Rena Detrixhe collected thousands of seeds in Lawrence, Kansas, and she stitched the unlikely art materials into an amazingly delicate tablecloth with a lace-like pattern. In her project titled Heirloom, the seeds form gentle star, flower and pinwheel patterns. As the sheer fabric cascades down from the tabletop, the seed design seems to hover in the air.
The artist describes herself as a “hunter and gatherer of materials.” She says she views nature as fine art, drawing inspiration from natural elements and creating projects that deflect attention back to the earth and humans' relationship with it.
Detrixhe's motivation behind this particular project stems from a desire to dialogue about the intersection of art and the environment. “The table and cloth were created to exist as a stage or platform,” the artist says on her website. “As part of its exhibition, individuals were invited to participate in a round-table discussion including environmentalists, ecologists, biologists, artists, and other researchers.”
