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How Did A Mishap Lead To An Artist's Best Work?

Part 4 of the TED Radio Hour episode Adaptation

About Janet Echelman's TED Talk

Janet Echelman found her true voice as an artist when her paints went missing — which forced her to look to an unorthodox new art material. Now she makes billowing, building-sized sculptures, made of natural and synthetic fibers.

About Janet Echelman

Artist Janet Echelman builds living, breathing sculpture environments that respond to the forces of nature — wind, water and light— and become inviting focal points for civic life.

Exploring the potential of atypical materials, from fishing net to atomized water particles, Echelman combines ancient craft with cutting-edge technology to create sculpture at the scale of buildings.

Recent prominent works include "Her Secret is Patience," which spans two city blocks in downtown Phoenix, "Water Sky Garden," which premiered for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, and "She Changes," which transformed a waterfront plaza in Porto, Portugal.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

NPR/TED Staff