Going back to her roots<\/h2>\n ![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her fascination with plant roots began while studying fine art and photography at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. Diana developed a series of portraits called Nurture Studies, revealing the complex structure of roots in vases by photographing each plant with the vessel they had grown into, removed. She experimented with more than 100 different plants, from poppies and dandelions, to grasses and nettles but it was during this study that she began to connect different plant roots to different materials; the grass roots looked like silk, verbena roots like linen and daisy roots like wool. Diana became taken with the idea that she could create her own patterns using the root system and decided to take her study further.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m an artist and if I tell you everything the mystery will be gone. <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div> With the help of plant biologists at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, Diana discovered that by using reusable subterranean plastic templates and the natural energy of the plants, she could mould the growing roots. However, exactly how she does this is a well-kept secret. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult for me not to tell,\u201d she says. \u201cBut my colleagues don\u2019t tell their secrets either. I\u2019m an artist and if I tell you everything the mystery will be gone.\u201d Although she likes to maintain the mystery, she will reveal that each template is a different pattern, based on basic geometric patterns in nature, such as the hexagon of a honeycomb, a favourite of Diana\u2019s because of its simplicity.<\/p>\n
![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nOver time, Diana has developed two techniques. The first is her thick, rug-like pieces, where the soil<\/a> is very much a part of the live design and the second, is the dried, textile-like material, which is considerably thinner. This technique requires a little maintenance once the pieces have finished growing to remove the soil and prevent the roots from rotting but Diana is happy to leave a little soil on the work to maintain a connection to the growing process. \u201cI think the soil gives a special layer to the work,\u201d she says. \u201cThere is always soil at the back of the pieces but I think it makes it more honest. Soil is quite an important medium to me because it is so much a part of the process.\u201d Diana uses grass seed because of its strength and its ability to densely fill her templates, and chose a mix of compost<\/a> and cocoa peat<\/a> or coir as her winning soil combination because she liked the yellow-tinge the peat gives to the roots.<\/p>\n It may sound clich\u00e9d to make a dress but I think it is also very organic to follow a body with the growing roots. <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div> The textile pieces she developed tempted Diana down the path of sustainability and the potential of plants as an alternative material. Diana has always had a keen interest in textile and fashion design. Before studying in Amsterdam, she applied to study fashion at Central Saint Martins in London but failed to win a place on the coveted course. Years later, she has come full circle and her work in Root System Domestication<\/em> has led her to design a dress. \u201cIt was very natural,\u201d she says. \u201cIt may sound clich\u00e9d to make a dress but I think it is also very organic to follow a body with the growing roots.\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\nAlthough the dress is a piece of art, for Diana it is the first step towards creating a material or fabric that could be applied in the future, an area of design she is serious about exploring. \u201cI\u2019d like to think it could be something someone could wear but I need a few more years. I\u2019m not in a rush because I enjoy the work so much, it\u2019s such a beautiful way to work.\u201d Diana still works closely with Radboud University and in a few weeks, will move from her studio to its warm greenhouse where she can grow up to 20 designs at once, and is looking forward to experimenting with different plants. \u201cStudy, research, doing and producing,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"""\"]( "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/body><\/html>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Inspired by Darwin\u2019s theory on plant intelligence, German artist Diana Scherer manipulates the root systems of grass to weave patterns of magical beauty. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":19816,"template":"","categories":[1,17],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/artist-diana-scherer-creates-patterns-and-textiles-using-the-root-systems-of-grass-scaled.jpg",1922,2560,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/artist-diana-scherer-creates-patterns-and-textiles-using-the-root-systems-of-grass-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/artist-diana-scherer-creates-patterns-and-textiles-using-the-root-systems-of-grass-225x300.jpg",225,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/artist-diana-scherer-creates-patterns-and-textiles-using-the-root-systems-of-grass-768x1023.jpg",768,1023,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/artist-diana-scherer-creates-patterns-and-textiles-using-the-root-systems-of-grass-769x1024.jpg",769,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/artist-diana-scherer-creates-patterns-and-textiles-using-the-root-systems-of-grass-1153x1536.jpg",1153,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/artist-diana-scherer-creates-patterns-and-textiles-using-the-root-systems-of-grass-1538x2048.jpg",1538,2048,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Inspired by Darwin\u2019s theory on plant intelligence, German artist Diana Scherer manipulates the root systems of grass to weave patterns of magical beauty.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/19815"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/18\/2023\/03\/GillRootArtist410729-3ce5c7d.jpg?quality=90&crop=9px%2C1762px%2C2685px%2C1789px&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a0<\/p>\n
Her fascination with plant roots began while studying fine art and photography at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. Diana developed a series of portraits called Nurture Studies, revealing the complex structure of roots in vases by photographing each plant with the vessel they had grown into, removed. She experimented with more than 100 different plants, from poppies and dandelions, to grasses and nettles but it was during this study that she began to connect different plant roots to different materials; the grass roots looked like silk, verbena roots like linen and daisy roots like wool. Diana became taken with the idea that she could create her own patterns using the root system and decided to take her study further.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m an artist and if I tell you everything the mystery will be gone. <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>With the help of plant biologists at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, Diana discovered that by using reusable subterranean plastic templates and the natural energy of the plants, she could mould the growing roots. However, exactly how she does this is a well-kept secret. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult for me not to tell,\u201d she says. \u201cBut my colleagues don\u2019t tell their secrets either. I\u2019m an artist and if I tell you everything the mystery will be gone.\u201d Although she likes to maintain the mystery, she will reveal that each template is a different pattern, based on basic geometric patterns in nature, such as the hexagon of a honeycomb, a favourite of Diana\u2019s because of its simplicity.<\/p>\n
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
Over time, Diana has developed two techniques. The first is her thick, rug-like pieces, where the soil<\/a> is very much a part of the live design and the second, is the dried, textile-like material, which is considerably thinner. This technique requires a little maintenance once the pieces have finished growing to remove the soil and prevent the roots from rotting but Diana is happy to leave a little soil on the work to maintain a connection to the growing process. \u201cI think the soil gives a special layer to the work,\u201d she says. \u201cThere is always soil at the back of the pieces but I think it makes it more honest. Soil is quite an important medium to me because it is so much a part of the process.\u201d Diana uses grass seed because of its strength and its ability to densely fill her templates, and chose a mix of compost<\/a> and cocoa peat<\/a> or coir as her winning soil combination because she liked the yellow-tinge the peat gives to the roots.<\/p>\n
It may sound clich\u00e9d to make a dress but I think it is also very organic to follow a body with the growing roots. <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>The textile pieces she developed tempted Diana down the path of sustainability and the potential of plants as an alternative material. Diana has always had a keen interest in textile and fashion design. Before studying in Amsterdam, she applied to study fashion at Central Saint Martins in London but failed to win a place on the coveted course. Years later, she has come full circle and her work in Root System Domestication<\/em> has led her to design a dress. \u201cIt was very natural,\u201d she says. \u201cIt may sound clich\u00e9d to make a dress but I think it is also very organic to follow a body with the growing roots.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\nAlthough the dress is a piece of art, for Diana it is the first step towards creating a material or fabric that could be applied in the future, an area of design she is serious about exploring. \u201cI\u2019d like to think it could be something someone could wear but I need a few more years. I\u2019m not in a rush because I enjoy the work so much, it\u2019s such a beautiful way to work.\u201d Diana still works closely with Radboud University and in a few weeks, will move from her studio to its warm greenhouse where she can grow up to 20 designs at once, and is looking forward to experimenting with different plants. \u201cStudy, research, doing and producing,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
\u00a9 Andrew Montgomery<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/body><\/html>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inspired by Darwin\u2019s theory on plant intelligence, German artist Diana Scherer manipulates the root systems of grass to weave patterns of magical beauty. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":19816,"template":"","categories":[1,17],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/artist-diana-scherer-creates-patterns-and-textiles-using-the-root-systems-of-grass-scaled.jpg",1922,2560,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/artist-diana-scherer-creates-patterns-and-textiles-using-the-root-systems-of-grass-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/artist-diana-scherer-creates-patterns-and-textiles-using-the-root-systems-of-grass-225x300.jpg",225,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/artist-diana-scherer-creates-patterns-and-textiles-using-the-root-systems-of-grass-768x1023.jpg",768,1023,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/artist-diana-scherer-creates-patterns-and-textiles-using-the-root-systems-of-grass-769x1024.jpg",769,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/artist-diana-scherer-creates-patterns-and-textiles-using-the-root-systems-of-grass-1153x1536.jpg",1153,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/03\/artist-diana-scherer-creates-patterns-and-textiles-using-the-root-systems-of-grass-1538x2048.jpg",1538,2048,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Inspired by Darwin\u2019s theory on plant intelligence, German artist Diana Scherer manipulates the root systems of grass to weave patterns of magical beauty.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/19815"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/gardensillustrated\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/18\/2023\/03\/GillRootArtist410611-47c69a1.jpg?quality=90&crop=9px%2C1342px%2C2685px%2C1789px&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> ![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/18\/2023\/03\/GillRootArtist410887-c96df69.jpg?quality=90&crop=9px%2C0px%2C2685px%2C1789px&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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