‘The Idea of a Tree’

Amid the slew of designers that try to propose how nature can fit into THEIR design, few allow Tierra Madre to do what she does best – visually manifest her OWN design.  Thomas Traxler‘s thesis project for the Design Academy Eindhoven (Netherlands) is one of those few, as he has built an apparatus that acts as a canvas for the earth’s right side of the brain.  Powered by solar cells, it spins multiple cotton threads through a mixture of dye, glue and epoxy resin, ultimately winding these threads around a pre-constructed cast of choice.  The variation of designs are based upon the intensity of the sun.  When our infamous star shines brighter, the threads spin faster and spend less time in the dye – producing a paler hue.  The opposite occurs on a cloudy day, which produces a stronger, deeper hue for the color of choice.  The effect mirrors the rings in a cross-section of a tree trunk, where biologists can confirm a rainy or dry season.  Depending on the cast, smaller projects can elapse in a day, whereas larger ones may take up to a few weeks.