Aristotle once said art takes nature as its model.
Now, so do 20 Emily Carr students, who are turning plants into living artwork for this weekends Eastside Culture Crawl.
This [collaboration] is all so new, its all so natural and beautiful, begins Fred Collay, co-founder of By Nature Design the source of the plants and the patented wall frames for the project.
Collays business partner, Nicolas Rousseau, discovered the WallFlower frames in France, where they are both from. Invented in the South of France in 2006 and brought to market two years later, the system caught on quickly, with more than 300,000 sold to date.
Rousseau, who trained as a horticulturist in green wall and roof systems before coming to Vancouver five years ago, teamed up with Collay a graduate of marketing, business and communications to launch By Nature Design here in 2010.
They developed their own soil to work with the product, and established their business in 1000 Parker Street a converted art studio complex overflowing with artists and artisans, and, conveniently, the headquarters of the Culture Crawl.
We are in the middle of the artists world here. For us it was just natural to have connections with people who have creative ideas. It makes sense, because we want this living frame to be seen as a piece of natural art, not just plants, not just decoration, says Collay, the public face of the company.
By Nature Design paired up with established artists such as painter Deborah Bakos and furniture designer Judson Beaumont for last years Crawl, so when looking again to engage with the community, art students were the natural next step.
The eager Emily Carr artists were oriented to their new medium on a studio visit Oct. 24.
According to Collay, course instructor Sheila Hall saw it as a perfect fit with her curriculum.
Theres a constraint with it you have to have an opening of a certain size, you have to be able to access the water reservoir so she liked that very much, he explains, his French accent peeking through.
This, plus the fact that its a whole reflection of the frame whats inside, whats outside and its natural... It fit with her teaching.
Also appealing is that more than 15,000 visitors are expected to take part in the Culture Crawl this year, offering unprecedented levels of exposure to the up-and-coming creatives.
The students have free reign to customize their creations to the full extent of their imagination.
Spider plants, ferns, ficus and more will be paired and planted with an artists eye into one-of-a-kind wall displays with a distinct West Coast feel.
Collay says the majority of students elected to build their own frames, and expects the pieces to sell for between $150 and $400 during the Crawl.
I havent seen anything, he adds with anticipation. One of the students came this morning to pick up some moss and she was describing some of what her friends were making. Im really curious!
Its even a safe gift for Christmas, since the concept can green even the blackest thumb.
A soil pouch where the plants take root contains a system of cotton wicks to absorb water from the reservoir. A water level indicator warns when it is time to top up. And the system is completely waterproof, posing no risk of damage to the wall where the frame sits.
You dont have to wonder or worry about watering them too much, or not enough. It just takes care of itself. We have six of the ones we planted initially, two years ago, and we decided to let them grow as much as they wanted. [Now] they are very exuberant, lush.
Whether you get your greenery through a WallFlower or a Living Wall, the appeal is rooted in easy maintenance and modification. (One Living Wall customer didnt cotton to a particular plant in the design, and the By Nature team had all 60 switched out and replaced in a matter of 40 minutes.)
The plants we pick are survivors. They do well even in wintertime, he says, his voice lilting melodically.
At 36 inches, the largest WallFlower frame can hold 16 plants; a Living Wall holds upwards of 400. The benefits of both can be found in the purification of the indoor air and a distinct freshness when you first enter.
When Collay walks into his studio, which has upwards of 2,500 plants, he says it also carries the feeling of entering somewhere special.
For maximum benefit to well being, is recommend to place the plants in the bedroom or living room ideal areas to showcase any piece of local art.
The students were still working on their finished designs at press time, so if youre as excited as we are to see what theyve dreamed up, dont miss the Eastside Culture Crawl,
Nov. 14-17.
Vancouvers three-day visual arts, design and crafts festival invites art lovers to visit studios bounded by Main Street and Victoria Drive north of First Avenue.
The finished ecosystems will be lining the labyrinthine corridors of 1000 Parker Street, outside By Natures studio 490.
By Nature Design is the exclusive Canadian distributor of the WallFlower frame, with more than 180 retailers from garden centres to florist shops.
By Nature also specializes in indoor living green walls using ModuloGreen technology.
Rosseau is developing a living wall course for BCITs 2014 curriculum, which will be the first in Western Canada.
