Craft

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Craft

Antique Lace and Handkerchiefs Add Detail to Embroideries of Female Icons by Lily Bloomwood

Self-taught artist Lily Bloomwood utilizes bits of antique lace, handkerchiefs, and delicate pieces of old knitting as the starting point for her embroidered portraits of female figures. Many of the works are inspired by women of the silent movie era such as the Canadian born actress and producer Mary Pickford or Olive Thomas, who is regarded as the very first “flapper.” Bloomwood is also inspired by relatively unknown medieval heroines, women she chooses to immortalize in her embroidered canvases. You can see more of the London-based artist’s work on Behance, and buy her work on Etsy. (via Colossal Submissions)

Craft Design

Playful Paper Masks by Lobulo Studio for Barcelona’s Grec Festival

For the 2018 marketing of Barcelona’s long-running Grec Festival, which includes dance, theater, circus, and music, the London-based Lobulo Studio was tapped to create a series of unusual paper masks. Using the prompt “new species,” Lobulo explains on their website that they were “playing with the concept of new rare species that nobody has seen before” in order to “bring color, joy, and readiness to discover”. Each mask conveys a unique persona: a four-eyed character’s mouth is open in awe, while drops of blue water-like shapes convey a fluid suit of armor. You can see more of Lobulo’s paper creations, including a Berlin feast and an eerie church, on Instagram and Behance. (via PLAIN Magazine)

Craft Design

A Topographic Table Presents a Sculptural Interpretation of Yosemite Valley in Blue, Yellow, and Gray

Colorado-based company Beatnik Prints, owned by Christopher Warren, creates mountainous sculptures from multi-colored laser cut matte board. Segments are stacked and glued into dizzying forms that represent classic areas of the American west such as Devils Tower National Monument, Longs Peak, and Yosemite Valley. The latter is the subject of Warren’s latest work—a 3 x 4 x 2 foot wooden table with a tiny peephole that mimics “Tunnel View,” a popular outlook of the landmark from State Route 41. You can see more of Warren’s topographic designs including clothing, murals, and other two-dimensional works on the Beatnik Prints website and Instagram. (via Colossal Submissions)

Craft Design

Subverted Consumer Goods Become Wearable New Apparel

During the weekday, Nicole McLaughlin works as a graphic designer at Reebok. But after hours her relationship to branded apparel and personal accessories takes a different creative turn. McLaughlin uses a wide variety of recognizable consumer goods to form totally new products. Often focusing on footwear, McLaughlin has formed slip-ons out of tennis balls and Levi’s waistband patches, and sandals from eBay packaging tape and IKEA bag handles. Additional creations range from an umbrella of The North Face puffy coats to foldable chairs comprised of athlete’s Gatorade bottles and foam sports fan hands.

The artist chops up and subverts the original functionality of these recognizable products and brands, but also is always careful to maintain—and often repeat—visible logos while she gives each item a new meaning and use. McLaughlin documents her creations in a closely cropped, plain manner that calls to mind images cataloged for an anthropological study. You can see more of her fashion interventions on Instagram, and keep an eye on her online store for functional pieces, all of which are currently sold out.

Craft

Handcut Paper Models by Seba Naranjo Welcome Dinosaurs Back From Extinction

Inspired and informed by the work that paleontologists have done over the past few decades, Chile-based artist Seba Naranjo designs and builds 3D paper models of dinosaurs for a project called Khartosauria. Through careful planning, cutting, and folding, he forms fun and expressive sculptures that roam desks and table tops the way their organic counterparts did millions of years ago.

With a background in graphic design and children’s illustration, Naranjo tells Colossal that his fascination with dinosaurs and paper started when he was just a kid playing in the printing shop where his mother worked. After honing his skills significantly over the years, Naranjo now spends upwards of 20 hours a week cutting and constructing figures such as a red and beige Styracosaurus, multi-colored mini Dromaeosaur, and an elegant Apatosaurus.

Model kits complete with scientific biographies and instructions for building are available online. Follow Naranjo’s experimentation process and see more of his creations by following the dino-enthusiast on Instagram.

Craft

Balloon Birds by Terry Cook Mimic Their Real-Life Counterparts

Passing up the typical party tricks of dogs, flowers, and hats, Terry Cook riffs on classic balloon-twisting shapes with his avian creations. After modeling herons, blue tits, mallards, and other European birds, Cook completes the picture by staging and photographing each animal in its natural setting. The artist makes a point of explaining on his website that he carefully removes and deflates all balloons after his photo shoots as to not leave latex debris in the natural world. In addition to his balloon birds, Cook also works with watercolor, acrylic, ink, and even robotics. You can see more of the Aberdeen, Scotland-based artist’s in-progress and finished projects on Instagram. (via Colossal Submissions)

Art Craft

Globs of Color and Texture Ooze Off Brian Rochefort’s Ceramic Sculptures

Los-Angeles based mixed media sculptor Brian Rochefort uses ceramic and glazes to create one-of-a-kind vessels covered in abstract patterns and textured blobs. Unfired clay objects are broken apart, built upon with more material, then fired between each layer of glaze to produce volcanic masses or craters, overflowing with color and character.

The surfaces of the sculptures are a blend of rough, uneven clumps and smooth, bubbly drips, all suspended in place by the kiln firing. Solid vibrant chunks flow over previously laid gradients while cracked exteriors peek from beneath translucent splatters. The final forms are a colorful reflection of the process, which makes each close-up image that Rochefort shares on Instagram feel like a different piece.

Following a recent solo exhibition at Van Doren Waxter Gallery in New York, Rochefort is gearing up for a two-person show with artist Jackie Saccoccio at Adrian Rosenfeld Gallery in San Francisco this May.