[ By Angie in Art & Design, Geography & Travel, Home & Garden. ]
Imagine having a gigantic canvas the size of 15,000 square meters and your mural design will be living art. In Japan, rice field art is intricate, beautiful and bizarre. Cooler than crop circles, rice paddy art is becoming a big business that attracts crowds. The agricultural artistry is incredibly inventive which gives rise to marketing creativity. Here are 18 amazing and artistic rice murals.
Rice Field Art Rumored As A Hoax
(image credits: hemmy)
Crop circles are argued to be produced by aliens or drunken pranksters, but folks shouted, “Hoax!” and “Shopped!” when this picture of Mona Lisa circulated on the interwebs. Stunning and intricate rice field art is real. When a paddy is used as a canvas to create giant pictures in the rice fields, it is called Tanbo art. It was the Japanese who grew Mona Lisa grew in 2003. This was the first extremely intricate motif.
Canvas Size = 15,000 sq Meters of Land
(image credits: weirdasianews)
Even if a person is blessed enough to be born with artistic ability, most artists do not start with a canvas that is 15,000 square meters. The patterns are decided upon in April. The fields are planted in May and the bizarre agricultural murals are at full splendor in September. It’s not photoshopped, but computers do play a part in developing the designs. Farmers first sketch out their patterns, since each of the four different colored rice varieties have to be planted with precision.
Visualize the Patience, the Process
(image credits: hemmy)
The tradition of artistic rice fields was started in 1993 in Japan. The above field is located in the village of Inakadate, located 600 miles north of Toyko. For the first nine years, a simple mountain pattern was grown. The rice paddy mural motif for 2007 was Hokusai – from Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” and “South Wind, Clear Sky.”
Artistic Rice Fields
Century-old farming tradition met creative artistry out of a desire for Inakadate to revitalize their village. By 2005, the rice field art was so popular that the artwork designs took on much more intricate patterns. By 2006, over 200,000 people traveled to Inakadate to see the living rice mural. In order to see the entire field, a 22 meter mock castle was constructed for appreciative and awed viewers.
(image credits: amazingphotos4all,tywkiwdbi,damncoolpics)
These giant living works of Japanese art are relatively new, but rice has been grown in most of these same areas for over 2,000 years.
Although the fields now appear painted, local green-leafed tsugaru roman variety rice is planted along with purple and yellow-leafed kodaimai rice.
Giant to Smaller Crop Murals
Yonezawa, Japan, followed suit and designed a field with fictional warrior Naoe Kanetsugu and his wife Osen. From village to village, different patterns are grown. Some include the genre ukiyo-e like the Japanese woodblock prints or paintings which were produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries. Common ukiyo-e motifs are historic tales, landscapes, theater, and “pleasure quarters.” On the bottom is the 2005 agricultural artistry featuring Sharaku – “Otani Oniji” and Utamaro – “Anthology of Poems: The Love Section.”
This agricultural artistry of Ebisu and Daikoku was used in 2008. This is Ebisu, god of fishers and merchants. He is one of the Seven Gods of Fortune.
Smaller works of crop art sprung up in other rice-farming areas of Japan like these murals of Doraemon and deer dancers.
(image credits: weirdasianews,askanet,Japan Times)
In 2006, Inakadate fields featured Fujin and Raijin. Fujin is the god of the wind and located on the right side of the field. Raijin is the god of thunder and lightning.
Inakadate Rice Murals
Naoe Kanetsugu, a commander from the Sengoku period, in on the left side of the rice mural. Napoleon is on the right side of the 2009 Inakadate field.
Upon closer inspection, the rows and thousands of rice plants become visible. It’s somewhat mind-boggling to imagine hand-planting each of the plants in the precise spots to create rice paddy art.
Closer still, it is easier to see the mingling of the different rice varieties. Planting the “Paddy Art” takes hundreds of villagers and volunteers. The village population is only about 8,700.
(image credits: kellyvbrown,hoax-slayer)
Inakadate is the undisputed leader in cultivating intricate and fantastic living works of art. The 2009 theme was Warlords and Napoleon.
Rice Murals – Paddy Art & Drama
Rice field art is incredibly inventive, but marketing the living mural is even more creative. The 2008 rice mural caused drama since an ad was carefully placed to grow within it. This 3.7-acre rice mural in Inakadate features Daikoku, the god of wealth. Daikoku is holding the “magic money mallet.” Japan Airlines has a crop-based advertisement under Daikoku. The incorporated advertising met with disapproval from the former mayor, Ryuji Sato. He also happens to own the field. After a week of heated debates, town hall employees were dispatched to uproot the rice plants that formed the JAL logo.
(image credits: telegraph)
The above animal and historic scenes were drama and ad free.
In this stop-motion video of the 2008 Inakadate rice crop art, daily images from June 1 to July 8 were captured from a roof webcam. On July 4, the webcam was shutdown when workers were sent to remove the cultivated JAL ad from the crop. We can’t wait to see what new yet spectacular giant crop murals will cover the rice fields in Japan . . . . also if ads designs will be growing in the rice paddy art venues.
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Living Walls: 15 More Vertically Vegetated Buildings
Greenery isn’t just for roofs anymore – verdant carpets of moss, vines, grass and more bring lush life to vertical surfaces indoors and out through framed art installations, living walls, moss graffiti and even curtains of vegetation. Such ‘green walls’ take the technology and benefits of green roofs and make it even more visually appealing, softening bare concrete and providing shade, humidity and oxygen.
Floating, Greenery-Covered Home Concept
(images via: Treehugger)
In the Netherlands, architects accept the possibility that their city could eventually be taken over by the water that surrounds it – and they’re working on sustainable solutions that work with, not against, nature. If water takes over the city, so be it – residents could be living in dainty little floating homes made from recycled polystyrene hamburger clamshells, coffee cups and packing material and covered in vegetation.
Japan’s Bio-Lung: World’s Largest Green Wall
(image via: Colleen Bishop)
The world’s largest green wall was constructed for Japan’s Aichi Expo in 2005, a massive ‘bio-lung’ measuring 150 meters long and 12 meters high. The wall consisted of hemp canvas called ‘kenaf’, with pockets planted with sedum, vines and flowers. It was named ‘bio-lung’ to convey the message that such expanses of vertical vegetation can function as a huge, breathing lung to purify the air in urban environments.
Largest Living Wall in North America
(image via: Jetson Green)
The largest living wall in North America was recently completed at One PNC Plaza in Pittsburgh, the headquarters of PNC Bank. The 2,380 square-foot living wall has 602 2′x2′ modular panels, each one containing 24 plants for a grand total of 14,448 plants. The greenery, complete with PNC logo, covers a vast section of the exterior wall of this 30-story building. Since its installation, studies have shown that the south-facing wall is 25% cooler behind the green wall than ambient temperatures.
Plan for Green Wall in Cordoba, Spain
(images via: Urbanity)
Architects Thomas and Javier Garcia Píriz Castilian Pulido of CUAC Architecture envisioned a vast stretch of latticed greenery for the east and south sides of the façade of the College of Architecture at Cordoba, Spain. The architects imagine the green wall as a continuation of the existing building’s Art Noveau theme, placing an emphasis on the inclusion of nature in public spaces.
Whole Foods Living Wall
(image via: City Food)
At the new Whole Foods in Vancouver, a colorful wall of plants embellishes the north-facing wall of the building, adding to the city’s long list of greenery-adorned architecture. The wall is planted with native plants like huckleberry, euonymus, and licorice fern, which were individually placed within self-contained soil soil panels and attached to the side of the building.
Vertical Garden Art Installations
(image via: FloraGrubb.com)
Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco is a popular destination for fans of vertical greenery thanks to the talents of Kevin Smith, who creates stunning vertical gardens such as this one, made with succulents. Smith and partner, Flora Grubb – who owns the garden shop – also created a vertical tillandsia garden for the Bardessono Hotel.
Potted Plant Patios in Cordoba, Spain
(Image via: Guayre)
Cordoba, Spain is a city famous for its beautiful courtyards, called ‘patios Cordobeses’. Inside the gates of each courtyard, exterior walls are covered in wall-hanging planters, adding color and interest to what would otherwise be blank expanses of white. Each spring, private courtyards are opened to the public as homeowners compete with their neighbors for the best floral display. This one, pictured, won in 2007.
ReviPlant Edible Green Walls
(images via: ReviPlant)
Some critics of popular vertical greenery designs argue that such gardens aren’t being used to their maximum potential unless they’re edible. This design, by Italian company ReviPlant, is a vertical gardening system that takes vegetable gardens off the ground, transforming them into portable green walls that can be used to cover building facades.
Campbell’s Soup Tomato Wall in Harlem
(image via: AGreenRoof.com)
The Campbell’s Soup Company teamed up with Green Living Technologies LLC to create a living wall of the tomatoes grown for the company’s iconic soup in Harlem, New York. This “edible” food-producing wall brings fresh, pesticide-free produce to an area that lacks space for traditional horizontal gardens.
Moss Graffiti: Green Walls with a Message
(images via: Environmental Graffiti)
Vertical greenery doesn’t have to take up an entire wall. Moss graffiti is a form of wall vegetation that serves a purely decorative purpose, with designs ‘painted’ onto wall surfaces using a mixture of biodegradable ingredients that allow the moss to grow. Artist Anna Garforth experiments with poetry, while Edina Tokodi is responsible for popular New York City installations on concrete columns and other surfaces.
Greenery Curtains at Aichi Prefecture
(image via: Anjo City)
In Anjo City, Japan, a novel solution for cooling hot concrete buildings was to construct ‘curtains’ of greenery that filter both the sun and the air. Five nets cover the eastern side of a government building, each measuring 16 meters long and six meters wide. Planters at the base allow morning glories, bitter gourds, loofah and other plants to climb the nets, offering privacy on the balconies.
Inadvertent Vertical Greenery at Abandoned Shipyard
(images via: Artificial Owl)
Not all vertical greenery is intentional – just take a drive through the Kudzu vine-covered South, or enter an old abandoned building taken over by trees and vines. This former glass factory and shipyard in Imari harbour in the Saga prefecture of Japan has been almost entirely taken back by nature, and shows that accidental vertical vegetation can be just as beautiful as that which is planned.
Green Pockets: Planter Wall Tiles
(images via: Momoy)
Green Pockets, interlocking recycled ceramic tiles with built-in planters designed by Maruja Fuentes, turn vertical greenery into a sort of interactive art project that allows users to create wallscapes in virtually any kind of pattern, from free-flowing waves to checkerboards. The small planters make it easy to decorate a wall with herbs, flowers or other plants and easily change out the plants as desired.
Brooklyn’s First Living Wall
(image via: Jetson Green)
Brooklyn, New York got its first living wall in 2008 with the simple yet charming installation at Oulu Bar & EcoLounge in Williamsburg. The LEED-gold certified building and wall were both designed by Evangeline Dennie, with the modern warm wood façade of the building perfectly complementing the greenery for an eye-catching effect.
Changi Airport, Singapore
(images via: Alice)
There’s nothing cold and sterile about the Changi Airport of Singapore, which is home to a beautiful five-story wall of vines. Located in the baggage pick-up area, this self-watering 300-meter-wide vertical wall of vegetation brings some much-needed fresh air into a large, densely populated building.
Steph
7 Geological Wonders from the World’s 7 Continents
Will wonders never cease? Probably not, Mother Earth has had 5 billion years to sculpt herself into spectacular splendor and it’s certain she’s not done yet. For now though, let’s take a little trip across the 7 continents to find our planet’s coolest natural wonders.
Landscape Arch, Utah, North America
(images via: E. J. Peiker, Arches National Park and Igougo)
The highlight of Devil’s Garden, a protected area of Arches Natural Park boasting an abundance – over 2,000! – spectacular natural sandstone arches, Landscape Arch soars 290 feet (88 meters) through Utah’s dry desert air. A fun fact about this arch: some say the signs for Landscape Arch and nearby Delicate Arch were accidentally switched. It may be so – the former is visibly more “delicate” than the latter.
(image via: ADDI)
Carved incrementally over untold thousands of years by windblown sand and rare desert rainstorms, Landscape Arch is an ever-evolving testament to the inexorable pace of geologic change – which has its darker side. Visitors to Arches Natural Park should tread easy when observing Landscape Arch as recent rock falls from its underside raise questions as to how much longer this amazing natural wonder will exist to be appreciated.
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, South America
(images via: Marco Teodonio, Somethin’ Beautiful, POPFi and Viajejet)
The Salar de Uyuni is a dried salt lake lying 10,000 feet high in Bolivia’s Andes Mountains that is 25 times the size of the Bonneville Salt Flats in the USA. An estimated 10 billion tons of salt attest to the size of ancient Lake Minchin, now mostly evaporated into the dry mountain air. Salt isn’t the Salar de Uyuni’s main claim to fame, however. When the rains do come, the salt flat becomes the world’s largest natural mirror!
(image via: XRV)
The shallowness of the standing water combined with the stillness of the thin mountain air can disconcert visitors suddenly forced to wonder which way is up. Despite its remoteness, Salar de Uyuni plays host to a significant number of tourists who can stay at a Salt Hotel. This is one place you don’t want to forget to bring your camera – or remove the lens cap when you start snapping away!
Eye of the Sahara, Mauritania, Africa
(images via: Free Wallpapers, TurkceBilgi and The Sleeping Pharaoh)
Also known as the Richat Structure, this eerie, eye-like outcrop in the western reaches of the Sahara was virtually unknown until the Space Age when orbiting astronauts spied what appeared to be a huge eye staring back at them! At first thought to be a meteor crater, the 30-mile (50 km) wide feature may actually be nothing more exciting than an eroded rock outcrop.
(images via: Earth Snapshot and Viva NOLA)
Whatever it is, the Richat Structure has caught the imagination of artists, environmentalists and naturalists who see the gigantic “eye” as a symbol of our living planet and its ongoing ability to shock, surprise and amaze its very recent tenants, humanity.
The Gateway To Hell, Námaskarð, Iceland
(image via: Hottnez)
It may be called The Gateway To Hell, but Námaskarð is simply heavenly to those who seek the unearthly while still staying on Earth.
(image via: Hottnez)
Iceland is one of the world’s most volcanically active countries, which seems ironic considering its chilly name. One of the most powerful and wide-ranging volcanic events in modern history, the 1783 eruption of the Laki volcanic system, caused the deaths by famine of up to 25 percent of Iceland’s population and the loss of most of the island’s livestock. Things are calmer nowadays… enjoy Iceland’s wonders but keep your options (and travel arrangements) open!
Reed Flute Cave, Guilin, China
(images via: China Connection Tours and Vrodkaraf)
The magnificent underground cave system traditionally called Reed Flute Cave and known today as the Palace of Natural Art lies beneath the city of Guilin, China, and is over 750 feet (240 meters) long. The first recorded visits to the cave took place over 1,000 years ago during China’s Tang Dynasty. Artificial lighting is used to enhance the stunning rock formations in the cave, which has been officially open for visitors since 1962.
(image via: UNI Study Abroad)
One of the largest parts of the cave system is the Crystal Palace of the Dragon King, which can hold up to 1,000 people and was used as an air raid shelter during World War II. The grotto features a solitary stalagmite that resembles a human being – it’s said that a visiting poet attempted to write about the beauty that greeted his eyes but took so long to find the right words he turned to stone.
The Devil’s Marbles, Northern Territory, Australia
(images via: JPG, Travel Webshots and DomBea)
Known as Karlu Karlu to Australia’s aboriginal people and one of their most sacred sites, The Devil’s Marbles are huge blocks of 1.7 billion year old granite rounded by countless centuries of weathering. Wind, water, temperature and sunlight conspire to erode and, on occasion, split the massive ovoids which sit, individually or in groups, in a desolate Outback valley.
(image via: University of Michigan)
As can be seen above, some of the Devil’s Marbles are of a staggering size… which gives one a hint as to the proportions of ‘ol Satan himself!
Ice Towers of Mount Erebus, Antarctica
(images via: Neatorama and T.E.A.)
Hundreds of ice towers stud the flanks of 12,500ft. high Mount Erebus like day-old stubble on the face of a giant. The constantly active volcano is perhaps the only place in Antarctica where fire and ice meet, mingle and create something unique encompassing both their natures. The towers can be as much as 60 feet (20 meters) high and look almost alive as they huff and puff streamers of steam into the south polar sky. Some of the volcanic steam freezes onto the inner part of the towers, expanding and extending them.
(image via: Life In The Fast Lane)
If Antarctica’s ice towers look otherworldly, it’s no accident – similar structures may exist on Mars and the moons of Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune. Of course, those interplanetary ice towers don’t have penguins (or something like them) idly surveying the scene… of course they don’t.
Steve
High Nature: Amazing Mountain Wildlife
(images via claude74, itsnature, gravitydude99)
Mountains are some of the most inhospitable places on earth. Thin air, lack of vegetation and harsh weather highlight that fact. But some creatures have adapted to mountain life. For them, negotiating rocky terrain, breathing thin air, and finding food in such a scarce environment is second nature.
Snow Leopard
(image via newagecrap)
Snow Leopards are at home in South and Central Asia. They are an especially stocky cat, weighing up to 120 pounds. Despite their ferocity (snow leopards have been known to kill animals three-times their size), they are endangered, with the worldwide population estimated around 10,000.
Indian Rhino and Yak
(images via Wonker and thomaswanhoff)
The Indian Rhinoceros is one of the most unusual mountain creatures. They thrive in the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains in Northeastern India and Nepal. They can weight more than 3 tons, easily the largest mountain animal on earth.
The yak is a woolly, strong creature that has made life possible to humans in the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau for centuries. They have larger hearts and lungs than their other bovine cousins and can survive at up to 18,000 feet above sea-level.
Mountain Goat
(image via mikefats)
There are actually several species that are often tagged as Mountain Goats. The shaggy, sure-footed Rocky Mountain Goat is frequently sighted in Colorado and Wyoming. Other species are equally sure-footed and able to survive by eating whatever the mountains have to offer.
Himalayan Griffon, Andean Condor, and Tibetan Snowcock
(images via reurinkjan, Ester Inbar and Otto Plantema)
The Himalayan Griffon Vulture is a scavenger that can often be seen soaring over the mountains of South Asia. With a wingspan that approaches 10 feet, this is one of the largest birds to be found at high altitudes.
The Andean Condor is the Griffon’s Western Hemisphere cousin. It has a similar size. This South American species can live up to 50 years.
The Tibetan Snowcock is not as large as the two scavengers above, but it is arguably as tough, carving out an existence high on the Tibetan Plateau.
Alpine Marmot
(images via leo-seta)
Alpine Marmots are the largest relative of the squirrel. They have an ideal set of skills for life in Central Europe’s mountains. They are able to dig through hard, rocky ground with ease and can escape harsh conditions by hibernating (sometimes up to nine months per year).
Vicuna and Llama
(images via Rico Hubner and eschipul)
The rare Vicuna is a cousin of South America’s most famous domesticated animal, the llama. It thrives in the same high-altitude conditions, but is considerably harder to find. At one point, there were only about 10,000 left in the wild. Protection has brought the number back to more than 100,000.
The Llama has become of necessity of life for people living in the high Andes. These relatives of the camel have are used for labor, for their thick wool, and even for food.
Alpine Ibex
(image via Earth explorer)
This species of goat is easily recognized by its long, curving horns (which can be more than three feet long). Despite the menacing appearance this gives them, the horns are mainly used for protection against predators. Like most other goats, the ibex is strictly a herbivore, surviving on sometimes scarce mountain foliage.
Water-holding Cabbage
(image via Esculapio)
This unique plant species is one of the many unique ones that grow high on Mount Kilimanjaro. The flowering tops make it seem top-heavy and completely alien.
Bharal and Deer Mice
(images via reurinkjan and kwantlen park)
The Bharal is yet another goat-like animal that thrives in sparse, rocky terrain. Its sure footing and ability to ingest anything that is vaguely edible make it an ideal mountain dweller. Bharal are a major food source for another animal on this list, Snow Leopards.
Deer Mice are found high on many of the world’s mountains. These creatures can adapt easily to a number of environments, including the extreme cold of the Andes Mountains.
Josh