Artist Spent One Year All Alone In The Woods To Create Amazing Surreal Sculptures Using Organic Materials

Spencer Byles is a sculptural artist with just as much drive as talent.

In a real act of devotion for his occupation, he spent every day for more than a year all alone in the unmanaged forests of La Colle Sur Loup, situated in southeastern France.

There, he created surreal sculptures using only organic materials discovered in the immediate area.

There's no way you'll see all of Byles’ work unless you randomly happen upon one of his creations while exploring one of the three forests where Byles left his mark.

This element of secrecy is intentional, imagine going for a walk and coming across one of these fantastic creations in your path.

The pieces from Spencer Byles’ collection, A Year In A French Forest, are sure to mystify people for a lot of years until nature reclaims them back as her own.

Byles lives with his family in La Colle Sur Loup, which is surrounded by many lush and beautiful forests. The artist sought permission to create his art throughout the surrounding wild forests.

Once permission was granted, Byles spent three months preparing and planning, picking out 20+ sites he would use to create his work.

He sought areas that carried unique characteristics and provided more than enough surrounding natural materials to work with.

According to powerfulmind.co, Byles does not use any fancy equipment. He walks out into the forest with just a few necessary hand tools.

The sites are in the area of La Colle Sur Loup, Villeneuve Loubet, and Mougins, France.

Byles uses materials discovered on site in the immediate location to create his one-of-a-kind sculptures. Byles found huge handmade nails, keys, and many other long ago forgotten items, which he used to improve upon his sculptures.

None of these sculptures have names, and Byles does not prefer to share what each piece represents to him.

He would instead ask everybody to make their own story up about the creations.

Byles enjoys creating these impressive sculptures, calling the experience a “dream.” He adds that he has encountered very few issues along the way, the worst being mosquitoes and the scorching temperatures in July and August.

The winters in this part of France are mild, and so he continues to work, merely building large canopy shelters to hide out from heavy rain.

Those minor inconveniences are “just a part of the process.” According to Byles, the greatest challenge was working alone daily for over one year.

At first, it was not easy, as Byles describes himself as a social person. However, within very little time he began to love the long days spent all alone at peace with nature.

None of these creations will last forever.

Byles borrows from the natural environment, knowing that within the time it'll take back what it rightfully owns.

“I work in a ‘living’ environment that’s constantly changing. You are witness to both the growing and dying back of all the plants and trees. It’s slow but the more time you spend in nature, the more you recognize this constant movement.”