Radical Design, Exploration in Art through Biodegradable Materials

The following project was created for the 2019 Radical Design Class at the Atlas institute of Technology Art and Media at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The class focused on designing with the principles of nature while being immersed in nature. More work from the class can be found here.

My goal for this project was to explore methods of working with leaves and pine cones in ways that respected and preserved the natural patterns while preserving the ability of the designs to integrate back into nature. The resulting works were created with the fabrication methods of needlework, laser cutting and soldering, with the idea that all electronic parts could be removed at a later date. I call this design intention "impermanent design".

Altered Leaves

Sewn Leaves

Laser Cut Leaves