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Shio Otherworldly Lights Made from Salt by Daniel MacDonald

07.19.12 | By
Shio Otherworldly Lights Made from Salt by Daniel MacDonald

Inspired by a childhood trip to Yellowstone National Park, Daniel MacDonald invented a way to create these orb-like sculptures that he calls shio, which happens to be the Japanese word for salt. The orbs are created in a studio where purified salt is poured over forms made by MacDonald. The salt water flows and slowly builds up over time and the crystals begin to form.

occulus (first image also)

Each piece is unique and takes about a week to fully form. He’s developed several different “species” or types of shio pieces and each one lights up. I can’t help but be completely fascinated by how these grow.

MacDonald started a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the next phase of shio by way of better growth chambers. Help fund the project before July 25, 2012 and you could be one of the first to own one!

orbus

chrysalis

spire

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.