Nature play sculptures
Geoff is an internationally known wood sculptor who lives on the Fleurieu Coast of South Australia. He is known for his fine art sculptures in red gum and Huon pine, as well as his work for nature-play areas, especially in the Marion Council district.
Nature play has become a big hit in South Australia. Essentially, it’s about creating more ‘natural’ play spaces and encouraging children to spend more time in outdoor activities, in spaces which replicate some of the sensory elements of being in the bush. Old-style metal and plastic play equipment has been replaced; new elements of potential adventure have been crafted by landscape architects and specialist artists, such as Geoff Bromilow, to offer up a highly physical and more nature-based play experiences for children. Nature play has arisen largely in response to an awareness by teachers, parents and educational researchers that indoor play is the new ‘normal’. Children of the twenty-first century are now more than ever inclined to play on devices inside and to be scheduled into many structured, after-school activities by their parents. Researchers have found that the frontal cortex which is responsible for regulating emotions and problem-solving is highly activated at play time. Indeed, play stimulates neurotransmitter connections, as well as simply creating joy and pleasure in participants. Children learn by playing and exploring. Outdoor play has been linked to the development of creativity. According to educational researchers, play has an intrinsic value, offers children a sense of positive agency, and should not be regarded only as a tool to achieve cognitive learning goals. As a specialist artist working with landscape architects, Geoff is constantly challenged to create new items for the first time or to revolutionise his work practices. Recently, he was fortunate to work with a landscape architect from Marion Council (South Australia) on the First Avenue Reserve in Ascot Park, which won the Landscape Architecture Award 2020 for Small Projects. The theme was ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’ and he created Alice-in-Wonderland-style elements in the revitalised suburban park. Geoff made various pieces including a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party table and seats, a giant archway and climbing poles, timber log seats, and a huge rabbit-hole archway with a door made of 450-year-old red gum sourced from Truro in the mid-north. Indigenous Kaurna symbols were then burnt into the doorway. Geoff also created a sign in Kaurna language and in English. Excerpt from Born at Sea The Life and Art of Wood Sculptor Geoff Bromilow Moonglow Publishing © Dr Kathryn Pentecost 2021 Born at Sea
The Life and Art of Wood Sculptor Geoff Bromilow Moonglow Publishing soon to be released. |
All photography by Kathryn Pentecost, unless otherwise attributed.