RocketMan said,
I wonder if taking high resolution photos to make large prints would detract from their artistic value.
I don't know, but I guess the frames of the originals could be made out of toothpicks.
Certainly interesting. My preference isn't usually toward "pattern art" (or "pattern photographs") except insofar as it lends to the actual composition leading to the subject.
I do appreciate the time-tedious factor in the two examples, though.
I didn't know diatoms could be colorful, though. According to Wiki, they can refract and reflect light within themselves, I guess like topaz, and have been called Jewels of the Sea.
To save you the trouble:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatom
