Artistry, Sensemaking and Dialogue Projects by John Oliver
Nature, Art, Imagination and Dialogue
As evoked in my artist's statement, my inspiration is to contribute to our social and spiritual development by deepening our experience of nature and the sciences through art and the imagination.
My hope for our future generations and our economic, social and environmental challenges (my interests and activism going back nearly 30 years starting with organising a conference in London on climate change in 1991), is that through art and nature, generative dialogue can be facilitated across diverse cultures and walks of life in society.
Having worked in my professional career on overseas aid projects in Nepal and Ghana, and then in complex social behavioural change in organisations,
I have been influenced by a diverse range of research in fields from the social sciences to anthropology to complexity sciences.
Sculpture "Symmetry Shift" by John Oliver
My journey has brought me to a passion and conviction of the aesthetic and creative actions that can bring positive opportunities for our collective engangement. I have come to appreciate that anyone can step into the role of the artist, approaching what can be overwhelmingly complex and heavy subjects (how does reading the daily news headlines make us feel each day!), with a sense of the "whole", rather than trying to find solutions to the parts as if our world functions like a mechanical and hierachical machine.
Sensing the "whole", brings us news ways of seeing, of appreciating in wonder, and being in creative and organic activism in the smallest of ways.
Part of my regular creative practice is creating nature art, inspired by the likes of Andy Goldsworthy and Day Schildkret www.morningaltars.com
For inspiration and research references, a personal collation of photos of outdoor art from a range of nature installations in Europe is here.
Photos and nature art by John Oliver
Nature Art Trail - SW France (Gujan-Mestras)
Forest Art Works Installations By John Oliver - In progress
Initiated in November 2020, a new project to install a nature trail of art works has begun in partnership with the perma-culture and pony club La Ferme du Loup.
At the heart of Tyler's works is the vision to integrate nature with imagination and contemplation. This is the perfect outdoor location for a first sculpture collection, associated with the presence of families and childrens with the activities at the farm.
Download here the art worksguide and reflection prompts (FR)
Currently in French - EN version to be published in Jan 2022
A 'pre-exposition' of outdoor art sculptures before transporting to La Ferme du Loup
70%-80% of the materials for the sculptures are from recycled sources
Sculpture Trail Workshops Offer
Reflection, interpretation and dialogue
Half-day workshops with practical exercises and/or farm visit)
We are passionate about how the self-reflective and dialogue capacities of our children and adolescents can help the younger generations can flourish in their individuality and self-authorship, whilst at the same time creating a necessary and powerful sense of collective consciousness and connection.
The workshops range from individual guided tours (personal narrative experience) to groups of up to 10 per facilitator (up to 30 maximum with 3 facilitators).
Tariffs start from €75 for an individual tour (1h30) and €350 for one half day workshop for a group of up 10 (1 facilitator).
More details on the offer can be found here.
Childrens' Creativity
In my professional life, I have had various roles linked to education and facilitation (I'm a qualified coach in developmental psychology). This included a deep reflection on how we learn new things and exploring how we notice, see in new ways and therefore reflect.
I've been taking many opportunities to include my own learning journey in cultivating my creativity, the involvement of children. With joyous results! A few photos below.
Describe your image
Describe your image
Describe your image
Describe your image
Community and Nature - Beach Clean-Up
Organised by John Oliver. Plage de la Dune, Pyla SW France, Dec 15th 2019
An initiative organised by John Oliver, in coordination with the Town Council of La Teste and the Conservatoire de la Dune. With the unusually early winter storms in 2019 and high tides, there was an extraordinary quantity of plastics washed up on the 6Km length of the Dune du Pyla beach. So much was shockingly micro-plastics, obviously ground up into small fragments from months and years floating in the sea and therefore very difficult to sort. Organised in complement to the annual local environmental association's clean-up organised each year in April.
And creating art from recycled materials is a fabulous opportunity, as a family activity. The references of recycled art are now huge across the world!
Inspiring Creatives on Art, Nature and Philosophy
Filmed by John Oliver @interiortruth www.InteriorTruth.com
Romain Langlois is an accomplished and internationally recognised artist, also a social activist with his 111Days association that works with refugees. See the full and extended edits of my videos with Romain at www.interiortruth.com/romain-langlois