Retired art teacher and artist David Evelyn drew a crowd of 25 summer and year-round residents to Islesboro’s Town Beach on Aug. 23 for a workshop on British artist Andy Goldsworthy.

Evelyn, a seasonal resident of Islesboro since 1971, opened with a brief overview of Goldsworthy’s work and had a book and video on hand for people who wanted to learn more about Goldsworthy’s unique art. Goldsworthy uses natural local materials to create place-based art that reflects the character of the place. He uses icicles, leaves, dirt, and even his own saliva to create his art. Goldsworthy photographs his works, and then nature and time recycle them.

Goldsworthy completely covers a rock tightly with green leaves so it looks like a green parcel, and then covers the same rock in the fall with red leaves and has the photos side-by-side in a book. Time and light frequently come into play and are planned parts of his art, though he doesn’t know what his art will look like until the exact moment something happens. He may create something especially for the moment when the sun rises or sets behind his creation. Some of his works last until the tide comes in, while others melt in the sun. Some last only an instant.

In order to get into the right mindset, Evelyn had participants walk around the beach to get a feeling for the landscape. Each person found something that inspired her that she could use as a starting point for her creation. Berries, flowers, rocks, mussel shells, seaweed and sticks became key components of the art. People wandered around the beach collecting materials, most working quietly and holding a rock or berry in their hands. People connected to the beach and their future artwork.

Participants spread out around the tip of Pendleton Point, and each person began creating when it felt right. The process was very individual. Evelyn stayed nearby for people who had questions and to observe the process.

People began placing berries on driftwood, arranging rocks into a wreath, building structures out of mussel shells, and creating structures out of branches and twigs. The children easily slipped into the process, as they naturally create art when wandering on the beach. Older participants did not take much longer to flow into their creations, and many felt as though they were kids again. People had permission to take the time to connect to the landscape and play with nature.

What does Andy Goldsworthy have to do with Islesboro? David Evelyn’s friends exposed him to Goldsworthy’s work five or so years ago, and Evelyn has been fascinated by Goldsworthy’s work ever since. This past fall Goldsworthy and some masons from Britain installed a permanent exhibit of domes of local slate at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Evelyn mentioned to the Gallery that he was interested in Goldsworthy’s work. Since Evelyn had attended and taught workshops at the Gallery, the Gallery contacted him to facilitate a studio component to Goldsworthy’s exhibit so art teachers can connect Goldsworthy’s work into their curriculums.

Evelyn will be teaching the workshop in March 2006 and wanted to test his technique on Islesboro and see how people resonated with Goldsworthy’s work. He wanted to observe the process of creating art and observe how people were inspired by it. Evelyn also wanted feedback on what the creative approach was like for participants. Participants, ranging in age from five to sixty-seven, did not seem to mind being guinea pigs as they gathered rocks, shells, berries and other natural materials. In the workshop evaluations, one person said it was the first time in 67 years that she has a creative experience, and added that she felt empowered by it. Others said that although they were familiar with Islesboro, they had never looked so closely at the landscape and the workshop gave them the opportunity to be more observant.

Alyson Mayo is an Island Institute fellow on Islesboro.