Every big idea starts small. Mine started in August 2017, with a pastel drawing of a feather, a handful of homemade postage stamps, and a very curious child asking “what if?” I didn’t know it at the time, but that first week of blogging became the seed for everything this site has grown into sinceContinueContinue reading “How It All Began: My First Time Blogging About Biomimicry”
Category Archives: Art
Shells – Biomimicry
Make a garland of your drawings of seashells that you find at the beach. Cut out the drawings and make a little hole. Thread a ribbon or string through the holes, and the garland is finished. You can put the garland in your Biomimicry Journal and save it as inspiration. You can also put theContinueContinue reading “Shells – Biomimicry”
Cherry Blossom Estate – Eco-friendly Houses Inspired by Nature
“build buildings like trees and cities like forests” William McDonough Ah, the dance of the cherry trees. Few things in nature are as lovely as the pink clouds of cherry blossoms. A wonderful way to welcome Spring. The loveliness is perhaps even more lovely since it is so fleeting. And the display in our gardenContinueContinue reading “Cherry Blossom Estate – Eco-friendly Houses Inspired by Nature”
Biobing – Caterpillar Climbing Shoes
Inspired by the wonderful caterpillars in the previous blog posts, we designed some Biobing shoes. These shoes are made for climbing in the mountains. Just like a caterpillar, you can climb upside down when you are wearing these shoes. There are little sticky caterpillar-shaped wheels that let you scale big rocks. These wheels automatically flattenContinueContinue reading “Biobing – Caterpillar Climbing Shoes”
Build a Character – Explore functions
This post contains ad links. Create your own creature. What is its name? What kind of habitat will it live in? What things can you invent inspired by the creature? Storytellers have invented all sorts of creatures, such as dragons and unicorns. But you can also invent a creature consisting of body parts of realContinueContinue reading “Build a Character – Explore functions”
Non-Boring Trees
Are trees boring? Do all trees look the same? Ever heard of the Rainbow tree? Or seen a tree where the fruits grow on the bark? And what if you could see the roots of the tree? Thinking about and searching for information about trees is a great way to not only learn about natureContinueContinue reading “Non-Boring Trees”
Festive Biomimicry Reindeer
The Festive Season is perfect for exploring some magical fun! Reindeer are amazing. Wonderful inspiration for helping Father Christmas. Exploring questions – funny, silly and serious – that excite our minds and then looking for ways to put an answer together. Sometimes the solution will work; sometimes, especially when exploring the world with young children,ContinueContinue reading “Festive Biomimicry Reindeer”
Inspirational Video – Invisible Shadow
What if you could hide in your own shadow by glowing? Not sure I quite understand how the Hawaiian bobtail squid (Euprymna scolopes) can cruise above its prey without casting a shadow even on a moonlight night but it is fascinating! And beautiful. There is something almost magical with bioluminescence. The tiny squid hunts atContinueContinue reading “Inspirational Video – Invisible Shadow”
Cubist Glue Art, Doodling, and Sleepy Parrotfish – Biomimicry for Young Children
Imagine that you are a tired parrotfish. You are going to sleep, but first, you need to make a protective cocoon. A cocoon that will keep enemies away. What does it feel like inside the cocoon? One exercise in the booklet Biomimicry for Young Children – Sea Life is about the colourful and interesting parrotfish.ContinueContinue reading “Cubist Glue Art, Doodling, and Sleepy Parrotfish – Biomimicry for Young Children”
Looking for Spirals in Nature
Filled with inspiration after having completed a course at Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) in Biomimicry: A Sustainable Design Methodology. One week was spent looking for patterns in nature. Like the fractal nature of tree branching and antlers. Or spirals like galaxies, shells, pine cones and sunflower heads. After a while, I startedContinueContinue reading “Looking for Spirals in Nature”
Daffodils Dancing in the Wind – Biomimicry for Young Children
The poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” or Daffodils was composed in 1804, two years after Wordsworth saw the flowers while walking by Ullswater. It was a stormy day, and the inspiration for the poem came from a description of the event written by his sister Dorothy. Through our curious biomimicry lens, we wereContinueContinue reading “Daffodils Dancing in the Wind – Biomimicry for Young Children”