Random Acts of Creativity >> Moss "Graffiti"
Living walls + silhouette art + random acts of creativity + street art = just too much. In the best way.
Living (or green) walls, also called vertical gardens, are such a cool concept, and Mosstika, an “Urban Greenery” collaboration between Edina Tokodi and Jozsef Valyi-Toth, has turned them into silhouette art using grasses and moss, and then, even better, they put their pieces on public walls.
I love how their work challenge the traditional notion of graffiti and the effect someone can have on a public space when “making their mark”– both through the content and the medium.
I love that it is something living on the wall, and reminds you of the nature that might have been there before all the buildings were.
Rather than just leaving a tag or a cryptic design, their street art gives something to the passerby– just a small moment in which he or she gets to stop and marvel at the fact that an anonymous stranger spent their time making something beautiful for them to see.
It’s an experience that is capable of making you feel more hopeful about the world for a moment, knowing that someone put that there expecting nothing in return.
Mosstika website here.
via twig and thistle
The Ephemeral Rebellion
This trailer doesn’t give too much away, but I’m still intrigued…
Vertical Gardens
How cool are these “vertical gardens” by Patrick Blanc??
They can be grown anywhere, as they don’t weigh very much (they don’t use soil), and you can adjust the plant types depending on how much sunlight the area gets.
I personally want one just like this on my balcony…
What if half the sides of buildings in New York looked like this?? Not only would it completely change the feel of walking around the city, it would clean up the air SO much!!!
Though Patrick Blanc’s website claims he has the rights to the term “vertical garden,” I’ve been seeing this concept, also called a “living wall,” a lot recently. Here’s a smaller scale take on the idea…
This succulent garden is from Flora Grubb, and you can buy kits from them to make your own.
Here’s another succelent version– I think I like it better frameless, and with the plants in less of a grid-like looking formation…
These frames (would you call them frames or planters?) are pretty, and Sunset Magazine’s website teaches you how to make them and links to supplier websites.
Here’s a great example of one used on an apartment balcony, from apartment therapy–
Is this one growing veggies?? That would be so cool. Also from apt. therapy.
Wooly Pockets is a company that creates clever recycled-plastic containers (“pockets”) for creating a garden just about anywhere… check out their website here.
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Sunset Magazine’s website has a feature on creative vertical gardens like this…
Inspired?
Detroit’s Abandoned Houses
The blogging couple behind Sweet Juniper write about raising kids in Detroit, the city sometimes called “The City That Civilization Abandoned.”
In their series “Feral Houses,” they document a few of the estimated 10,000 abandoned houses in Detroit. 10,000!
They call them “feral” because like the feral dogs of Detroit, stray dogs that have essentially returned to their primitive state and learned how to survive on the streets, these houses are slowly returning to a “wild” state.
I like this concept because it makes it sound like the houses were natural things that people found and tamed, and that they are now returning to the wild. The image above particularly makes it feel like someone had once come and discovered this house behind all the vines and chopped them down, and now the vines have returned to take back the house.
They explain that as the lime-based paint and other materials deteriorate, they provide the perfect environment for growing vines. Also, trees will often begin to grow right into and up through the house, as seen in the image at top.
The sign in the yard above reads, “WILL THE LAST PERSON TO LEAVE DETROIT PLEASE TURN OFF THE LIGHTS?”
via ReadyMade
A Love Letter For You
LOVE this mural project, called “A Love Letter For You,” in Philadelphia spearheaded by Philadelphia-born artist Stephen Powers. Powers, who grew up in Philadelphia and used to use the neighborhood walls for graffiti, is now an artist with his work shown in places like the Venice Biennale (one of my favorite events ever) and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia.
Many of the messages and designs reference the original signs that might have been painted in those locations, like this one next to a barber shop.
Made to be viewed from the El train, the blog about the project captions each photo with a description of what train each mural can best be viewed from.
Who can resist a love letter?
