Every month I will be shining a spotlight on one of my favorite artists/designers. These are people who's work inspires me and drives my design style. I hope you find inspiration through their work and an appreciation for all the very talented artists/designers out there!
Our very first artist spotlight goes to Susanna Bauer. Her use of transitory finds is mesmerizing and astounds me every time I see one of her pieces. They are deliberate and powerful pieces. The idea that nature's inanimate objects can be so insignificant to some but can become the most fragile, wonderful piece of art, is unexpected and brilliant.
Susanna works with found natural vegetation that is easily overlooked by most people. She collects leaves, stones and pieces of wood to sculpt intricate art pieces. She describes her sculpture as " a fine balance in my work between fragility and strength; literally, when it comes to pulling a fine thread through a brittle leaf or thin dry piece of wood, but also in a wider context - the tenderness and tension in human connections, the transient yet enduring beauty of nature that can be found in the smallest detail, vulnerability and resilience that could be transferred to nature as a whole or the stories of individual beings".
As a small child, Susanna was taught how to crochet in Germany. Her studies perfectly paved the way for her artistry. She studied landscape architecture and then proceeded into her career as a modelmaker in television and films for almost 15 years. After attending art school in London years later she combined her skills in crochet and modelmaking to craft her art form.
Scott Rothstein, Hand/Eye magazine describes Susanna's process "The leaf works are powerful examples of the interface between artist and nature. Many artists are inspired by nature and attempt to imitate what they see in the natural world. Bauer, on the other hand, includes natural elements into her work as if she is actually collaborating with nature. In these pieces, the leaf is not simply a surface to work on or a piece of raw material to be used at will. For Bauer, the leaf is an element deserving of respect and consideration. What she adds to it, or subtracts from it, is done with a sense of reverence. Her efforts enhance the natural beauty that was her starting point. "
These beautiful works are sewn by Susanna to join multiple leaves into single pieces, threaded cylinders and perfectly punched out circles that are filled with crochet. Her poetic application of crochet creates these spellbinding, wonderful pieces of nature-inspired sculptured art. She pays homage to nature, fragility and the strength of connections. It details the preciousness of the natural world around us.
If you are inspired by her natural sculpture take a moment to see all her work on her website and her Instagram page. Amazing!
Photography and quotes taken from Susanna Bauer.com.
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