Nature is seldom matched in its beauty & simplicity. A prime example of this simple form & function are diatoms. Located in nearly every place that there is standing water, diatoms are single celled algae that encase themselves in beautiful glass shells. There are hundreds of thousands of varieties of diatoms all that build their own unique forms. They range in size from 5 microns to 200 microns – for a sense of scale, one micron is one thousandth of a millimeter. Diatom arrangement first began in the early 1800’s after the advent of the microscope, and was initially practiced by microscopists and works were sold to amateur naturalists for display at small gatherings. Nearly invisible to the naked eye, each arrangement could fit within a period of an average font size.

Fast-forward to today, diatom arrangement is virtually a lost art form, with the only living practitioner being Klaus Kemp. Watch the video above for a profile of the artist and how he researched and mastered this once lost art form, and see more examples of his work below. The dexterity and dedication required in finding and arranging these tiny forms is truly an Experiment with Nature. To find out more about Klaus and his work, visit his website here.