This Artist Sculpts Unkillable Cacti and Succulents From Marble

Photo: Highnell Gallery

Even when you've picked a jade plant (AKA a plant that's extremely hard to kill), found a sun-filled nook in your tiny (but chic!) Zen den where it can thrive, and read up on green-thumb-enhancing tricks, sometimes the finicky organisms still die on you. Okay, so maybe we're talking about my issues, but until science proves otherwise, I'm convinced that the ability to keep a plant alive is dependent upon having a genetic predisposition (kind of like being creative) for it.

But even if you have killed more plants than you thought was statistically possible, you can still enjoy some of the mood-boosting (though not air-purifying) effects of greenery with the art of Ben Russell, a sculptor who makes cacti and succulents out of marble.

Many of the United Kingdom–based artist's sculptures celebrate aspects of nature (his latest project is lifelike sculptures of mushrooms); his marble cacti and succulents were inspired by "the way light passes through the flesh of some of my cacti and succulents," he told AnOther, adding, "I decided to have a go at capturing this in sculptural form."

You probably won't find these at your local plant nursury anytime soon, but starting this month, they are available for purchase from the artist by commission, according to Creative Boom.

See photos of the faux vegetation below.


A post shared by Ben Russell (@dorsetstonecarver) on

If you're in the market for a living, breathing, growing plant, consider a no-fuss air plant, and if you're a pup parent, make sure it's pet-friendly

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