A Natural State explores how people express a love for nature by shaping, twisting, carving, and weaving materials collected from the landscape. Some of the arts and crafts featured in A Natural State reveal the cultural heritage of South Carolina, while others employ concepts from the world of modern art. For more about this project, visit the credits page.
TO GET STARTED: Click on a landform region below to learn more about these artists and how they use the uniqueness of their environment to enhance their artistic vision. To learn more about each landform region, visit the Where Am I? section.
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Jimmie is a self-taught craftsman, who initially picked up the art of fashioning vines and branches into wreaths and baskets while caring for an ailing parent. He honed his art and moved into the...
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Brian Rust's Earthen Cycle creates visual interest and a place of retreat in an otherwise overlooked stretch of grass connecting two parking lots. A Natural State visited Rust as he installed the site...
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Herb Parker's Piccolo Labyrinth, a nature-based sculpture of grass, sod and steel rebar, created a temporary, "quiet, contemplative space" on Charleston's waterfront. As an installation, the sculpture...
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Arianne grew up in a landscape of gardens, farms and the sea near Virginia Beach, Virginia. As a "child of nature," Arianne found an artistic release through dance and drawing. Arianne later studied...
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The city of Sumter invited artists to experiment with nature-based art during its the Art in the Park event. Nature-based art is sculpture that uses natural materials, often materials found on-site...
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Catawba pottery is recognized as one of the oldest and purest traditional art forms in America. Potters such as Billie Anne McKellar, a fourth generation potter, are often ancestors of a long line of...
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Clemson's Nature-Based Sculpture Program reinvents the art gallery as an outdoor experience where the sculptor's hand is revealed through exploration and discovery. There are no signs to lead visitors...
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Janet’s sculptural work weaves together elements of several modern art forms briefly described below: Installation Art: Artworks that alter or enhance our experience of the place in which the work...
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Organic materials such as pine needles are considered "free for the taking" and have qualities that can not be reproduced by humans. But collecting natural materials comes at a price for the...
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Since the early 1970s, Nils-Udo has reshaped the land to achieve "absolute purity," where, "every non-natural element is ruled out as impure. No other materials are used but those found in each...
