The Great Outdoors: Office Space Goes Green and Open-Air
August 24, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Delana in Art & Design & Home & Garden & Nature & Ecosystems. ]
When you work at a desk, the nine-to-five workday can seem like an eternity – even if you like your job. An outdoor installation in downtown Denver uses fabulous living greenery to remind office drones that we all need to get out of the cubicle and into nature once in a while. The installation, put together by Tres Birds Workshop, was part irreverent, playful art and part serious commentary on our increasingly sheltered (as in: lived out within the walls of our homes and offices) lives.
(all images via: Tres Birds Workshop)
Using recycled office furniture and real living greenery, Tres Birds Set up five workplace-themed installations in the 16th Street Mall area of Denver’s business district. A conference room, a cubicle, a break room, a filing cabinet and an executive office line the outdoor space and entice pedestrians to stop and interact with them.
The charming bits of furniture all covered over with growing vines, leaves and various other green plants look like they must have been there for years. Indeed, it was the intention of Tres Birds to make the installation look as if nature had reclaimed the entire area. They call the project “Natural Systems Domination,” a reference to the ability of nature to completely take over and dominate everything if we only step aside and allow it to happen.
The green spirit of the installation carried far past its concept. The live vegetation was recycled into the neighborhood following its display, and all of the office furniture was re-donated to secondhand stores in the area. Nothing went to waste, which is just how this green-minded collective likes it.
Overall, the message of this fun but poignant installation is that we can all find a bit of time to step away from the desk each day. Nature is out there waiting to be enjoyed: it’s healthy, free relaxation. And who couldn’t use that in the middle of a busy workday?
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Naturayarte: Nature and Art Meet in Delicate Cut Leaves
August 3, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Delana in Art & Design & Home & Garden & Nature & Ecosystems. ]
Natural materials are often the most striking in art. Their irregular organic shapes and delicate lines are as breathtaking as any image dreamed up by an artist. These impressive leaf cuttings by Spanish artist Lorenzo Duran combine the best of organic shapes and precise human-made cuts.
(all images via: Designboom)
Duran uses a technique similar to that used all around the world in traditional paper cutting art. The self-taught artist uses his amazing skill to create these small masterpieces which he uses to support himself and his family.
After studying the paper cutting techniques used in Asia and Europe, Duran figured that he should be able to apply the same techniques to leaves. He began experimenting with this unusual medium, making note of which types of leaves provided the best canvas and which resulted in the most precise cuts.
Lorenzo Duran calls his craft Naturayarte, and he is kind enough to share his process on his website. After selecting, washing and drying the leaves, he places them into a press. While they are being pressed, he sketches out a one-of-a-kind drawing for each leaf.
Duran then tapes the drawings to the freshly pressed leaves and uses the drawings as templates for his intricate cuttings. Removing the drawing from the leaf is the trickiest part of the process since the leaves are extremely delicate and prone to ripping. Entire days of work can be lost in an instant if Duran attempts to hurry this part of the creation.
Each drawing – and therefore each cutting – is entirely unique. In keeping with the independent artisan vibe of his work, Duran doesn’t set prices for his completed works – he lets the buyers of his art decide what they are worth.
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The Urban Jungle: Tiny Ecosystems Take Over Madrid
June 5, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Delana in Art & Design & Home & Garden & Nature & Ecosystems. ]
If you believe, as many of us do, that nature needs to be nurtured and protected in order to survive, then you may appreciate the small things that each of us can do every day to protect the Earth. Spanish artistic group Luzinterruptus, already known for literally shining a light on urban problems in Madrid, came up with a truly beautiful way of encouraging nature to gain a foothold – or roothold, rather – in the most unforgiving urban spots.
The Implanted Nature project was implemented in May 2011 by Luzinterruptus on an overnight journey from Malasaña to Lavapiés. The group created 50 tiny ecosystems, complete with plants, plastic animals, lovely lights and miniature greenhouses, and left them in the darkest and least plant-friendly parts of the city center.
Initially the project was going to be about preserving already-existing weeds and stubborn plants that always seem to poke their way through cracks in the sidewalk somehow. But in the busy city center where feet and cars constantly trample the ground, the group knew they would have a hard time finding even the most hardy of plant life.
They decided to bring their own plants, along with growing medium and a growth aid to help them survive. After creating the tiny ecosystems, the anonymous members of the group simply left all 50 of them there as a reminder to passers-by of the true beauty that nature can bring to even a city environment.
(all images via: Luzinterruptus)
The hope is that some (or ideally all) of the plants will take root and actually grow where they have been planted, bringing a semi-permanent splash of cheery green to the otherwise dull, grey streets of a busy urban community.
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Get Tanked: Fabulous Faux Swimming Pool Illusions
May 3, 2011 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments
[ By Delana in Art & Design & Technology & Gadgets & Tricks & Hacks. ]
There are few things more delightful than a dip in a cool pool on a hot summer day – but there is definitely something different about these swimming pools. Despite looking like normal water-filled pools, people are walking upright on the bottoms and not getting wet. What in the world is going on here?
(images via: Swedish Bed, Toxel)
These highly unusual swimming pools are, in fact, illusions. Rather than being filled from bottom to top with water, these basins only have a very thin layer of H2O at the top. The chamber of the pool is actually a room that is entered through a small door to one side. The 10 cm-thick layer of water creates the illusion of a pool that is filled to the brim.
That illusion is called into question, of course, when an entire family is seen effortlessly walking on the bottom of the pool. Although it may seem obvious once you know the trick, it is undoubtedly disconcerting to those who are seeing the effect for the first time.
(images via: Swedish Bed)
The pools are the work of artist Leandro Erlich, a talented sculptor who wanted to open up a new perspective for those viewing the pools. How does it feel to look down through the shimmering water and see real, live people moving about below you? How does it feel to stand in the bottom of the pool and look up at the rest of the world through that layer of water? It must be an experience like nothing else.
Erlich installed one pool at the PS1 Art Center in New York and another at the 21st Century Art Museum in Kanazawa, Japan. Regardless of their geographic location, these incredible works of art would truly be a sight to behold. Was the artist making a statement on water conservation or simply having fun? Viewers are free to draw their own conclusions and decide just how deep to take their contemplation of the subject.
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Earth in a Bubble: Unique Flipped Landscape Photography
April 13, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Delana in Art & Design & Geography & Travel & Nature & Ecosystems. ]
Our world is undoubtedly a beautiful mystery, with countless wonders just waiting to be seen. But we can sometimes tend to become numb to those wonders after seeing them every day; that is why a new perspective can offer a renewed sense of amazement. A young Flickr user has given the world a whole new way to see all of the beauty surrounding us every day: through a tiny glass sphere.
Flickr user Cabe26 only decided to take up photography less than a year ago, just before a trip to Alaska. While on that trip, he perfected a technique that would let him show his surroundings in a strange, isolated, yet completely intimate way: through a small glass marble. He calls the series, appropriately, “Life Through a Marble.”
Cabe26, a New Jersey teenager, had seen other photographers create stunning images with large crystal balls, but he had never seen anyone use tiny glass marbles. His experimentation with a smaller glass bubble led to these breathtaking nature photos which have been earning the teen international attention.
Since beginning the series, the young photographer has practiced his technique with many different types of landscapes: icy vistas, serene trees and colorful beaches have all been given the marble treatment.
The result is always stunning. The portion of the scene viewed through the marble is turned upside-down while the background behind the marble itself is soft and out of focus. The unique perspective turns nature photography on its head and gives viewers a whole new way to think about the world in which we live.
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Recycling Flashmob = Street Art + Guerrilla Activism
April 10, 2011 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments
[ By Delana in Art & Design & Home & Garden & Nature & Ecosystems. ]
When you see a piece of waste on the ground, do you walk by it? Or do you take a moment to pick it up and put it in its proper place? This question was at the center of one of the absolute coolest flashmobs ever. A large crowd in a mall celebrated the one person who took the time to make a difference.
According to the above video, 671 million kg of plastic products are produced each year. And every year, 400 million recyclable containers are not recycled in Quebec alone. 18,000 pieces of plastic float on every square kilometer of the ocean, making it obvious that our garbage is a growing problem. This incredible flashmob calls attention to just how many people choose to ignore that problem.
The look on the woman’s face when she is confronted by a cheering mob is priceless. This exercise in humor and positive reinforcement reminds us that every small action that helps the environment is a step in the right direction.
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Prehistoric Inspiration: California Desert Sculpture Safari
March 30, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Delana in Animals & Habitats & Art & Design & History & Trivia. ]
In a stretch of inhospitable desert 90 miles east of San Diego, a dry wind caresses the dramatic curves of a mammoth, whispers through the bared teeth of a sabertooth tiger, whips at the terrifying claws of a raptor. These imposing figures are both the history and the future of this plot of land: a history buried deep beneath the sands and a future imbued in the scrap metal structures that stoically greet visitors to this unassuming parcel of land called Galleta Meadows Estate.
The story of Galleta Meadows Estate – the modern story, anyway – began in the 1990s when multimillionaire Dennis Avery purchased a fabulously-priced huge parcel of land near Borrego Springs but had no concrete plans for it. The new landowner decided to listen to the land itself to figure out what belonged there.
The answer came to him after he learned that the area was known for the great archaeological secrets buried in the sands. Fossils from the Pliocene, Pleistocene and Miocene eras could be found in large numbers nearby, so Avery realized that he needed to use the land to recall its own history. He enlisted the help of Mexican artist Ricardo Arroyo Breceda to create a scrap metal zoo of pre-historic creatures right there in the middle of the desert.
Breceda’s creations are up to 4 meters tall and made of wire and hammer-pounded scrap metal. They are wild broncos, tortoises, camels, dinosaurs, sloths and tapirs among other wild creatures of long, long ago – all part of a strange safari frozen in time. A few humans even make appearances: gold miners and farmers who pay homage to the more recent history of the region.
(all images via: Galleta Meadows)
Galleta Meadows Estate is now a tourist attraction that accompanies Avery’s golf course, tourist resort and country club which share that parcel of land. The sculptures are scattered through Galleta Meadows, inviting tourists to explore the area and discover every one of them.
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Butting In: Portrait Made of Over 20K Used Cigarette Butts
March 27, 2011 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments
[ By Delana in Art & Design & Nature & Ecosystems & Tricks & Hacks. ]
Cigarette butts litter the streets of most cities and towns, creating an environmental burden that could easily be avoided. Swiss street artist Jinks Kunst has come up with a great way to use these omnipresent pieces of rubbish to immortalize one of the most influential popular music artists in the world.
(image via: Oddity Central)
Kunst is known as a graffiti and stencil artist, but he adopted a new medium in order to create this portrait of French musician Serge Gainsbourg. Kunst is a big fan of the singer, so he spent three years collecting used cigarette filters to create this amazing – and kind of disgusting – portrait of Gainsbourg.
(image via: Jinks Kunst)
Overall, there are 20,394 cigarette filters making up the legendary singer’s face. He was famously fond of smoking and drinking, making the choice of unusual medium completely logical. But besides fitting the subject, the medium is an ingenious way to clean up the streets in a small way. A cigarette butt portrait would be perfect for an environmentally-themed piece of art.
(image via: Oddity Central)
The portrait was created to mark the 20th anniversary of Gainsbourg’s death. It’s just one of a complete exhibit of unusual depictions of one of France’s greatest musical treasures. Jinks Kunst’s creation and a whole series of previously-unpublished photos of Gainsbourg are being displayed in Nantes.
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After Effects: Tiny Buildings Reclaimed by Nature’s Touch
February 16, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Delana in Art & Design, Home & Garden, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
Dilapidated buildings, overtaken by moss and time, can turn architecture into unintentional art. But there is nothing unintentional or aged about these fascinating houses. They are the inspired work of Daniele Del Nero, a Spanish artist who turns ordinary scale models of homes into ethereal works of art that look as though they have been abandoned to the elements for centuries.
Surprisingly, there is only the most delicate foundation to these artificially aged structures. Rather than the solid wooden bones of actual homes, these tiny buildings bear hollow interiors. They are made of black construction paper, carefully cut and sculpted by the artist who has a background in architecture and engineering.
The models are moistened, then dusted with flour and seeded with mold. From there, it takes surprisingly little time for the models to turn into ghostly echoes of their former selves.
The mold feeds on the layer of flour, expanding and consuming every available inch of the paper surface. It acts as a catalyst for quick and overwhelming change, transforming the simple paper houses into decrepit old structures that appear to have been abandoned for many, many years.
After planting the mold and encouraging it to grow, Del Nero places the little houses into plexiglass boxes. The mold quickly covers the paper and then dies out, leaving a spooky, dusty covering of what appears to be great age and sad neglect.
According to the artist, this series, entitled “After Effects,” is a commentary on the impermanence of our urban spaces. Although we see cities as immovable, permanent places, nature begins to reclaim them quickly and without mercy when we step aside. Although his works display this on a very small (and very stylized) scale, we have seen similar rapid aging of real-world buildings and cities as well.
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Hunter Stabler: Visions In Papercutting
December 30, 2010 by admin · View Comments
[ By Marc in Art & Design. ]
Hunter Stabler is an extraordinary papercutter who has elevated the craft to new levels. With a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Pennsylvania, Hunter was well educated in the skills necessary to pursue his art. Though he specialized in painting, his career has taken a different turn.
(Images via giantrobot, robotnine, theartblog)
Hunter Stabler’s work combines incredibly intricate details into complicated larger works. It’s easy to get lost in the details of his work, though the big picture ends up telling its own marvelous story.
(Images via micromacroart, pentimenti)
Hunter Stabler’s work is always beautiful, but its form sometimes has a function, as the clock example well demonstrates. Whether one admires Hunter’s work for its aesthetics, or the incredible skill it showcases, his work can be found in shows across the country.
(Images via fallonandrosof, hisasann, superpunch)
Intricacy is Hunter Stabler’s bread and butter. His work contains layers of complex styling and repetitive cuts that turn his works into a maze. A close view is stunning, as the finer details come to light.
(Images via beautifuldecay, locustsandhoney, artistaday)
While the details of Hunter’s work is the real meat of his effort, it wouldn’t mean anything if the bigger picture wasn’t noteworthy as well. Part of the fun of Hunter Stabler’s papercuts come from the fact that they can be admired on every level – from the big picture down to the smallest detail.
(Images via papercrave, boingboing)
Hunter Stabler proves the point that any material, combined with enough skill and vision, can be turned into something wonderful. The use of unconventional materials in innovative ways is one of the greatest features of the newest generation of artists who don’t let any boundaries prevent them from showcasing their vision.
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