cacti

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Animation

A Quirky Animation Follows a Determined Cactus Farmer as She Tracks the Man Destroying the Environment

A cowgirl named Rose and her eccentric pals embark on a mission to find the man damaging their local environment in the clever and fervent short film “Spell of the West.” Created by Los Angeles-based Sam Lane during her third year at CalArts, the animation follows the group’s wayward journey through the roving hills and sentient forests as they search for the ax-wielding tyrant who’s chopping down trees and demolishing their cactus farm.

Simultaneously witty and sincere, “Spell of the West” is imbued with magical undertones and a message that there’s more to environmental destruction than the loss of ecosystems. Lane explains to Short of the Week:

Most scientific work falls short of capturing the emotional aspect of human/nature relationships. In order to protect our natural surroundings, it’s important to know the dry facts, but it’s also important to establish an emotional human connection. Narrative is a prime rhetorical tool, and I was interested in re-framing the environmental conversation with a deep respect and poetic appreciation for the natural world.

To watch more of Lane’s 2D animations, many of which she creates entirely on her own with the exception of voiceovers and sound design, check out her Vimeo and Instagram.

 

Design

Fibrous Spikes Poke From a Humorous Pair of Cacti Chairs by Valentina Gonzalez Wohlers

Before you plop down on one of Valentina Gonzalez Wohlers’s vibrant chairs, take a peek at the spine-covered seat. The Mexican designer has crafted cacti-inspired furniture for her Prickly Pair collection that blends the French Louis XV style with Mexican elements. On each pink and green chair, one or two tall shoots branch off the backs with spiny tufts secured on each button.

A few years ago, Gonzalez Wohlers added a small footstool to the humorous collection that she’s named Baby Peyote. Keep up with the designer’s spiked furniture on Instagram and Facebook, and check out this artist’s piñata variation. (via The Sleep of Reason)

Food

Buttercream Succulents Decorate Edible Planters by Leslie Vigil

Two years ago Leslie Vigil decided to merge her love of succulents and baking, using buttercream to decorate cupcakes and multi-teared cakes with bountiful collections of aloe, cacti, and echeveria. The Southern California-based cake artist quickly discovered that the traditional tools and piping nozzles available on the market were geared towards petals and other flower-based designs. Vigil modified her materials with pliers to more accurately represent the plants she wished to display on her sugary confections, like the rounded growths for her buttercream string-of-pearls.

“I’ve always found myself at home in a botanical garden or wrists deep in soil,” Vigil tells Colossal. “Being in nature has always brought me tremendous joy and inspiration. So, I was inspired to begin challenging myself to create flowers, succulents and cacti that truly honored and represented botanicals in nature as I knew them.”

You can see more of Vigil’s greenhouse-inspired cakes on Instagram. (via This Isn’t Happiness)

Photography Science

Macro Infrared Photographs Unlock the Depth of Green in a Stunning Array of Canary Island Plants

Marcus Wendt, creative director at the London-based studio Field, recently traveled to the island of Lanzarote to shoot a series of macro images of the region’s native plants. His project, Suprachromacy transforms cacti and other light-absorbing species into vibrant, multi-hued beings through infrared photography. Needles and spines of one species glow bright blue, while others are illuminated in deep orange tones.

The project was inspired by Isaac Newton’s quote, “For the Rays, to speak properly, are not colored. In them, there is nothing else than a certain power and disposition to stir up a sensation of this or that color.” Its intension is to spark inquiry about a color’s origin. Is color an inherent part of the object? Or is it an individualized sensation?

“For us, these alien color spectra spark ideas about how we see color, how much depth is locked up in the color green, and whether color is a property or a sensation,” says Wendt. “And also what plants might look like on planets under a different colored sun.”

You can see other technology and photo-based projects by Field on their website and Instagram. (via My Modern Met)

Art

Towering Hyperrealistic Cactus Paintings by Lee Kwang-ho

Korean painter Kwang-ho Lee (previously) depicts larger-than-life cacti in oil paintings that stand up to 8-feet tall. Every thorn, bloom, and branch is painted with excruciating accuracy, bringing the most minute elements into hyperrealistic focus. Lee studied painting at Seoul National University and is represented by Johyun Gallery.

Design

Fluorescent Cacti and Leaf Sculptures by Nobel Truong

LA-based industrial designer Nobel Truong has created an extensive line of acrylic plant objects including translucent cacti, lamps, leaves, and other accessories. From her artist statement:

Inspired by Bauhaus architecture and the Memphis Group, the Truong’s collection aims to cast a postmodern take on everyday household objects while incorporating the structural forms of modern architecture. Every piece is designed, engineered, and produced in California.

You can see much more on Instagram and her online shop. (via Design Milk)