Making Waves
Words/ Lou Andrews Images/Jon Foreman
Jon Foreman’s art is nothing short of mind blowing...
Hobbies are something that we all need. A little something that is just ours to take the edge off the general stresses of life, and it doesn’t matter what that something is as long as you get pleasure from it. When we started Reframe, we really wanted to capture the fact that there are so many hobbies you can take up…and they don’t all need to cost money. In fact, some are free, like land art.
Whilst researching this article I came across land artist Jon Foreman and his work is just simply breathtaking. What I discovered while researching him is that his outlook serves as a real testament to what a hobby should be for us all. In his own words ‘I do it because I enjoy it’ and ‘it’s a way to remove yourself from the stresses of life’. Most of his work is based out of Pembrokeshire in Wales where he lives.
Jon’s large-scale sand drawings can take him up to four hours to create…and his tools for these very intricate works of beauty? Sticks, some string, a rake and of course the paintbox of nature’s finest offerings! And it doesn’t stop there. Stones, shells, driftwood and even leaves all surrender to Jon’s mastery. He is to nature what Snow White was to animals! The world is essentially his Etch-A-Sketch and I love that. Jon highlights the natural beauty that surrounds us. The vibrant blend of colours, the intricacy of the ever-evolving shapes, things that are there every day, things that we take for granted. What he makes today is then reclaimed by mother nature herself and a blank canvas awaits him the next day.
This man values nature very highly and he describes his work as ‘a therapeutic process’. He projects his internal mind chatter onto nature’s canvas and the results are ground-breaking (quite literally!). What is also epic is the fact that his creations spark joy in people when they see them. So much so, that he also sells pictures of them on his website Sculpt The World. Check it out, because it’s a real mindblower!
In conclusion, we all need to be a bit more Jon. Break the mould of the norm that we all find ourselves confined to from time to time. Theres so much out there to try, so grab yourself a rake!
Lou x