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Archive for the ‘Creativity’ Category

Painted People: 31 Works of Art on Human Canvas

29 May

[ By Steph in Drawing & Digital. ]

Painted people main
Human bodies become exotic animals and crashed cars, or blend almost seamlessly into intricate backgrounds, with careful application of body paint and a bit of acrobatics. These 31 works of art turn people into living canvases, sometimes celebrating the graceful shapes and movement of their bodies, and at other times, disguising it.

Alexa Meade’s 2D Paintings on 3D People

Painted People 2D 1
Painted People 2D 2

Those aren’t two-dimensional paintings on a flat surface; they’re real, live people transformed into human canvases by artist Alexa Meade. “The models are transformed into embodiments of the artist’s interpretation of their essence,” says Meade. “When captured on film, the living, breathing people underneath the paint disappear, overshadowed by the masks of themselves.

Wallpaper People by Emma Hack

Painted People Wallpaper 1
Painted People Wallpaper 2

Painted models virtually disappear into patterned backgrounds in works by artist Emma Hack. The models must be painstakingly hand-painted to match up perfectly with backgrounds that are often very complex, and then remain perfectly still so the scene can be photographed. It can take as long as nineteen hours to apply the makeup for a single scene.

Human Animals by Gesine Marwedel

Painted People Animals

The graceful, flexible bodies of performance artists are an ideal medium for artist Gesine Marwedel, who uses paint to turn them into animals like flamingos, dolphins, hummingbirds and tigers. “Body painting is not just paint on a living canvas, it is picking up the body shapes in a subject and the painting on the body,” Marwedel told PSFK. “It is the transformation of a human being into a breathing, moving, living work of art.”

Painted Alive: Brilliant Work by Craig Tracy

Painted People Alive Tracy

Owner of the world’s first gallery dedicated to fine art body painting (located in New Orleans), Craig Tracy creates his own beautiful and surreal body painting portraits that blend human models into backgrounds or turn them into psychedelic works of art. Rather than hiding the models, however, Tracy celebrates the shapes of their bodies, often exaggerating them and using them for creative effect.

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Painted People 31 Works Of Art On Human Canvas

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Musical Urban Design: Rube Goldberg-Style Rain Drains

29 May

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

facade art

Architects go to elaborate lengths to hide the passage of water from the walls and roofs of buildings, but in this case, an interactive and artistic facade features the process prominently instead, turning the flow of liquid into music for passers by.

facade water channel art

Kunsthof Passage in Dresden features a typical urban German experience: a series of cute small shops and quaint restaurants tucked into tunnels and courtyards and removed from the main streets.

facade artworks

But it is more than that as well, thanks in part to the work of Heike Bottcher and others who contributed to turning the facades of structures facing its primary courtyard area into colorful works of musical art.

facade interactive urban art

And, at the end of the sequence, channeled water flows out into a rain station where people can play, rinse their hands or let their pets romp through the result of this strange chain of channels.

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Edge Cases: 8 Space-Saving Design Ideas for Inside Corners

28 May

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Furniture & Decor. ]

inside interior corner designs

Most home furnishings are made for flat surfaces, not for those uncomfortable edge conditions we call either ‘inside’ or ‘outside’ corners. The following designs do more than just address such conditions, they thrive on these traditionally-problematic challenges.

inside kitchen corner drawers

Kitchens are somewhat notorious when it comes to corners – cupboards bumping into another is one thing, but you also often lose the extra space contained in the corner itself. Not so with these crafty corner drawers that slide out at a 45-degree angle – designs by Blum and Heritage.

inside flat pack lamps

Floor lamps are another classic challenge- they are often rounded, and occupy more space in the corner than they could possible need. One solution is the Pop-Up corner light from WellWell, packed flat in an envelope with a cord, and folded out by the recipient to form a triangular, rectangular or round shape suited to 90-degree or even slightly-more-unusual angles.

 

inside corner pipe shelves

For storage considerations, pipe shelves like the ones shown above have been popping up for sale on Etsy for a while now – these are generally oriented toward inside corners, but could just as easily wrap out and around as well. And, of course, you can buy something already-made or go the do-it-yourself route instead.

inside outside corner shelf

But inside corners are only half of the equation – what about outside corners, where two walls meet as they push out into the room? This corner shelf by Martina Carpelan fills both functions with elegant simplicity – it can be flipped to wrap around an outside corner, or to tuck into an inside one.

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Woodskin: Flexible Hybrid Material Makes Wood Modular

28 May

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Fixtures & Interiors. ]

flexible wood

In essence, it has the look and feel of wood, but the flexibility of fabric, all rolled into one composite mesh that is durable but able to be molded into all kinds of creative patterns both temporary and permanent.

flexible wood mesh furniture

From its Italian creators at MammaFotogramma: “Woodskin is a composite material, developed and patented by our design firm. This highly flexible surface – a sandwich wood and high performance mesh – was created by a process of excavation with a CNC cutting machine. By dividing the rigid plan of wood into small triangle, the material is freed – able to be shaped as the maker desires.”

flexible composite wooden material

The result has advantages of both decorative malleable materials and functional solid systems, enabling a wide range of potentials for use in furniture and interior design. Following a broader trend in complex 3D architecture, the mesh of CNC-cut Russian plywood stitched together with layers of vinyl makes the most abstract shapes possible.

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SoundTank: Mobile Sound System or Armored Vehicle?

28 May

[ By Steph in Technology & Vehicles & Mods. ]

SoundTank Mobile Sound System 1

You might think twice about approaching a neighbor to turn down their loud music if it were emanating from the SoundTank, a mobile audio system by Berlin-based artist Nik Nowak. The imposing sound system was made using an old Japanese miniature tracked dumper as a base. Nowak added four tweeters, six 12-inch drivers, and three 8-inch subwoofers, in addition to other audio components, as well as a faceted exterior full of speakers.

SoundTank Mobile Sound System 2

‘Panzer’, which means tank in German, is capable of booming 4,000 watts of sound from its strategically designed array of speakers, and it has a hydraulic cover that flips up with the touch of a button. It’s also equipped with a drum machine, mixer and synthesizer.

SoundTank Mobile Sound System 3

Nowak focused on electronic music during his art studies, and composes music that consists only of low-pitched tones. With the SoundTank, the artist was looking to create an extra-loud system for outdoor performances that can handle a particular frequency spectrum. Performances at festivals and other venues showed off the tank’s capabilities.

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Woodskin: Flexible Hybrid Material Makes Wood Modular

28 May

[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Fixtures & Interiors. ]

flexible wood

In essence, it has the look and feel of wood, but the flexibility of fabric, all rolled into one composite mesh that is durable but able to be molded into all kinds of creative patterns both temporary and permanent.

flexible wood mesh furniture

From its Italian creators at MammaFotogramma: “Woodskin is a composite material, developed and patented by our design firm. This highly flexible surface – a sandwich wood and high performance mesh – was created by a process of excavation with a CNC cutting machine. By dividing the rigid plan of wood into small triangle, the material is freed – able to be shaped as the maker desires.”

flexible composite wooden material

The result has advantages of both decorative malleable materials and functional solid systems, enabling a wide range of potentials for use in furniture and interior design. Following a broader trend in complex 3D architecture, the mesh of CNC-cut Russian plywood stitched together with layers of vinyl makes the most abstract shapes possible.

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21st Century Cookout: 16 Modern Grills & Outdoor Kitchens

27 May

[ By Steph in Design & Fixtures & Interiors. ]

Modern Grills Main

If you’re tired of the ugly gas grill taking up space in your backyard, dreaming of a luxurious outdoor kitchen, or just wishing you had a cool portable BBQ to take out to the park, here are 16 (more!) design-centric options. Ranging from mobile kitchen carts and clever fold-up grills to sunken stone kitchens with swim-up bars, these outdoor cooking setups will have you craving a stylish cookout in no time flat.

Hot Pot Planter Grill Combo

Modern Grills Hot Pot

Hidden within an ordinary-looking terra-cotta planter is a charcoal grill, perfect for the city dweller with limited outdoor space for cookouts. The multi-functional Hot Pot serves as a mini garden when not in use, reduces clutter and avoids the clunky eyesore effect of conventional BBQ grills.

Steel Bowl Pivot Grill

Modern Grills Steel Bowl Pivot

Another dual-purpose product is a fire bowl that converts to a barbecue with the addition of a hanging grill pendulum/pulley set. The grill height is adjustable, and the arm folds down small for storage.

Modern Wood-Burning Grill

Modern Grills Wood Burning

Wood-burning grills get a modern update with the Ascot by Cera Design, a column-shaped grill and smoker with a glass door that lets you enjoy the flames as your food cooks. It includes optional outer plates for accessories, side storage units and a swivel grill. It can be used as an outdoor fireplace, too.

Modern Spiraling Gazebo with Built-In Kitchen

Modern Grills Spiral Gazebo 1

Modern Grills Spiral Gazebo 2

Commissioned by a yacht captain, this spiraling outdoor kitchen is fittingly shaped like the hull of a ship. Made of pale larch wood, the pavilion contains seating for eight and a black kitchen with a brick barbecue.

Druida Barbecue Chars Food with Geometric Patterns

Modern Grills Druida

Charred steaks will be a work of art when cooked on the Druida, a striking barbecue composed of a steel bowl on a tripod and a geometric waterjet-cut grille. The design of the grille is inspired by druidic cauldrons.

Compact Outdoor Kitchen by StudioMama

Modern Outdoor Grills COmpact Kitchen

Modern Grills Compact Kitchen 2

Made entirely of objects and materials that can be found at a hardware store, this mobile kitchen by London designer Nina Tolstrup of Studiomama features a bucket sink connected to a garden hose, a chopping board and a small stove eye as well as storage space. Studiomama offers instructions to make your own.

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Last Call: 11 Drunk Dry Abandoned Liquor Stores

26 May

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned liquor stores
These 11 abandoned liquor stores are hangovers, as it were, from an era when Mom & Pop stores sold the kind of products Mom & Pop forbade you from buying.

Broadway The Hard Way

abandoned Broadway Liquor Outlet Minneapolis(image via: Minneapolis StarTribune)

Minneapolis’ Broadway Liquor Outlet may be outta liquor but it’s not outta luck, at least not yet. The striking photo above was taken by David Toles of the StarTribune. Toles’ dramatically tilted composition features the store silhouetted against an ominously cloudy sky, though this year no tornadoes descended to finish their destructive work.

Greening Of Detroit

Detroit abandoned liquor store garden shed(images via: Click Click Click)

If a tree can grow in Brooklyn, an abandoned liquor store in Detroit can be reborn as a garden shed. Not just ANY garden shed, mind you, but a pastoral-ly repainted edifice emblazoned with environmentally friendly graphics instead of the graffiti one more typically finds in today’s Motor City. We’ll drink to that!

Detroit abandoned liquor store garden shed(image via: Click Click Click)

Andra Johnson in association with The Greening Of Detroit volunteered for the re-purposing project which took place on July 30th, 2010. It must have been thirsty work cleaning, prepping and painting the mid-century building under the hot summer sun. If only there was a store that sold cold, refreshing beverages nearby… oh.

Florida Dry

St. Mary's Liquors Nassau County Florida(images via: Southern Exposure)

The former St. Mary’s Liquors store on U.S. 17 in Nassau County, Florida, molders away quietly alongside the also-abandoned Riverside Motel about a mile south of the Georgia state border. Historically, Georgia generally prohibited the sale of alcohol on Sunday – counties could hold local referendums to decide the issue but until recently the results usually upheld the status quo. That attitude is beginning to change, however, and if the county just north of Nassau flipped from dry to wet Sundays, it could explain St. Mary’s Liquors’ sinking fatally into a sea of red ink.

Too Big To Fail?

massive abandoned liquor store(image via: Pete Jelliffe)

Bigger isn’t always better, just ask the owners of this ridiculously massive abandoned liquor store – if you can find them. Simply stocking the multistory edifice would cost a king’s ransom and if there should ever be an earthquake, the tsunami of spilled alcohol (cirrhosis of the river?) surging out the front doors would be enough to make even the sternest teetotaler weep… especially if it then caught on fire.

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Kite Cameras: Aerial Photography Accessible to Anyone

25 May

[ By WebUrbanist in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

aerial crop circle capture

Towers convey power, and height is both literally and metaphorically connected to broader and better views – but here come kites to undermine that top-down view.

aerial kite island photos

Kite photography is empowering and democratizing – increasingly inexpensive unmanned aircraft can be attached to likewise ever-cheaper, high-quality photographic devices. Kite Aerial Photography (KAP) enthusiasts like Pierre Lesage, a sampling of whose work appears here, are rapidly taking to these newer and better technologies.

aerial windmill landscape photo

Sending your camera into the sky is one thing – keeping it balanced so it takes a clean and crisp shot is quite another. Many of the latest advances thus appropriately address the issue of stability. Hence, stabilization rigs that help keep balance even with an ever-moving kite and ground controller.

aerial kite camera stabilization

The controller, in turn, has to determine how the photos-taking will unfold, via preset intervals, perhaps, or using infrared or radio controls. Of his setup, the photographer writes: “Originally this rig was made for a Canon Ixus 600, was then adapted with a video return and later adapted to welcome A Leica Dlux3.”

aerial from of boat

Until recently, taking photos from the sky meant owning (or at least renting) an airborne vehicle to carry you and your equipment aloft, then struggling through windows or other opening to take the best shot. Now, the game has changed, and almost anyone can get in on the action. Now the only thing that may get in your way is the thin kite string everything else hinges on.

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World’s Largest LEGO Model: Star Wars X-Wing Starfighter

24 May

[ By Steph in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]

LEGO Star Wars X-Wing 1

Forty-two times larger than the toy set currently available in stores, this Star Wars X-Wing Starfighter is made of over five million LEGO bricks weighing a whopping 45,000 pounds. Assembled in the LEGO model shop in Kladno, Czech Republic, the model is 43 feet long and 11 feet high with a wing span of 44 feet. It was unveiled in New York City’s Times Square on May 23rd, and will be on display for Memorial Day weekend before reaching its final destination at Legoland in California.

LEGO Star Wars X-Wing 2

The model had to be carefully engineered with a steel framework system in order to withstand all of the travel, breakdown and re-assembly required to transport it across the Atlantic Ocean and from one side of America to the next.

LEGO Star Wars X-Wing 3

It took an international team of designers, builders, engineers, mechanics and logistics experts over a year to devise the plan that brought the massive model from concept sketches to reality. The time it took to construct the model, which is made using the same LEGO bricks sold at retail, was 17,336 hours, or about four months.

LEGO Star Wars X-Wing 4

The model can seat multiple fans in the cockpit for photo opportunities, and its four rear engines light up to a glowing neon red. “We thought it would be a great idea to say ‘What if you took this, scaled it up to the size of what a real X-wing looks like, and here’s the end result,’” LEGO Master Builder Erik Varszegi told MTV Geek.

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