As if lifted from the wreckage of the Titanic, ceramic artist Mary O’Malley creates sculptural porcelain teapots, cups, and vases adorned with barnacles, tentacles, and other living sea creatures (she refers to them as “porcelain crustaceans”). Many original works from this series titled ‘Bottom Feeders’ are available over on Etsy. (via laughing squid)
Manchester-based designer and illustrator Si Scott is known for his energetic and flowing style of illustration that has graced the packaging and advertising for some of the world’s top brands including Nike, Dove, Coca Cola, and many others. Among some of his most impressive works are his stylized illustrations of insects and other wildlife, drawn by hand with pen and ink. I strongly urge you to check out his Resonate series for Silent Studios/Silent Records, and there’s plenty more to see over on Facebook.
Laser Forest is the lastest creation from a creative studio known as Marshmallow Laser Feast comprised of Memo Akten, Robin McNicholas, and Barney Steel who have focused almost exclusively on creating interactive experiences over the past two years. This latest installation involves a forest of 150 interactive rods installed in an empty factory space that when touched trigger both light and audio cues, effectively creating a large interactive instrument. Laser Forest was commission for the STRP Biennale in Eindhoven last month, and you can learn much more about at the Creators Project.
At the age of 14 Johan Scherft made his first papercraft bird which he colored with a pencil, modeled after the flying paper models of english artist of Malcolm Topp. His self-created models along with his drawings gained him admittance to the royal academy of arts in The Hague where he perfected his painting and sculptural techniques. Nearly 30 years later the Dutch artist has become a master of the medium creating a wide variety of objects including dinosaurs, animals, boats, and especially birds. Scherft uses a computer to aid in the initial steps of creating the paper blueprints but everything else is done by hand, a painstaking process that can take several days and occasionally up to a full month to complete.
If you want to explore a bit more head over to his Facebook page and read a bit more about his process on My Modern Met. Scherft also keeps an active YouTube channel where he’s filmed numerous tutorials; don’t miss his solar-powered hummingbird.
Sambre (work in progress)
Sambre (work in progress)
Built as a municipal bathhouse in the late 19th century, Les Bains-Douches would eventually become one of the hottest night clubs in Paris known simply as Les Bains, a destination for the likes of Kate Moss, Mick Jagger, Johnny Depp and even Andy Warhol. Due to some faulty construction in 2010 the building was declared a safety hazard and is now slated for complete renovation in just a few days to pave way for La Société des Bains, a new space that will open in 2014. In the meantime, owner Jean-Pierre Marois turned over the building to 50 street artists commissioned by Magda Danysz Gallery who have been working since January to turn the decaying building into an endless canvas of artwork.
While the entire space will unfortunately remain closed to the public, photographers Stephane Bisseuil and Jérôme Coton were allowed in to shoot many of the artworks in progress. Above is just a small selection, head over to Les Bains “One Day One Artist” page to see much more. (via creative review)
Unveiled earlier this month at Salon Satellite at Milan Design Week 2013, Canvas is a set of two-dimensional, lightweight furniture pieces made of wood, aluminum and stretched elastic canvas that can be hung flat on a wall. The surface of each piece is printed with images of the furniture it represents, and once removed can be propped against a wall and used as actual seating. Canvas was designed by spatial designer Naoki Ono, founder of Tokyo-based YOY design studio. While the chairs might not be ideal for long periods of time, they really are ideal for cramped spaces requiring temporary seating. (via hyperallergic)
Graphic designer and competitor for Best Dad Ever David LaFerriere has been drawing illustrations on his children’s sandwich bags since 2008. Lucky for us he photographs almost every single one, over 1,100 of which you can explore over on Flickr. (via quipsologies)
Milan-based artist Marco Mazzoni works almost exclusively with colored pencils to create intricate drawings that depict the cycles of nature and worlds based heavily in Italian folklore. One of his most frequent subjects are drawings of flora and fauna who seem to be consuming or living on top of the face of a woman whose eyes we never see. The artist says he consciously does not depict the eyes so the viewer doesn’t consider the artwork a portait, but instead a still life where all elements have equal importance. Via Galleria Patricia Armocida:
Mazzoni weaves a world based on Italian folklore, made up of Janas and Cogas, female figures who, according to Sardinian beliefs, seduce, enchant, curse, and heal. His work is an homage to the secret art of healers; each drawing is saturated with metaphors that tell their story. The circular compositions, which allude to the cycles of Nature, depict medicinal and lysergic plants, pollinator butterflies and birds which drink their nectar, and hidden amidst leaves and wings emerge the faces of these women forced to hide their sensuality and their knowledge due to bigotry imposed by religion, accused of witchcraft because they are herbarie, herbalists. Female healers and midwives held an important role within the community. [...] Marco Mazzoni underlines the importance of the interaction between the women and the plants by developing the subject that’s best known: the female face framed by flora and fauna, rendering it an icon. He reveals her innermost perceptions, memories scribbled on a diary page, highly imaginative visions of “impossible” animals, the fruit of ecstatic exploration of hallucinatory journeys. [...] The result is a work which recounts the moment in which woman takes control of everything, in complete harmony with Nature.
Mazzoni currently has a solo show in Milan at Galleria Patricia Armocida which runs through May 4th, 2013. You can see more of his work over on Facebook.
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© 2010-2013 Christopher Jobson, all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. I try my best to attribute images, videos, and quotes to their creators and original sources. If you see something on Colossal that's misattributed or you would like removed, please contact me. The Colossal logo and name Colossal are the trademarks of Christopher Jobson.
