A green thumb is something I don't have, and it's a club that I will never belong to—-I'm convinced it's something you're born with and not a skill learned. Or at least I tell myself that so I don't feel guilty for killing plant after plant after plant.
But Daniel Gordon is giving me hope that even I can become an (at least amateur) horticulturist one day. The Brooklyn-based designer is an acclaimed photographer with a highly skilled eye, and in 2014, he won the Foam Paul Huf Award, an internationally acclaimed photography award.
His book Houseplants is one of his latest creative endeavors, a limited-edition pop-up book that features playful three-dimensional still lives of potted plants. Color me intrigued because this is a plant I can't kill, don't have to water, and easily store on my bookshelf.
Gordon's whimsical book is a set of collaged images of potted fruits and plant imagery that he found online and turned into playful yet gorgeous sculptural pieces. This eclectic collage method is fundamental to his designs, and you can find it in some of his previous works. Gordon worked in collaboration with the self-proclaimed paper engineer Simon Arizpe to construct the forms. These two masterminds' partnership has created a collection of art forms that would make anyone from two to one hundred years old giddy with joy.
The plants bloom from the pages, and each piece is unquestionably unique. There's always been special magic to pop-up books, and the charm has continued with Houseplants. The cover is a rich emerald green paired with a shimmery gold foil, fitting for any coffee table or bookshelf. Between the cover lays the most mesmerizing pop-up floral sculptures that seep with whimsy and joy, and each individual spread is packed full of colorful imagery and details.
Houseplants is a book that will most definitely spark joy. Plus, you can't kill it, so it'll last a lifetime, unlike the fiddle leaf fig plant that I just accidentally exterminated.
