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Posts Tagged ‘Sculptures’

Nice Slice: 30+ Sculptures & Illustrations Created with Cut Paper

17 Oct

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

Hand most people some paper and an X-acto knife and ask them to make art, and at best, they’ll produce some cartoonish shapes spattered with blood. But these twelve artists are producing some of the world’s most impressive papercut art, whether by laboring over astonishingly intricate tapestries for months at a time or making use of clever minimalism for a surprisingly big impact.

Sea Creatures by Kiri Ken

Sea creatures and other natural subjects become the slightest wisps of paper in these extraordinarily delicate and detailed paper cuts by artist Kiri Ken, who shares her work on Twitter. The creatures often become something slightly unnatural in the textures and lines Kiri applies to their various parts, sprouting mechanical objects or patterns that look computerized.

Nature Scenes by Pippa Dyrlaga

Each teeny-tiny feather on a kingfisher’s wing, each scale on the body of a goldfish, is cut out with seemingly endless patience and unfailing accuracy in works by Yorkshire-based artist and printmaker Pippa Dyrlaga.

Anatomy by Ali Harrison

Ali Harrison’s versions of human organs are quite a bit prettier than the real thing, each one given surprising depth and heft despite being cut out of ordinary sheets of paper. The artist designs each one and then laser-cuts them so they can be reproduced. She sells them in her Light and Paper shop.

Endangered Species Cut-Outs by Patrick Cabral

Wolves, elephants, pangolins, tigers, pandas and more are rendered starkly in black and white cut paper against a black surface, each layer of their lace-like faces and bodies cut by hand. Manila-based artist Patrick Cabral donated half the proceeds from the sales of each of these endangered species to WWF Philippines.

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Nice Slice 30 Sculptures Illustrations Created With Cut Paper

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Blooms: Hypnotizing 3D Printed Sculptures Come Alive Under Strobe Lights

28 Sep

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

It’s really easy to lose a chunk of your day getting lost in the hypnotizing effects of these trippy 3D-printed sculpture animations by artist John Edmark. Drawing from spiral patterns and numerical sequences often found in natural objects like pine cones, cacti, sunflowers and seashells, the objects seem to shift and change before your eyes when spun under a strobe light. Watching the videos of the sculptures in motion, it’s hard to believe these aren’t digital animations.

“Unlike a 3D zoetrope, which animates a sequence of small changes to objects, a bloom animates as a single self-contained sculpture,” says Edmark. “The bloom’s animation effect is achieved by progressive rotations of the golden ratio, phi, the same ratio that nature employed to generate the spiral patterns we see in pinecones and sunflowers. The rotational speed and strobe rate of the bloom are synchronized so that one flash occurs every time the bloom turns 137.5 degrees (the angular version of phi.) Each bloom’s particular form and behavior is determined by a unique parametric seed I call a phi-nome.”

The artist explains that much of his work celebrates the patterns underlying space and growth, explored through kinetic sculptures and transformable objects. Highly precise mathematics come into play in both the design and fabrication of each object, more to ask questions about spatial relationships that can only be answered with geometrically exacting constructions than to put that precision on display or “exalt the latest technology.”

It’s a cool way to utilize 3D-printed objects, though, and if you want to play with the effect yourself, you can even purchase the individual shapes from Edmark via Shapeways. He offers a tutorial to repeat the results at Instructables.

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Pencil Art: 50+ Sculptures Explore the Hidden Beauty of This Utilitarian Object

04 Sep

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

A pencil is usually a tool, but what happens when artists subvert its common usage, transforming it into a medium for sculpting instead? Extraordinary sculpting skills paired with a steady hand and a magnifying glass make it possible to carve amazingly tiny figures out of the pencil’s lead. Some artists see flowers or portraits in cast-off pencil shavings, or glue masses of the writing instruments together to sculpt and sand them into new forms punctuated by the graphite or colored pigments inside each pencil’s core.

Pencil Lead Carvings by Salavat Fidai

HBO Asia recently commissioned an incredible set of Game of Thrones-themed pencil lead carvings from Russian artist Salavat Fidai, including the sigils of each House, a White Walker, the dragons and the Iron Throne. It takes Fidai about 6 to 12 hours to sculpt each one using a craft knife, a magnifying glass and a microscope. The artist says the most challenging piece in the collection was the throne, which took over three weeks to perfect. Of course, the Game of Thrones pieces are just the latest works from Fidai, who has also carved tiny architecture, superheroes and other fictional characters, and much more.

Vases Made of Pencils by Studio Markunpoika

Hundreds of pencils are glued together into a solid mass and then carved on a machine lathe to create vases and other decorative objects, revealing the insides of the pencils. Studio Markunpoika describes their process: “‘Amalgamated’ is a collection which explores the relationship of a mass produced ‘tool’ and its individual purpose. The beauty of the pencil as an object seems to go unnoticed if utilized only for their primary purpose. ‘Amalgamated’ is a visual and tactile investigation using pencils as a raw material. This holistic principle has been the fundament for creating this set of vases; let the pencils become a thing themselves.”

Pencil Lead Carvings by Dalton Ghetti

The most impressive works by Dalton Ghetti are undoubtedly those which turn single pencil leads into chains. You can’t help but stare at each one for a while, wondering how he managed to pull them off. The fact that the artist has been refining his process since childhood might tell you a thing or two about how he’s able to pull pieces like these off – or that some of his pieces can take months or even years to complete. He also carves his tiny sculptures without the aid of a microscope or magnifying glass, using sewing needles and razor blades.

Pencil Sculptures by Jennifer Maestre

The colorful bristling creatures of Jennifer Maestre seem to have come from the depths of the sea, their appendages recalling the natural shapes of urchins, anemones, coral, octopi and jellyfish. The artist uses colored pencils as a medium for her unusual sculptures. “The spines of the urchin, so dangerous yet beautiful, serve as an explicit warning against contact. The alluring texture of the spines draws the touch in spite of the possible consequences. The tension unveiled, we feel push and pull, desire and repulsion. The sections of pencils present aspects of sharp and smooth for two very different textural and aesthetic experiences. Paradox and surprise are integral in my choice of materials.”

Pencil Lead Carvings by Cindy Chinn

Cindy Chinn takes advantage of the length of graphite contained within a pencil, tunnel-like inside the wood, and translates it into lines of marching elephants or trains. Her ‘Elephant Walk’ series was commissioned by the California-based Epiphany Elephant Museum. Of the train piece, Chinn says “This piece was designed using straight lead pieces for the rails, with the tiny carved train placed and securely glued on top of the rails. The train engine is only 3/16” of an inch tall. The pencil is 5-5/8” long and mounted in a wood shadowbox frame as shown in the photos.”

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Pencil Art 50 Sculptures Explore The Hidden Beauty Of This Utilitarian Object

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The Art of Tech Living: Amsterdam’s Urban Campsite Lets You Sleep in Sculptures

25 Jul

[ By SA Rogers in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]

Every year, Amsterdam’s Centrumeiland of Ijburg hosts ‘Urban Campsite,’ a public exhibition of sculptural habitats allowing local residents and tourists can spend the night in mobile sculptures. Designers, artists and architects are invited to create cool structures that are way more interesting than the average tent and install them at Science Park, a new area in Amsterdam-East. This year’s theme is ‘The Art of Tech-Living,’ envisioning how art can give science and technology a little boost of imagination.

“Did you ever feel the urge to sleep in a piece of art? Well, then this is your chance! UrbanCampsite is the place where a camping and unique artistic objects meet. You can stay in beautiful, special, sometimes crazy works of art furnished as a hotel room. The UrbanCampsite offers its guests all the amenities of a normal campsite … and quite a lot more than that!”

Prospective guests book the individual habitats on AirBnB, and each sculpture is fully furnished inside. These ‘sleeping objects’ typically have room for two, though a couple will fit children as well, and they range from 85-120 Euros per night. They’re often made of reclaimed materials like trampolines, shrink wrap, pallets and metallic insulation.

For 2017, the selection of sleeping objects includes a mini monastery with an oak sapling at its center, a giant camera obscura, a Dutch electric car from the 70s once used as a mobile post office, a stargazing lab, a 360-degree rotating research ship and a “luxury bungalow made of a sewer tube,” among others.

“Waiting for Water” by Stefanie Rittler and Sascha Henken, for example, bills itself as a humorous view on climate change, saying “The sea water level is constantly rising. Should we wait or change something?” In any case, you can enjoy the views from the upper-level bedroom while the exhibition is still safe on dry land.

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Worlds Under Glass: 33 Miniature Cities & Architectural Sculptures

16 Feb

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

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Sheltered by glass vessels like tiny self-contained biomes, these miniature buildings and cities seem to have their own atmospheres and variable gravity, with houses teetering on the edges of cliffs or springing out of clouds in the sky. Artists craft small-scale structures from balsa wood, paper, cardboard and other materials and house them under domes, bottles, teapots and Victorian terrariums.

Balsa Wood Architecture by Vera van Wolferen

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Often incorporated into animations, Vera van Wolferen’s tiny balsa wood structures can also be structures telling their own stories. A recent series of structures perches tiny dwellings on stilts or stretches them several stories into the ‘sky’ beneath a glass dome, often emerging from cotton ‘clouds.’

Paper Cities by Ayumi Shibata

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Slivers of two-dimensional cities and landscapes curl around each other within glass vessels in rosebud-like arrangements or stack up into faux hillsides to create a three-dimensional whole in these works by Ayumi Shibata. The artist uses traditional Japanese paper cutting techniques, noting that the Japanese word for ‘paper’ is ‘Kami,’ which can also mean ‘god,’ ‘spirit’ or ‘divinity.’

“Kami move freely beyond time, universe and places, appearing during events, as well as in our houses and our bodies,” she says. “These spirits also dwell in paper. In the religion of Shinto, white paper is considered a sacred material.”

Micro Matter by Rosa de Jong

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Enclosed within glass domes or test tubes, Rosa de Jong’s ‘Micro Matter’ sculptures bring unfathomably small worlds to life, each one seemingly floating in its own low-gravity atmosphere. The works often feature dilapidated homes, farm buildings, mines and construction sites, exploring the ways in which built environments interact with nature. The sculptures are created in a way that’s similar to building a ship in a bottle, snugly inserting the pieces to fit their vessels just right.

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Worlds Under Glass 33 Miniature Cities Architectural Sculptures

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Telemetry: Tessellated Paper Sculptures Marry Art and Engineering

31 Jan

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

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Abstract geometric paper-based sculpture may seem like an unlikely medium for the expression of scientific principles, but when the artist is also an engineer, there’s an underlying layer of meaning lost on the casual observer. It’s okay if you don’t get what these pieces represent: Matthew Shlian’s tessellations are beautiful to look at, impressive for both their intricate forms and their precision.

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Shlian has a new show called Telemetry currently up at Florida Gulf Coast University as part of the FGCU Art Galleries’ third year of Crossroads: Art and Science Residency and Exhibition. Founder of the Initiative Artist Studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the artist creates large-scale installations as well as drawings, and frequently collaborates with scientists at the University of Michigan.

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“As a paper engineer, my work is rooted in print media, book arts and commercial design,” says Shlian. “Beginning with an initial fold, a single action causes a transfer of energy to subsequent folds, which ultimately manifest in drawing and three dimensional forms. I use my engineering skills to create kinetic sculpture which have led to collaborations with scientists at University of Michigan.”

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“We work on the nanoscale, translating paper structures to micro folds. Our investigations extend to visualizing cellular division and solar cell development. Researchers see paper engineering as a metaphor for scientific principles; I see their inquiry as a basis for artistic inspiration. In my studio I am a collaborator, explorer and inventor. I begin with a system of folding and at a particular moment the material takes over. Guided by wonder, my work is made because I cannot visualize its final realization; in this way I come to understanding through curiosity.”

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City of Ice: 20 Photos of China’s Amazing Annual Snow Sculptures

26 Dec

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

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Dozens of large-scale snow and ice sculptures are once again on display in Harbin, capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, for the Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Expo. By day, the massive sculptures depicting folklore, mythology, classical art, cartoon characters and castles almost blend into their icy surroundings like natural formations, and after dark, everything is illuminated with a rainbow of glowing lights. Here are some of the festival’s most impressive sculptures that visitors have captured over the years.

Wild Hair Statue, 2012

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Harbin has long, cold winters with temperatures dropping to -36 degrees Fahrenheit, making it cold enough to pack snow very tightly, mold it into place and expect it to stay put. Otherwise, statues with elements like this hair would be difficult to make (photo by cdschock.)

Illuminated Ice Architecture, 2009

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The annual winter festival is the largest ice and snow festival in the world, drawing international participants to show off their sculpting skills. The ‘Ice and Snow World’ portion, featuring full-sized buildings made from blocks of 2-3 inch thick ice, is best experienced after dark (photo by Ian Carvell.)

Goddess Statue, 2016

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Each year, the event has a ‘trial run’ between December 22nd and January 4th, officially open to the public between January 5th and February 25th. Every year has a different theme, with 2016’s revealed to be “The Wonderland in the Land of Snow, The Grand View in the World of Ice and Snow.” Not clear on what that means, but we’ll find out when photos are released in early 2017 (photo by Time Travelo.)

Snow Sphinx, 2013

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Maybe it’s not quite as large as the original, but this ‘snow sphinx’ photographed by Priscilla Dorresteijn is impressive nonetheless.

Illuminated Ice City at Dusk, 2015

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The combination of reflective ice and snow with colored lights creates a pastel scene at dusk (photo by Jarod Carruthers.)

Massive Santa, 2009

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This large-scale Santa is downright mountainous, looming over life-sized snow sculptures of architecture and trees (photos by Morgann and rdog)

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City Of Ice 20 Photos Of Chinas Amazing Annual Snow Sculptures

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Drawing Sculptures: 3D Architectural Art Styled After 2D Sketches

01 Dec

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

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This ongoing series of sculptural floating cities and suspended towns could be mistaken for pencil drawings when glanced on a wall or seen in a two-dimensional medium like photography.

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Spanish artist David Moreno sees it that was as well: at attempt to draw sculptures, but using steel rods lashed together with piano wire rather than a pen on a pad. Background depth, shadows and other slight dimensional clues cue viewers into what they are really seeing.

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These stick-figure structures correspondingly look deceptively simple: what would normally be a single stroke is instead a meticulous assembly process, the rods tied together by hand and piano wire wrapped and clipped to support them.

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The Barcelona-based artist has also toyed with 3D-printing extrusion devices to shape similar works in more colorful formats, combining, for instance, a series of stylized chairs into a mass of interconnected hanging sculptures.

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In other cases, strings and wires are looped and stretched to form complex shapes or interact with other objects – stories and figures emerging from a combination of materials and forms.

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While the specifics of his work shifts from one installation to the next, a common theme is clear: taking traditions of line art into the third dimension and seeing what can come of the process (via Colossal).

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Wild & Scrappy: 3D Trash Sculptures of Animals Pop Up in Urban Spaces

29 Sep

[ By SA Rogers in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

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Literally popping out of city walls in three dimensions, wild animals emerge from a jumble of car parts, corrugated metal and random industrial objects masterfully layered and painted by Bordalo II. The Portuguese street artist has spent much of the last decade installing these giant murals in the streets of his hometown of Lisbon and other locales around the world, literally infusing new life into the stuff we’ve deemed junk and tossed away. Several new pieces have emerged in recent months, including a possum in Ft. Smith, Arkansas and a flying squirrel in Estonia.

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Each of Bordalo’s sculptures grows in an almost organic fashion depending on what kind of trash the artist can find on the streets near his installation location. As you can probably imagine, he has no trouble accumulating more materials than he can handle just with a quick trip driving around a few city blocks. Certain materials, like tires, are preferred because they’re easy to cut and shape.

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Like so many street artists, Bordalo started out making illegal street graffiti, and his style emerged over time as he began to integrate 3D objects into the paint. “Even if in the beginning it was all about exploring and discovering the way to do, the way to make it work, I’m still trying to innovate, create new problems and have fun with them – this is the process that creates different expressions, forms, textures, etc.,” he says in an interview with Street Art News.

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Take a look through Bordalo’s Instagram for more projects, and see if you can identify all the individual elements that go into each piece.

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Metallic Life Forms: Kinetic Sculptures Undulate in the Wind

05 May

[ By Steph in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

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There’s something alien about the way these metallic structures move, a fluidity that makes them seem as if they’re alive. Each one transforms so completely as it spins, the results almost seem like optical illusions. It’s really all a play of light and shadow on cleverly designed kinetic sculptures, which are engineered to spin effortlessly whether the winds are barely blowing or gusting with extreme force.

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Working through many a night in his remote workshop on Orcas Island, Washington, Howe refuses commissioned orders, working only from his personal creative inspiration. Hundreds of his sculptures have sold to private and public collections around the world, including large-scale urban works in several cities.

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“Kinetic sculpture resides at the intersection of artistic inspiration and mechanical complexity. The making of one of my nieces relies on creative expression, metal fabrication, and a slow design process in equal parts. It aims to alter one’s experience of time and space when witnessed. It also needs to weather winds of 90mph and still move in a one mile per hour breeze and do so for hundreds of years.”

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