No. 18 Create some wild art

Using fir cones and conkers to make a collage | © National Trust Images/Jennie Woodcock

When it comes to creating wild art, the only limit is your imagination. What will you use, and how? There's so much to choose from in the natural world – but make sure you're not making your art from another creature's home. Create some wild art is no. 18 of our ‘50 things to do before you’re 11¾’.

Creating wild art

Get outside, look around you and have a think about how you can make art using natural materials. It's a great way to think about nature differently. If you can find things that vary in colour and texture you can pull together something really wild and exciting.

What you could use

There's simply too much to list here, so this is just to get you started:

Leaves
Twigs
Feathers
Seeds
Pine cones
Grasses or flowers
Pebbles
Mud
Glue
String or wool

Butterfly wild art and Fontmell and Melbury Downs, Dorset — Butterfly wild art and Fontmell and Melbury Downs | © National Trust/Clive Whitbourn

How many dimensions?

You could make a flat piece of art, or attempt a sculpture, but you'll probably need somewhere dry to work in case it rains or is windy. If you're making a sculpture, are you designing it to be seen from all sides? Or do you just want people to look at the front, sides or back of it?

You'll need lots of materials if you're going to make something really big, so try and think about the size of your finished artwork too.

The rules

The rules are that there are no rules. Yes, you did read that right: there are no rules (apart from not using anything that already makes a home for an animal or insect). So, you can use your imagination to create whatever you like from whatever you like, which is one reason why making wild art is so brilliant.