Oh how I wish I lived in California! According to his website, Mitsuru Koga – known for his small-scale work with sea stones and other objects of nature – will be conducting a leaf-cutout workshop this weekend at Tortoise in Venice, CA. Aren’t these cutouts amazing?

“An insect makes exquisite cutouts in a leaf.” – Mitsuru Koga

Related:

• Driftwood Dinosaurs by Mitsuru Koga
• Sea Stone Rocks by Mitsuru Koga

Architect Akihisa Hirata will be showing one of his latest creations, Flame Frame, at the Taka Ishii Gallery through the end of the year.

Hirata first gained an international fan-base with his biomorphic “csh” chair, which he showed in last year’s Frieze Art Fair. I’m not too sure how to pronounce it either…

Once again taking his cue from naturally occurring elements, Hirata’s Flame Frame – made from pressed aluminum – emulates the autonomy of flames. The piece is quite beautiful on its own but when repeated numerous instances it can be used as a partition or even a chandelier-like lighting fixture.

Related:

• IenoIe by Akihisa Hirata