British artist\u00a0Simon Beck<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0creates art works with his feet or to be more precise, with his snowshoes. It takes him about ten hours of vigorous walking to stamp out a design the size of three soccer fields, longer if it\u2019s exceedingly large.<\/p>\n

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They look like giant crop circles. His favourite patterns are inspired by the\u00a0Mandlebrot<\/a>\u00a0set, the\u00a0Koch<\/a>\u00a0snowflake and the\u00a0Sierpinski<\/a>\u00a0Triangle, mathematical equations Beck turns into works of art. The artist has a degree in engineering science from the University of Oxford which probably explains his love of\u00a0fractals<\/a>\u00a0though he says he\u2019s never tromped out crop circles (still the subject of some controversy) in his native England preferring instead to travel to\u00a0Savoie,<\/a>\u00a0France every winter to stamp out his designs in and around the Les Arc ski resort near the Swiss border. The area is famous for hosting numerous ski events during the 1992 Winter Olympics.<\/p>\n

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He started tromping about in the snow in 2004 \u201cfor a bit of fun,\u201d inspired, he says, by the temple gardens in\u00a0Kyoto<\/a>\u00a0Japan where sand is raked in patterns. \u201cThis is the closest thing I have seen elsewhere to the effect I achieve with snow.\u201d It\u2019s also his way of keeping fit. \u201cI can no longer run properly because of problems with my feet so plodding about on level snow is the least painful way of getting exercise.\u201d Beck is 54.<\/p>\n

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It starts with a sketch. Then, using a compass and a rope tethered to a central point to create circles, he stomps out his masterpiece. Each step must be perfect.\u00a0\u00a0There are no second chances. The snow is unforgiving. After the piece is done, he takes photographs to record its completion.<\/p>\n

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Beck says his ideal situation is a heavy snowfall up to six inches deep followed by six inches of fine powder on top of a firm base. If the base is too shallow he uses a shovel to create a less detailed pattern.\u00a0\u00a0But Nature can be a fickle partner. A fresh snowfall can cover up an unfinished design, in which case he has to start again, or a snow melt can reveal a previous artwork. Eventually the design disappears.<\/p>\n

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Beck says global warming is taking its toll. He finds his tromping about season starts later every year and may have to move to higher elevations. He\u2019s even considered Arctic Norway. Goodbye France,\u00a0hello Scandinavia.<\/p>\n

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British artist\u00a0Simon Beck\u00a0creates art works with his feet or to be more precise, with his snowshoes. It takes him about ten hours of vigorous walking to stamp out a design the size of three soccer fields, longer if it\u2019s exceedingly large. They look like giant crop circles. His favourite patterns are inspired by the\u00a0Mandlebrot\u00a0set, the\u00a0Koch\u00a0snowflake […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":39923,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[88],"tags":[6941,6940],"yoast_head":"\n