I Know What Diatoms Are,

many years ago we used diatom filters at work,

but I had never seen diatoms displayed as works of art, in case you do not know, diatoms are tiny single-cell algae encased in jewel-like shells that are among the smallest organisms on Earth of which there are an estimated 100,000 extant species, but how does one go about finding, capturing, cleaning, organising, and arranging these artistic displays that are so small they are measured in microns?

enter Klaus Kemp who became fascinated by some of the earliest diatom arrangements dating back to the Victorian era,

Klaus has since dedicated his life to the study and perfection of modern day diatom arrangements, and his works are among the most complex being made today, it is so difficult to believe how small these objects are and to comprehend how to arrange them, just the slightest movement in the air and they would be gone, amazing.