Artist Helen Nodding's experiment
The burgeoning art of moss graffiti has made the rounds of the blogosphere in the past (including here on AT), but in honor of DIY month, we wanted to pass on a recipe for trying it out at home. Eco-friendly or no, it still seems strange to paint on other people’s walls, but we love the idea of using this to artistic effect in our own garden. Turns out the instructions for making the “paint” that grows into moss are relatively simple...
According to Supernaturale, London artist Helen Nodding, inspired by the perseverance of nature reclaiming its space, came up with this method for painting and writing on walls with live moss.
You'll need a can of beer, half a teaspoon of sugar, and several crumbled-up clumps of garden moss (cleaned of dirt and rocks). The recipe entails blending these ingredients in a blender until they achieve a smooth, creamy consistency. This is your "paint"; you can paint your design directly onto a damp and shady wall. During the following weeks, try and keep the area moist if you can (misting it if necessary), and your design will form. Eventually the plant will colonize the whole area, and your design will disappear.
This seems like a great project for kids, or just for those looking to get a little creative in the garden. Visit Helen Nodding's web site to see more of her projects, including more details of her moss graffiti adventures.
(Via Supernaturale)
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
i tried this myself last year, wanting to grow moss between some path stones. turns out the area wasn't shady enough to support the moss, but i'm dying to try it again in a danker spot!
view miss sparrow's profile
Cool -- I really want to do this on rocks! I love the look of moss-covered stones!
view wakemeupb4ugogo's profile
This looks like something I'd like to incorporate into a vertical garden wall.
view btoddster's profile
I love this idea - I'm brainstorming now to think of a wall we could try this on!
view sara Stubbert's profile
This works fine in Seattle and like climates, but my New Hampshire yard is too dry, even in the shade. You need a fair amount of ongoing moisture and good starter moss, too. (If moss is a PROBLEM where you live, you are probably good to go.)
The artful lettering is cool! Wish my moss garden had worked... (I wasn't even drawing, just growing it...)
view SherryBinNH's profile
Hey, yeah- we're dank enough for this project. Yay!
view SeattleMama's profile
I've done this, but not on walls. Applied a mixture to my front steps, between the paving stones. Only difference is the recipe, which calls for using plain yogurt instead of beer. It worked really well!
view WallFlowerStudio's profile
I learned this from Bill Nye a long time ago! But with just milk instead of sugar and beer.
view Damfino's profile