{"id":997,"date":"2026-02-26T15:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cpetzold.com\/?p=997"},"modified":"2026-04-24T16:25:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T16:25:41","slug":"whimsical-beaded-sculptures-by-amy-gross-meditate-on-our-planets-tiniest-life-forms-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cpetzold.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/whimsical-beaded-sculptures-by-amy-gross-meditate-on-our-planets-tiniest-life-forms-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Whimsical Beaded Sculptures by Amy Gross Meditate on Our Planet\u2019s Tiniest Life Forms"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Whimsical<\/p>\n

After more than two decades as a commercial textile designer, often working digitally, Amy Gross<\/a> was drawn to making something that felt more immediate and tactile. \u201cI started making beaded jewelry, something I could hold and feel,\u201d she tells Colossal.<\/p>\n

The beading techniques gradually merged with canvases, which over time became more three-dimensional. They were \u201cless about adornment and more about personal stories I felt I needed to tell,\u201d she says. These eventually became sculptural objects<\/a>, representative of the natural world that has long been a source of wonder and curiosity for the artist.<\/p>\n

\"An
\u201cAggregating Vivarium\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gross\u2019 imaginative compositions of flora, fungi, and sometimes even fauna tap into her fascination with scale. In her practice, it\u2019s \u201cnot about size. It\u2019s about what is most important to you,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s how we see and think and remember.\u201d Beads, thread, yarn, and paper transform into otherworldly, miniature biomes.<\/p>\n

The artist focuses on mushrooms, roots, leaves, blossoms, and tiny critters as a meditation on our planet\u2019s smallest denizens. She also incorporates motifs evocative of elements we typically can\u2019t comprehend with the naked eye, such as spores, pollen, viruses, molecules, and cells. \u201cTo my mind\u2019s eye, they are of equal importance,\u201d she says. \u201cThe health of the world we see is deeply dependent on the health of the tiniest elements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gross\u2019 work is currently on view in two shows at Momentum Gallery<\/a> in Asheville, which also represents the artist. In late 2027, her work will be included in a group exhibition at the Fuller Craft Museum<\/a> in Brockton, Massachusetts, and one of her sculptures will be featured in a forthcoming book published by Phaidon about fungi. See more of the artist\u2019s work on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"An
\u201cEvada Dolor\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"An
\u201cTaraxa Contineo\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
\u201cMycorrhiza Web\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"An
\u201cBroodnest Vivarium 2\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"An
\u201cTowhee\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Whimsical Beaded Sculptures by Amy Gross Meditate on Our Planet\u2019s Tiniest Life Forms<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After more than two decades as a commercial textile designer, often working digitally, Amy Gross was drawn to making something that felt more immediate and tactile. \u201cI started making beaded jewelry, something I could hold and feel,\u201d she tells Colossal. The beading techniques gradually merged with canvases, which over time became more three-dimensional. They were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":973,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[21],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/cpetzold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/997"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/cpetzold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/cpetzold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cpetzold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cpetzold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=997"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/cpetzold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1000,"href":"http:\/\/cpetzold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/997\/revisions\/1000"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cpetzold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/cpetzold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cpetzold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cpetzold.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}