Our natural world is filled with boundless beauty, from the most delicately random arrangements of bark, moss, and lichen on the forest floor to graceful heaps of seaweed, driftwood, and shell tossed up on a beach. In this book, you will learn how to distill the beauty of these natural elements into artful terrariums.
The fifty terrariums shown in these pages—loosely grouped by inspiration into forest, beach, desert, or fantasy—incorporate a range of fascinating components, including plants, lichen, moss, crystals, stone, sand, and shells. Every project contains a materials list, as well as detailed instructions for composing and caring for the terrarium (all of which builds on the practical information covered in the first part of the book). And while each of the compositions is beautiful enough to be worth recreating, they were really designed to inspire—to serve as catalysts to ignite your own creativity and personal vision. Far from being meticulously planned, they were made with what artist Amy Bryant Aiello had available at her shop at the time the book was created. Even the process of making them was intuitive, if not somewhat spontaneous—pieces were added, swapped out, and gently prodded until they looked right, even during the photo shoot. The idea is to play with the materials and enjoy the process itself, while accepting the delicious imperfection of it.
A walk in the woods, along a beach, or through a dry canyon would be ideal for getting in an experimental frame of mind. Natural scenery—wind-tossed sand, tawny beach grass, or mossy rocks—is the best inspiration for creating these terrarium collages. In essence, making a terrarium really begins with your own relationship with nature. As you gather your materials, let them guide your creative process. Start with materials you love, keep an open mind, and allow them to take you somewhere unexpected. The beauty already exists—you are the curator, selecting which pieces will be included and assembling them in a way that delights you.
Once made, set your terrarium where you can enjoy and observe it. If you aren’t a gardener or even if you think of yourself as a “brown thumb,” you can find living plants that are easy to care for—or captivating dried mosses and lichens that require no attention at all, save for admiration. Add a significant personal memento and a terrarium can even be a kind of altar, encapsulating dreams, passions, and memories. Simple to care for yet highly expressive, such terrarium designs bring the natural world closer to home—and us closer to nature.