Papercraft: Hand Cut Microbes

Hand Cut Paper Microbes by Rogan Brown

Through his incredible paper cutouts artist Rogan Brown explores various organic forms from the natural world, laying paper into forms that represent microorganisms, root systems, and more.

Photography: Dream Creatures

"Dream Creatures" by Italian photographer Elido Turco

Source: Flickr via MNN

Elido Turco shares a series of photos that look as if they were taken from the family album of one of J.R.R. Tolkien's mighty Ents.  Turco uses a mirroring technique to transform the natural textures of the forest into lively faces.

Installation: Our Changing Seas

"Our Changing Seas III" by San Francisco-based Courtney Mattison

On exhibit at the Tang Museum at Skidmore College through June 15, 2014.
Photographed by Arthur Evans

These glazed stoneware and porcelain sculptures are intended to raise awareness about the endangered ecosystem and inspire more people to fight for conservation. The sprawling installation is entirely hand-built and is meant to show the devastating transition coral reefs endure when faced with climate change, a process called bleaching.  An interest in marine biology and environmental science has shaped her work, providing the inspiration and motivation to create handmade porcelain sculptures in a three-part series.

"At its heart, this piece celebrates my favorite aesthetic aspects of a healthy coral reef surrounded by the sterile white skeletons of bleached corals swirling like the rotating winds of a cyclone. There is still time for corals to recover even from the point of bleaching if we act quickly to decrease the threats we impose. Perhaps if my work can influence viewers to appreciate the fragile beauty of our endangered coral reef ecosystems, we will act more wholeheartedly to help them recover and even thrive."

An interest in marine biology and environmental science has greatly shaped her work, providing much of the inspiration and motivation to create handmade porcelain sculptures liker her three-part series
Read more at http://all-thats-interesting.tumblr.com/post/83922586449/courtney-mattisons-intricate-porcelain-coral-artwork#aZ8gdQGfozKHbs18.99

Sculpture: Environmental Sculptures

Environmental Sculptures by Philippa Jones and photographer Martin Hill

Collaborators Philippa Jones and Martin Hill shape environmental elements into visual circles in remote locations around the globe.  What makes them so unique is that many of these sculptures incorporate elements of the environment into themselves, such as the arc that doesn't appear as a complete circle until the water is still enough for a reflection.

"The use of the circle refers to nature’s cyclical system which is now being used as a model for industrial ecology. Sustainability will be achieved by redesigning products and industrial processes as closed loops—materials that can’t safely be returned to nature will be continually turned into new products. Of course this is only one part of the redesign process. We need to use renewable energy, eliminate all poisonous chemicals, use fair trade and create social equity."