Kelp Skin Gourd

Whitney Vangrin

2025

Medium: Kelp casting over dried gourd, hand-blown glass base

Dimensions: 8 x 10 x 7 in.

Price: Upon request

Description: Kelp Skin Gourd was made by draping and drying kelp over a dried gourd, allowing the seaweed to shrink and preserve the contours of the form. Resting on a vivid, hand-blown glass base, the piece merges oceanic and terrestrial materials to explore preservation, adaptation, and the transformation of natural matter over time. This work represents a project in which students were invited to work with organic matter to explore preservation and materiality. Students experimented with bio-based materials such as seaweed and SCOBY to create cast forms. The work urges students to draw on traditions of natural material casting, organic sculpture, and food-based art in order to reframe everyday organic matter as a site of transformation.