fun when you’re in the water anyway, doesn’t it?

Have you ever made earth art with your kids? It’s such a simple and enjoyable way to create, and it costs nothing at all.

More nature craft ideas

• Make a gorgeous nature crown using flowers and leaves gathered from your garden
• Kids will love making these simple Rock Chicks using rocks and feathers
• Create some nature art bugs using sticks and leaves on a recycled cardboard “canvas”
• You can make your own DIY construction kit using nature and a bit of blu-tack – there are so many fun things to make with it!
• Draw outside on the pavement using nature and chalk – a fun process art idea for all ages

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