Experiment with Nature » Found

Rob Mulholland – Vestige

Shwood Shop — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 14:10:26 +0000

Artist Rob Mulholland found inspiration for his piece, Vestige, in the rolling, wooded hills of his native Scotland. Formerly an area used for grazing sheep, the herders were moved after the second World War to grow much-needed timber. Moved by the traces left, he created a community of eerie, ghostly mirrored sculptures. The visual void created by the sculptures reminds the viewers of the previous occupants and the space they left when the area was returned to nature.

See more about Vestige here.

Floating Piers – Christo

Shwood Shop — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 14:05:03 +0000

220,000 polyethylene cubes. 70,000 square meters of fabric. 160 anchors. This is what went into famed artist Christo’s newest installation in Lake Iseo in northern Italy that lasted for a mere 16 days. Stretching almost 2 miles in total, the three walkways connected two towns and an island for the first time ever. In addition to the striking visual of the saffron-colored fabric stretching across the water and into the town, it allowed the estimated 1.2 million visitors to feel like they were walking over water, far out away from the town. To see the preparation, execution, and more of the finished product, head over to Christo’s website.

Our Changing Seas – Courtney Mattison

Shwood Shop — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 14:21:55 +0000

Nothing quite brings the environmental and ecological plight of coral reefs to the forefront like a 10-foot high, life-like sculpture. And that’s exactly Courtney Mattison’s point. Putting her interdisciplinary degree in marine ecology and ceramic sculpture to it’s best possible use, she hand-sculpts breathtakingly detailed, large-scale interpretations of coral reefs and the plants and animals that inhabit them in an effort to bring awareness and connection to these natural wonders.

Check out more images below and see all of her work over at her site.

The Ephemeral Art of Andy Goldsworthy

Shwood Shop — Tue, 31 May 2016 15:05:50 +0000

Sculpture and photographer Andy Goldsworthy (British, b.1956) has spent the last several decades creating transitory, site-specific installations around the English and Scottish countryside. Using largely found materials, he builds his works on-site, allowing them to form organically and intuitively.

His works are intentionally temporary and he views the inherent decay as a part of the work itself. See more of his works below and read a great interview with the artist over at NPR.

The Lowline – The World’s First Underground Park

Shwood Shop — Wed, 04 May 2016 14:50:35 +0000

An abandoned subway stop in Manhattan’s Lower East Side is the future site of an amazing feat of ingenuity: the world’s first underground park. Using new technology that allows funneling sunlight from the street above, the three-block-long park will host flourishing plantlife, bringing nature back into a previously desolate urban artifact.

The Lowline is projected to open in 2020. For a peek at what the park will be like, the Lowline Lab, which shows off the technology with its indoor garden, is currently available to the public each weekend at 140 Essex Street, New York. For more information, visit the Lowline’s website.

An artist’s rendering of the future Lowline Park

A demonstration of the technology

The Lowline Lab

Underground Symmetry

Joe — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 20:06:00 +0000

STRAIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE

“The London underground is old! Over 150 years of stale air and broken escalators, however it is without doubt a highlight for anyone visiting London due to the very British nature of the service, iconic map design, incredibly diverse stations and ever present ‘mind the gap’ moments.
Like most Londoners I use the underground network on a daily basis and over the years I’ve become borderline obsessed with taking photos of the various nooks and crannies it has to offer. Being a typical designer with a classic case of mild/not so mild OCD, I’ve found the most satisfying way to capture the underground is to shoot straight down the middle.” -Andy Kirby

Andy is a London based graphic designer and photographer. His portfolio can be found at www.akirbs.co.uk

Arterrae

Joe — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 19:22:45 +0000

At the crossroads of technology, nature, and aesthetics, Arterrae is a project that finds the awe-inspiring textures and colors hidden in Google Maps satellite images. It appropriates and subverts the go-to navigation tool for aesthetic ends, where the glitches, watermarks, and pixelation intermix with beautiful terrain to create something altogether new. Created by former Shwood Brand Manager, Joshua Fulfs, he scours the (digital) globe to curate the best images Google Maps has to offer.

To see more of Joshua’s work check out the links below!

Arterrae / Portfolio / Instagram

The Bucket Board

Steve Ebert — Thu, 20 Aug 2015 17:17:15 +0000

Brooklyn based artist, director, and all-around stuff-maker, Mac Premo, was tasked by the World Wildlife Fund to raise awareness for this past years’ Earth Hour (which occurred March 28th, 2015 at 8:30PM). The project asked him to take something already existing in the world (namely, trash) and re-purpose it into something useable and beneficial to daily life.

As a highly accomplished assemblage artist, Mac was already a pro at digging through dumpsters, and after reaching out to Encinitas, California-based skateboard company Sanford Shapes, they settled on creating skateboards out of discarded paint buckets. Using a process similar to the one we used in crafting our hand-made cruiser decks (LINK HERE), they pulled discarded buckets & wood, planed them down for pressing and routing, then finished the process with fine-sanding and drilling holes for mounting hardware. The results were pretty phenomenal – watch the well-made and entertaining video above, check out photos of the process and finished decks along with some of Mac’s other work below, and visit his portfolio HERE.

Georges Rousse – Single Perspective Installations

Steve Ebert — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 21:54:25 +0000

Sometimes it’s all about your point of view. Georges Rousse creates mesmerizing windows into another world by meticulously crafting his single perspective installations, creating 3-dimensional paintings that come together when you stand in the perfect spot.

Check out the video on his process, see the examples of his work below, and visit his website HERE.

McNabb & Co. Studio

Steve Ebert — Thu, 14 May 2015 19:03:19 +0000

Philadelphia based McNabb & Co. Studio offers a refreshing and unique take on fine woodworking in their project, “The City Series”. Founder James McNabb meticulously uses a bandsaw to individually shape small pieces of various wood species, eventually combining them into stunning collages of sorts. The abstracted architectural forms come together in an interesting perspective on urban sprawl, and when combined with the application into the mediums of furniture and wall art. The final products are stunning pieces certainly fitting for any urban loft. In his own words, “Each piece depicts the outsider’s perspective of the urban landscape. Made entirely of scrap wood, this work is an interpretation of making something out of nothing.”

Check out some photos of the below, and visit the portfolio site HERE.