This month, in celebration of sunshine finally appearing in
Minnesota (!) and the unofficial start of summer, I'm sharing a few nature-inspired
ideas for you - enjoy!
Bamboo garden design inspiration
Wouldn't it be great fun to create a smaller version of this
for your garden?
This impressive arched bamboo pavilion was created by a
Brooklyn studio to raise awareness about a Taiwanese forest under siege. The Forest Pavilion has
11 vaults--each more than twice as tall as a basketball hoop--that soar wildly
over a central meeting space in Hualien province, Taiwan.
The pavillion is made
out of bamboo, which, unlike trees, grows fast and can be harvested without
harming the plant. The architect used freshly cut green bamboo, flexible enough
to bend, and tied together with stainless steel wire. The bamboo was then
inserted into steel pipes & welded.
The Forest Pavilion was conceived for an arts festival
organized to promote preserving the landscape as a forest. “In recognition of
the cultural diversity of the region, the pavilion’s vaults, each one
presenting a unique ‘gateway’ into the meeting space, sought to formalize this
diversity and suggest an opportunity for unity in support of a greater
environmental benefit,” the architects said.
Can you believe these beautiful pieces are ceramic?
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| Photo by Sylvain Deleu Copyright: Nuala O'Donovan |
This Irish ceramic artist, Nuola O'Donovan, combines regular
pattern with the characteristics of irregular patterns and forms found in
nature. Each element of the pattern is individually made, the form is
constructed slowly over a period of weeks or months.
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| Photo by Sylvain Deleu Copyright: Nuala O'Donovan |
According to her
Artist Statement, the finished forms are 'a result of an intuitive response to
the direction that the pattern takes as well as the irregularity in the
handmade elements of the pattern.'
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| Photo by Sylvain Deleu Copyright: Nuala O'Donovan |
"My decision to research patterns and forms from nature
stemmed from my interest in the narrative quality of irregularities in
patterns. The history behind a scarred or broken surface is what fascinates
me," says the artist.
