This Artist Grows Crystal on Old Books
Yes, you read that right. Crystals growing on books.
Moby Dick.
Books are beautiful in that they encourage imagination, enrich our minds, and educate us on endless topics of interest.
I’ve always enjoyed the idea of books being used as art (which, I guess, is a privilege I have, growing up able to get an education and read books). In university, one of my fourth-year sculpture pieces addressed the deconstruction of objects and how the parts create the whole, and a book was part of the display. I also remember visiting a lottery show home many years ago and seeing book origami as wall art in a family room. And, going even further back, I remember folding my high school agenda pages because I liked the look of it and it was functional in noting the correct page to turn to. But I digress.
DNS for Microsoft Servers.
Alexis Arnold, a Bay area artist, grows Borax crystals on discarded books, showing their fragility and transforming them into aesthetic, non-functional objects.
I came across this artist after searching “how to crystalize a book” because I saw an image on instagram and thought it would be a beautiful art object on a book shelf…
San Francisco Phonebook.
This series that the artist has dubbed “Crystallized Books", addresses the materiality versus the content of the book, removing the text/content and turning them into artifacts.
I’m sure some people already use books as aesthetic, non-functional objects, even without the crystals, but I appreciate this thought-provoking series nonetheless.
The Botany of Desire.
National Geographic.
The Hidden Life of Trees.
Selection of crystallized books.
Borax crystals.
Gulliver’s Travels.
Hello! Catherine here. :)
I’m a Vancouver-based interior designer and love all things creative! I’ll be sharing things that inspire me, posting design tips and DIY projects, chatting about all kinds of topics, and hopefully inspiring some people to make little changes at home to create an environment that is functional, beautiful, and a perfect reflection of you!
