For a four-week project in my Master's Design + Change on Sustainability and Artistic Articulation, I turned to nature, looking closely at shapes, textures, colors, and patterns in my environment. A tiny trail on a leaf created by a small creature reawakened my sense of connection, also a theme central to my previous project. I began experimenting with clay, hand sewing, and blending natural forms with digital techniques. It became an intuitive and tangible process.
paths, patterns, life, traces, holes, inhabitants, colors, geometry, intertwined, connected, circles, layers
I became captivated by the intricate traces left by creatures like bark beetles and started questioning the traces humans leave behind. Unlike the delicate, purposeful paths of forest creatures, our impact is often overwhelming and disruptive. The next question that arose was: How can we, as humans, create traces as wondrous and delicate as those of small forest creatures? And, what kind of mark do we want to leave on this earth? To explore this, I examined maps as human “fingerprints” on the landscape and merged these ideas into a practice of experimental mark-making
For the second three-week course, Design Processes and the Complexity of Sustainability, we were required to create a Christmas market exhibition. I transformed this research and the questions that arose during the process into an interactive installation and jewelry collection titled Traces of Wonder. Visitors were invited to engage with natural patterns through two activities:
1. Leave a Trace — Drawing blind mark-making based on emotions, creating a collective map of intuitive human traces.
2. Patterns in Clay — Shaping imprints inspired by bark-beetle pathways, translating natural details into personal forms.
The project investigates my designerly interconnectedness with nature, grounding itself in ecological sustainability and inviting others to reflect on the marks we choose to leave behind. Through shared creativity, it encourages a renewed awareness of co-existence, care, and the wonder of traces.