Dryads (2018)

A 4 day land art project at Starry Skies festival during the glorious, sunny summer of 2018.

This year Starry Skies was held at a beautiful new site near Usk. Working within a glade of trees near an Iron age hill fort, we created three dancing Dryads. Dryads are thought to be tree spirits who exist to watch over and care for the tree they are born with. Dryads are deeply and supernaturally connected to the trees they call home, and are limited to the space of the tree or the forest the tree grows in.

We took inspiration from the trees in our glade, and created an Oak, a Hazel, and a Hawthorn Dryad, each with a unique character and physical presence. Over the four days we worked with families to explore and create the characters of these three tree spirits, and bring them to life, holding hands and dancing in the woods. We were really blessed to have some families working with us who have been part of this project for the last two years and just keep coming back. Interestingly everyone who worked on the sculpture seemed to identify with, and work on, one Dryad more than the others and in doing so infused the characters with some of their own spirit as well.

“Land Art is the absolute highlight of my festival. It’s so wonderful being creative and I am always amazed at what can be achieved. It’s such an inclusive project and great to be part of a team”          Emma Boakes

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