Outside Inspiration: Diminutive in Nature

For many of us, nature is the ultimate inspiration. The forms, textures, and colors we see when outdoors provides endless ideas. But there is more inspiration in nature than meets the eye.

Meet Rob Kesseler. Rob has a serious fascination with nature but he doesn’t stop at just what is before him. He zooms in with his camera and on his computer to find the smallest of elements from which to draw inspiration for his varied art work. Here we have a commonly feared and dreaded inhabitant of the outdoors … pollen. But how gorgeous it is up close and no where near one’s respiratory system.

Rob actually works in a wide range of materials from photography to ceramics and a myriad of things in between. From his website: “… his most recent work reflects current desires to exploit the benefits for collaboration between artists and scientists. Over the past decade he has worked extensively with botanical scientists at Kew exploring the creative potential of microscopic plant material.” Now that’s getting close up and personal! It’s also very intriguing to see how he transforms what he sees into various types of art work. Peruse his site here.

With the changing of the seasons, we have a lot of opportunity to observe some very intricate and beautiful transformations. Head out with a camera fitted with a macro lens or go old-fashioned and just take a strong magnifying glass and a sketch book and spend an afternoon inspiration hunting in the great but tiny side of the outdoors.