Three-dimensional Illustration and Installation of Pollen Spores Represented through Ceramics

Abstract

Pollination in angiosperms is crucial to many food systtems and sustainability in ecosystems. Variation of shapes and surface textures serve a purpose of tending to specific flowering plant structures, such as the stigma. Pollen is thought of at an allergen level often times rather than the contribution to our natural world. At a closer look, pollen grains under 100x-1000x light magnification or placed under an electron microscope have fascinating textures and shapes unseen by a normal eye. The exine, the outermost surface, of the grains are composed various furrows, lumina, and sculptural componets. Many models of pollen grains expressing these textures are created through computer generated softwares, continuing the two dimensional format. This stylizing can undermine the organic shapes and rendering due to perfect modeling. Through a ceramic rendition, this thesis explores the sculpting of pollen grain in a three-dimensional form from two-demensional images.