One Singaporean man has taken his love for all things green and transformed it into an artistic practice.
Daniel Goh first became intrigued by air plants after he received one as a gift. Air plants earned their name by not requiring soil in order to live. Because of that, air plants can be kept in interesting and artistic ways — and avoid the dirt and maintenance that other plants require. Air plants only need to be watered every few days during hot weather and about once a week at other times. Goh even remembers a time when he went out of town for a couple of weeks without securing someone to water his air plant and returning to find it no worse for wear.
Goh started to make artistic arrangements as his air plant collection grew, saying that doing so was a stress relief and a mood booster. What started as a casual hobby grew into a passion. Goh occasionally sells some of his living art to friends and people who express interest in his intricate and beautiful designs. However, he has yet to part with some of his bigger works, preferring to keep them at home. If he keeps making his air plant art at his current rate, though, he says he’ll soon run out of space for new masterpieces.
Goh said that even though his pastime has nearly overgrown his home, his neighbors appreciate his green thumb, saying that the presence of the plant art calms them and beautifies the area. He says he creates the artwork in part to inspire young people to engage more with the natural world around them. Too often, children, teens, and younger adults immerse themselves in technology, including smartphones, and forget to stop and smell the roses, so to speak. By interacting with nature in whatever form it may take for them, everyone can be better stewards of the environment and more active individuals.
Some examples of Goh’s air plant art masterpieces include an air plant that bulges out at the bottom and looks to be its own vase with leaves sprouting out from the top, a grouping of air plants arranged on metal rungs leading to a decorative water spigot, air plants arranged as grass below a branch blooming with bright flowers, a pair of birds perched on the end, and a wire lantern housing pink blossoms, a floating butterfly, and pink-tipped air plants. Goh’s air plants range in all different shapes, sizes, and species, and he often sources materials for his living sculptures using rocks and branches from aquarium supply stores.
Look for art in unexpected places and you will be rewarded with beauty all around you. You can open your eyes to the creativity already present in your life by enrolling in any one of many different art classes via SGArtClass.com.
To learn more about the air plant artist, go to http://www.asiaone.com/singapore/singaporean-air-plant-collector-makes-amazing-art-displays-dont-look-plants-all.