“Plants are a treasure trove of forms” ~ Karl Blossfeldt
Nature’s forms flow freely, unbound by scale. Vast biological patterns unfold in the tiniest cells and the grandest landscapes, shaping both the minute and the immense. Countless, convoluted cellular interactions occur within a tiny fragment of space to bring life into existence.
Digital modeling and additive manufacturing have unlocked a profound power to mirror the intricate beauty of nature, giving us the tools to replicate its patterns with microscopic precision. Flexibility, texture, color, transparency–even smell and taste–can be individually manipulated pixel-by-pixel. Objects can be “grown” on 3D printers (computationally or layer-by-layer), where limitations of manual assembly are no longer at play.
It’s a delicate dance between nature and innovation–an artistic dialogue, where the elegance of organic structures is not only captured but reimagined, and the realm between the grown and the printed becomes symbiotic. Technology can bestow power to mimic the poetry of nature, giving rise to creations that feel both ancient and futuristic. This fusion of human ingenuity with the rhythms of the Earth blurs the boundaries between the natural and the crafted, offering new and otherworldly windows of possibility.
Ultimately, cells are tiny self-replicating machines. As nature and design weave together, will we discover new meaning in this blurred reality? Or, will we long for the purity of the untouched, the uncreated? Perhaps in this new world, what is real will not be defined by its origin but by the experiences it evokes. The breath it takes away. The wonder it inspires. Creation guides biological growth, whether it’s born of earth or engineered by hand or a blend of machine, art, and life into one seamless, entangled tapestry.
Creative Direction & Words by Sophia Denison
Photography by Lulu Hamilton & Cameron White
Styling by Jake Blanchard
Styling Assist by Sophia Denison & Melina Sperry
Makeup by Aidan Spiker
Talent by Christine Padberg
Assisted by Violetta Somov, Sam Anderson, Grace Kusek, Coleman Chin, Charlotte Lanser, & Fran Bergamasco
BTS by Aubrey Lauer
Featured Student Work:
Mouthpiece by Jasmine Lantinen
Shoes by Sophia Denison
Tube top & skirt by Jake Blanchard
Wings by Melina Sperry
Crochet by Cameron White
Harness by Sophia Denison & Jake Blanchard