4 Snowy Crop Circles: Extraordinary Winter Art

File this one in the “what will they think of next?” category. Artists continually amaze me with their insane ideas of what they can or should do. Simon Beck is no exception. Remember back in the 90s when crop circles were all over the news? Were they made by humans or aliens? Beck is taking full credit for these amazing works of art created on huge snow covered fields by simply walking around in his “raquettes,” or snow shoes.

Beck’s works are featured on his Facebook page and in a Yahoo Group for all to see. On the Yahoo Group home page, he explains that the process of making these huge artworks is like “reverse orienteering.”

He uses a good ol’ sighting compass and sometimes string to plot his main points. The purpose of these five hour adventures? Exercise. He used to be a runner, but due to problems with his feet, this is now the best exercise he can manage. He just walks and walks until he gets tired. If the sun goes down before he does, he dons a headlamp to finish. His Walkman keeps him company for the long journey “plodding through the snow.” Photography came later, but is now so integral to his work he’s thinking of getting a better camera.

Image Credit: [Simon Beck]