All images © Julie Beeler and Chronicle Books, shared with permission In terms of genes, humans are actually more closely related to mushrooms than plants! That’s because key characteristics—how we store energy, how our cells are built, and our ability to produce Vitamin D when exposed to the sunlight—are found in fungi but not trees […]
“Banana Split Plant” (2024), ceramic and underglaze, 28 x 14 x 10 inches. All images © Ariana Heinzman, courtesy of J. Rinehart Gallery, shared with permission Over the centuries, humanity’s relationship with wilderness has becoming increasingly fraught, as we continue to diminish natural green spaces in favor of roads, buildings, and manicured lawns. For Vashon […]
All images © Holly Guertin, shared with permission Two spirited lambs bound across a new wooly work by Philadelphia-based artist Holly Guertin. Inspired by a spring visit to a local farm, Guertin felted a pair of sprightly youngsters with striking detail. Pink lines their ears and noses, and their adolescent bodies are covered in tight, […]
All images © Olivia Walker, shared with permission Innumerable, wafer-thin layers of porcelain ripple into the collapsed sides of Olivia Walker’s vessels. The Devon-based artist throws small bowls on the wheel before affixing countless fragments that appear to rupture and spread across the forms. Layers are attached while leather-hard, the perfect pliability for sculpting growths evocative […]
All photos by James Dobson, courtesy of National Trust, shared with permission For middle and upper-class girls, 17th-century education included lessons in core subjects like reading and writing, along with embroidery, housekeeping, and paper-cutting. The latter craft typically involved using minuscule pairs of scissors, knives, and pins to carve a design from themed books. Girls […]
Photo by Kris Tamburello. All images © Chandler House, shared with permission A fashion boutique in Miami features a one-of-a-kind facade thanks to Michael Chandler, artist and founder of Cape Town-based Chandler House. He created a bespoke, hand-painted, nature-inspired tile installation with “May all the doors of the world always be open to you” appearing […]
A fragment of the rare 3,800-year-old textile, dyed with the Kermes vermilio. Photo by Dafna Gazit, Israel Antiquities Authority. All images courtesy of Israel Antiquities Authority With waxy coverings and no limbs, female scale insects known as kermes vermilio are small parasites that attach themselves to oak plants to feed on sap. Native to the […]
All images © Oliver Chalk, shared with permission From maple burl, cherry, and ash, Oliver Chalk’s voluminous vessels highlight natural textures while emphasizing alluring patterns and geometry. The Kent-based artist (previously) finds chunks of timber in the countryside around his home, homing in on pieces of trees that have partly decayed, been cut by arborists, […]
All images © Jessica Thompson-Lee, shared with permission Jessica Thompson-Lee twists the age-old design principle of form following function with her biomorphic ceramics. Evocative of cellular structures, coral, and mycelium networks, handles appear to grow from Thompson-Lee’s mugs, sprawling outward into lattice-like webs that require users to slot their fingers into the amorphous shapes. “The […]
All images © Lidiia Marinchuk, shared with permission Wide-eyed, boldly-dressed, and keen to play, an exuberant ensemble of characters created by Lidiia Marinchuk nudges us to remember the most precious parts of childhood. The artist (previously) crafts each figure by hand in her Lisbon studio where she operates her online shop, Marli Toy Art. From […]