art supplies

Posts tagged
with art supplies

Art Design

Sculptural Chalk Drawers by Nikolas Bentel Create Dots, Circles, and Lines on Chalkboards and Sidewalks

Designer Nikolas Bentel reimagined the classic slim cylinder of chalk that’s traditionally used for classroom education and sidewalk decoration to create a unique series of Chalk Drawers. Each one features a different geometrically precise pattern that together create the three fundamental building blocks of drawing: lines, circles, and dots.

Bentel used 3D printing and a quinary number system, which allows the Drawers to be used as an accurate drawing instrument for any metric system. The line design can also cross over to to the world of music, to create staff lines. You can see more from Bentel on Instagram.

Design

Colored Pencils That Sharpen Into Symbolic Japanese Flowers and Plants

Japanese Designer Toshihiro Otomo has designed a set of flower-shaped colored pencils that delicately shed their petals when sharpened. The writing utensils were inspired by the shape and color of Japan’s most symbolic plants, which include dandelions, bellflowers, and cherry and plum blossoms.

The pencils are made at an environmentally-conscious factory in Japan, and manufactured from recycled paper pulp. The set of five comes packaged inside a minimally designed pentagonal box which is currently available in Spoon & Tamago’s online shop.

Colossal

Join Colossal and DonorsChoose.org in Filling Classrooms in Need with Art Supplies

Whether you’re an established professional working with a top gallery, a weekend tinkerer, or a student tackling personal projects, here at Colossal we believe that your creativity enriches our world. The incredible range of art created by artists of all ages, from all backgrounds, all over the planet, is the lifeblood of our publication. That’s why, in this season of giving and receiving, Colossal is excited to partner with DonorsChoose.org to help support young artists.

DonorsChoose.org is a New York-based nonprofit that makes it easy for anyone to help a classroom in need. Public school teachers from every corner of America create classroom project requests, and you can give any amount to the project that inspires you. 

We’ve selected a range of art-focused projects from around the U.S., including requests for basic art supplies as well as specific needs for exploring particular techniques and materials. Each project page lets you know about the teacher and students who benefit from our collective support; how and why the supplies will be used; and includes a specific breakdown of every item and expense on the classroom’s wish list. Or, simply make a donation at the top of the page and your donation will be automatically distributed.

Why do today’s students need our support? While many students in the US are fortunate to receive arts education, 17% of elementary school students receive no instruction in visual arts, and 96% of students receive no instruction in theater. And schools with higher rates of students in poverty are less likely to provide arts education (source). Youth of color in the United States are also half as likely as their white peers to be given access to arts education, a gap that has worsened over the last three decades (source).

So, is this also a question of policy? Absolutely, and we encourage you to drop a postcard in the mail or make a phone call to your elected representatives. DonorsChoose.org is helping public school teachers close the gap for their students by connecting educators and communities. We’ll be adding new projects and keeping a running tally of the total amount we’re raising as a community on our Colossal x DonorsChoose.org Page. Together, we can help tomorrow’s artists today.

Art Photography

Gloopy Ice Cream Paint Brushes Photographed by José Lourenço

As part of an ongoing project titled “Ice Cream,” Portuguese visual artist José Lourenço photographs swirls of thick paint atop brushes in a form reminiscent of melting ice cream cones. The rainbow-hued brushes ooze with layers of sherbert-y color that look good enough to eat. Lourenço documents a wide range of colorful interventions and artworks on his Instagram account. (via Designboom)

Design

Tropical Bird Pencil Holder by BKID

Industrial design studio BKID conceived of this lovely wooden bird pencil holder called Tropical Bird. The object won a 2013 Red Dot Design award and you can see a view more photos over on Behance. If you liked this, also check out Moisés Hernández’s watercolor bird project.

Art Design

A New Japanese Painting Supply Store Lines its Walls With 4,200 Different Pigments

Thousands of pigments fill glass vials below the slatted wood ceilings of the new concept Pigment, an art supply laboratory and store that just opened in Tokyo by company Warehouse TERRADA. The store design was created by architect Kengo Kuma, utilizing bamboo and large open spaces to create a sense of unity with the outdoors and spark the imagination of those who enter.

In recent years fewer artists have turned to more traditional methods of art making, diminishing the number of successors to these older forms. Pigment aims to provide hard-to-find tools for the preservation of older paintings while also inspiring the latest generation of artists to incorporate these older materials into newer works. In addition to selling brushes, pigments, special glues, and papers (some used in Japanese painting since the Meiji period), the store will also provide workshops by both art professors and manufacturers of the supplies housed in-store.

If you can’t make it to Japan to experience the space in person, you can browse Pigment’s large supply of pigments and rare materials on their online store here. (via Designboom)