by Will Cottrell | May 2, 2026 | Writing
The Idea Wasn’t There I don’t start with an idea. Or at least, not in the way people tend to imagine. When I make a work, there’s no clear image in my head. What happens instead has to be improvised: a bamboo split bends differently than expected or a joint doesn’t...
by Will Cottrell | Apr 17, 2026 | Writing
The Idea Wasn’t There I don’t start with an idea. Or at least, not in the way people tend to imagine. When I make a work, there’s no clear image in my head. What happens... Writing Shape As Structure Structure is not only created only through the strength of a...
by Will Cottrell | Apr 17, 2026 | Writing
Shape As Structure Structure is not only created only through the strength of a material. It can also emerge from how forces are organised within a form. For example: an eggshell is extremely thin, yet surprisingly strong because its curved shape distributes...
by Will Cottrell | Apr 3, 2026 | Writing
My Bamboo Education in Bali As an artist trying to understand bamboo, I went to Bali to study the structural languages developed there. Bali is the home of contemporary bamboo and the structures they are creating are both visually mind-blowing and structurally...
by Will Cottrell | Apr 3, 2026 | Writing
Bali’s Bambu Indah: A Working Lab for Material and Structure I visited the Bambu Indah eco-resort while in studying bamboo construction in Bali. What I found was something like a working laboratory where material, structure, process and building are tested,...
by Will Cottrell | Apr 3, 2026 | Writing
Situating My Practice: Lessons from Bali’s Green School The Green School in Bali represents an enormous body of knowledge about contemporary bamboo practice. It’s the global reference point for bamboo innovation. In 2024 I studied with Bamboo U, part of the...