Emma Powell
- Oct 5, 2023
- 2 min read

Arts & Environment: Review: Land Sand Stone Art Festival, Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire 2023

Updated: Apr 10

This land art festival was spread over two days. On both days visitors were encouraged to make their own art amongst the pieces created by the participating artists.

The first day was based on Bridlington’s North Beach which is well known for its soft sand and smooth, white chalk stones, often with Piddock* holes within them. Seaweed was also available.

The second day was based in the grounds of Sewerby Hall* where shady corners, leaves and twigs were in plentiful supply.

The following images are just a selection of the pieces that were created for the event.

Bridlington Beach Art

This date coincided with the hottest day of the year and huge numbers of day trippers to the beach. The artistic creations stood out amongst the crowds but were hard to photograph.

James Brunt, Jon Foreman and Laurence Winram initiated a large community piece (Image 1) that integrated the chalk stones with dried seaweed. Passers-by added to the structure throughout the event.

Image 1: James Brunt, Jon Foreman and Laurence Winram – close up

Winston Plowes created a beautiful herringbone-based structure (Image 2) just from the white stones placed on their edges

Arron Tierney collected flat pebbles to build height within his design (Image 3).

On the steep grassy bank James Craig Page assembled a precarious assortment of stones (Image 4).

Sewerby Hall Gardens Art

This location was a great escape from the heat and the crowds. Each artist found their own location and created work in response to the space. Visitors could create mini collections of natural objects, on the ground, contained within temporary frames.

James Brunt’s piece (Image 5), under the shade of a tree, was at the start of the art trail. It combined similar leaf shapes, all of different colours, with twig borders.

Arron Tierney integrated a delicate piece made from leaves onto a triangular piece of swept border (Image 6).

Laurence Winram strung leaves together and hung them from branches (Image 7).

Winston Plowes found a really nice spot and assembled small twigs into a beautiful pattern (Image 8).

Florence Halliwell used a variety of leaf shapes, textures and twigs to create a circular piece beneath a tree (Image 9).

Mark Antony Haden Ford threaded small, delicate twigs together to make large, hanging structures that framed the landscape really effectively at the end of the art trail (Images 10 & 11).