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    Thick Clusters of Wooden Birdhouses by London Fieldworks Sprawl Across Tree Trunks

    
    Art

    #architecture
    #birdhouses
    #birds
    #installation
    #public art
    #trees
    #wood

    August 20, 2020
    Anna Marks

    “Spontaneous City in the Tree of Heaven.” All images © London Fieldworks
    In London Fieldworks’ delicate creations, architecture meets nature. Its installations feature pine-colored clusters of minuscule wooden forms that appear to grow upon vast tree trunks. Founded by artists Bruce Gilchrist and Jo Joelson, London Fieldworks is a collaborative and multidisciplinary arts practice with projects at the intersection of architecture, sculpture, installation, and film. 
    Each of the homes has rounded windows and doors, while those on large evergreen trees resemble natural objects, such as wasp and hornet nests or even fungi and mushrooms. From reflecting Clerkenwell’s urban renewal to offering new habitats for animals, the sprawling birdhouses fuse architectural ideas with nature and art, resulting in sculptures that integrate effortlessly in both natural and urban spaces. Through its installations, the practice explores its concern with the climate crisis through the lens of history, the environment, and culture.
    One work, “Spontaneous City in the Tree of Heaven,” references opposite sides of London: Duncan Terrace Gardens in the east and Cremorne Gardens in the west. The installation is constructed from hundreds of bespoke bird boxes reflecting the forms of the local architecture—a combination of Modernist 60’s social housing and Georgian townhouses. 
    Explore more of London Fieldworks’ projects on its site. You also might enjoy this similarly dense complex for avian neighbors.

    “Spontaneous City: Clerkenwell”
    Right: “Spontaneous City in the Tree of Heaven”
    “Spontaneous City in the Tree of Heaven”
    “Spontaneous City in the Tree of Heaven”
    “Spontaneous City in the Tree of Lebanon”

    #architecture
    #birdhouses
    #birds
    #installation
    #public art
    #trees
    #wood

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    Lush Florals and Ripe Fruit Sprout from Lustrous Glass Trees by Artist Debora Moore

    
    Art

    #flowers
    #glass
    #sculpture
    #trees

    July 17, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Debora Moore, shared with permission
    Combining traditional glassblowing techniques and sculpting methods, Debora Moore forms lustrous glass sculptures that resemble mossy branches, fleshy petals, and entire trees. The St. Louis-born artist began by creating orchids with bulbous centers before expanding her practice to larger, organic forms. In her recent collection, Arboria, Moore sculpted delicate magnolias, plump plums, and the lavender tendrils of the wisteria.
    The fragile artworks create a tension between the delicate material, the fleeting lives of flowers, and the strength and durability of nature. Moore likens her process to that of painting, where glass is used similarly to produce depth. “The material’s inherent ability to transmit and reflect light, as well as its variations from transparency to opacity, lends itself perfectly to achieve desired textures and surfaces,” she says in a statement.
    To dive further into Moore’s process and see her studio, check out this interview and her site.

    Left: “Purple Lady Slipper,” blown and sculpted glass, 35 x 21 x 8 inches. Right: “Paphiopedilum Epiphyte,” blown and sculpted glass, 35 x 9 x 9 inches
    “Magnolia” from Arboria (2018), blown and sculpted glass, 104 x 112 x 30 inches
    “Winter Plum” from Arboria (2018), blown and sculpted glass, 72 x 101 x 23 inches
    “Winter Plum” from Arboria (2018), blown and sculpted glass, 72 x 101 x 23 inches
    “Blue Lady Slippers” from Gigantica, blown and sculpted glass, 19 x 20 x 11 inches
    “Wisteria” from Arboria (2018), blown and sculpted glass, 93 x 86 x 36 inches
    “Wisteria” from Arboria (2018), blown and sculpted glass, 93 x 86 x 36 inches
    Left: “Blue Orchid Tree,” blown and sculpted glass, 42 x 35 x 10 inches. Right: “Pink Lady Slipper,” blown and sculpted glass, 62 x 43 x 8 inches
    “Blue Epiphyte,” blown and sculpted glass, 22 x 9.5 x 7.5 inches
    “Magnolia” from Arboria (2018), blown and sculpted glass, 104 x 112 x 30 inches
    “Blush Epidendrum,” blown and sculpted glass, 23 x 17 x 9 inches

    #flowers
    #glass
    #sculpture
    #trees

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    Multi-Layered Ceramics by Artist Heesoo Lee Express the Movements of Land and Sea

    
    Art
    Craft

    #ceramics
    #landscapes
    #leaves
    #nature
    #oceans
    #trees
    #vessels
    #water
    #waves

    July 9, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Heesoo Lee, shared with permission
    Heesoo Lee has spent years carefully layering blades of grass, pine trees, and cherry blossoms to construct botanic entanglements that crawl across ceramic mugs and bowls. Inspired by seasonal woodlands and aspen forests, the Montana-based artist recreates bright pockets of landscapes that capture small motions, like falling fronds or rustling branches. “There is movement in trees, but it is slow and subtle, a leaf in wind, the slow growth of new leaves in spring,” she says.
    While Lee has continued this tradition with many of her recent pieces, she’s expanded her source material to the ocean. For seven years, the artist lived in Maui, where she often surveyed the water. “I could sit on a beach all day and watch the waves, observe them, and feel calmed by them but also respectful of their energy and force,” she says. The memory has inspired a textured piece that swells upward to form a cavernous bowl. “Even in a small object, the waves are powerful and convey so much. For me, the waves connote freedom, the freedom to express myself and take risks,” the artist writes.
    Diverging from land posed new challenges in Lee’s process. For landscapes, the artist repeats elements in layers to create a fully formed piece, but the same technique didn’t translate to water. “The first time I tried to make waves I failed. I failed over and over and over after that. There were cracks, pieces broke off,” she says. “I realized the feeling of making a wave is so much different from making a landscape.” Instead, Lee retrained her hands to follow the movement of the water, using slip casting, carving, and a series of manual techniques to capture its energy and force. Her color palette changed from amalgamations that evoked seasons to a precise set of blues.
    Despite her forays into aquatic forms, Lee maintains an affinity for grassy fields and windswept boughs, which she explains:
    My seasonal work, landscapes that focus on all four seasons, are still a mainstay of my practice. The memories that fuel the images are so powerful for me, and it gives me great pleasure to share my interpretation of those memories with people… I have heard from people that drinking from a cup I made helped them channel their own memories of the outdoors and the seasons, even during a time when they are stuck inside.
    To purchase one of the artist’s organic works, follow her on Instagram, where she often shares shop updates, in addition to early looks into her process.

    #ceramics
    #landscapes
    #leaves
    #nature
    #oceans
    #trees
    #vessels
    #water
    #waves

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

     
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    Precise Angular Stitches Encase Found Twigs in Natalie Ciccoricco’s New Embroideries

     All images © Natalie Ciccoricco Stitching lengthy, varicolored rows around found twigs, Natalie Ciccoricco juxtaposes the organic forms of nature with her meticulous embroideries. The California-based artist has been crafting her Nesting series on white, handmade paper with unfinished edges. The stark backdrop complements the precisely laid thread that seems to suspend each twig, […] More

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    A Three-Story Tree Acts as a Scaffold for a Growing Community in a Mural by Ethan Murrow

     “The Garden” in Seattle. All images © Ethan Murrow In a 53-foot mural of exposed roots and tangled branches, Boston-based artist Ethan Murrow (previously) situates an energetic construction site manned by human workers, who heave their materials and balance across taught ropes. “The Garden” is replete with scaffolding, small tool sheds, and suspended orbs […] More

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    A Dense Cluster of Birdhouses by Artist Bob Verschueren Rests in a Treetop

     All images © Annecy Paysages Hopefully, the birds flocking to Bob Verschueren’s wooden housing complex won’t mind if their neighbors stay up late chirping or make too much noise as they head out in the morning to look for worms. Resembling a dense apartment building with shared walls and common perches, Vershueren’s “Implantations” features rows […] More

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    Idyllic Landscape Paintings by Artist Tomás Sánchez Render Nature’s Meditative Qualities

     “Aislarse” (2001), acrylic on linen. All images © Tomás Sánchez For nearly three decades, Cuban painter Tomás Sánchez has been painting serene landscapes of clam waters and verdant forests full of towering palms and dense shrubs. Now part of a lengthy series, his realistic works focus on nature’s immensity as they contrast massive waterfalls […] More