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Art

Minuscule Landscapes and Tiny Creatures Nestle Inside Painted Pennies and Other Coins

Within the confines of a coin, Bryanna Marie paints quaint cabins, idyllic landscapes, and whimsical mushrooms with spotted caps. The Tucson-based artist’s fascination with miniature canvases started back in 2014 when she painted a 3 x 3-inch piece, and she’s since gravitated toward smaller spaces, ending up with the 1-inch diameters of pennies and other currencies. Rendered in oil paint, each work corresponds to the coin’s origin. “For instance, I’ll use an Irish penny for their rolling hills, or a Euro to paint my trips to France,” she shares.

For more of the artist’s miniature creations, visit her site and Instagram, and shop available pieces at Abend Gallery. (via Escape Kit)

 

Art

Subversively Embroidered Money and Penny Sculptures Question Historical Narratives

Throughout 2020, Stacey Lee Webber developed Insurrection Bills, a revisionary collection of United States currency overlaid with subversive stitches: flames envelop monuments, a wall is left unfinished, and an eclectic array of face masks disguise Abraham Lincoln’s portrait. Contrasting the muted tones of the paper, the vibrant embroideries stand in stark contrast and as amended narratives to those depicted on the various denominations. “The series references feelings of anger, turmoil, and frustration during the tense political climate while recontextualizing and questioning the beloved iconography we see on our money,” she tells Colossal.

Currently working from her studio and home in Philadelphia’s Globe Dye Works, Webber is formally trained in metalsmithing—she has an MFA from the University of Wisconsin, where she initially began using currency as the basis of her projects—and sees the two mediums as an ongoing conversation. Embroidery “allows me to work in a quieter setting outside of my metal shop acting as a sort of ying to the yang, soft and hard, masculine and feminine,” she says.

Many of Webber’s sculptures involve soldering coins, including the copper penny works that make up The Craftsmen Series and question the value of blue-collar labor in the U.S. Comprised of hollow, life-sized tools, the collection visualizes “putting endless amounts of work into a single cent,” the artist says.

Webber has multiple exhibitions this year, including at TW Fine Art Palm Beach Outpost in April, Philadelphia’s Bertrand Productions in October, and Art on Paper Fair in New York City this November. If you can’t see the currency-based projects in person, head to Instagram, where the artist shares a larger collection of her works and glimpses into her studio.

 

Animation Food

THE COIN: A Moving Stop-Motion Short Reveals the Power of a Family’s Cooking Traditions

Siqi Song reminds us that the simple traditions of home stick with us no matter how far we travel. The Los Angeles-based director and writer, who created the highly regarded animation “SISTER” about China’s one-child policy, released a new stop-motion short about a girl who struggles to hold on to the remnants of a prized holiday ritual.

“THE COIN” opens with a felt character hand-making dumplings to celebrate the Chinese New Year. A silver dollar is hidden inside one of the pork-filled pockets, and according to tradition, “whoever eats the dumpling with the coin would have a blessed year ahead.” The fiber-based animation then follows the little girl as she grows up and leaves home for Los Angeles, where she loses her cherished coin collection and desperately searches for a new one.

Song shares behind-the-scenes shots on Instagram, in addition to making-of videos and full animations on Vimeo. “THE COIN” also has a dedicated account that shares updates on the short film’s awards.

 

Art

Tiny Metal Plants, Animals, and Buildings are Liberated From Coins by Artist Micah Adams

Toronto-based artist Micah Adams uses a jeweler’s saw to cut out the embossed animals, figures, and objects from coins of different sizes and denominations. The metal cut-outs are used to create tiny readymades and fun collages. From a growing pile of copper leaves taken from Canadian pennies, to intricate birds and flowers borrowed from foreign currency, each of Micah Adams works are hand cut using the same basic tool. Working at a smaller scale is something that the artist came to in art college while making sculptures and spending his free time in the jewelry and metal smithing department. The practice of cutting coins evolved out of using other materials.

“I was making small assemblages from things I’d collected over the years, tiny things like toys, bottle caps, beach finds and even teeth,” Adams tells Colossal. “Then I cast them in metal. They were like tiny bronzes or miniature monuments. That lead me to look for tiny things that were already metal that I could use. So I looked at coins and their designs for things I could cut-out.”

Micah Adams is currently working on another solo exhibition of his coin collages and other works which will open at MKG127 in Toronto in February 2020. He also has an Etsy shop where he sells earrings, tie tacks, and other keepsakes. For future updates and to see more of his art, follow Adams on Instagram.

Amazing

Precisely Stacked Coin Towers That Defy Gravity

Using common household props, Twitter user @thumb_tani stacks gravity-defying towers that rely on precise and calculated balance. Coins, toothpicks, and silverware are positioned to play off of each others’ weight in ways that might crumble with the slightest of touch. The sculptures go beyond experiments many might have seen before, ranging in shape from thick twirling cylinders to horizontal pieces that balance coins at the very edge of a knife’s blade. You can see more of his feats of balance, and incredible patience, posted to his Twitter. (via My Modern Met)

Art Craft

Elaborate Floral Scrollwork Engraved on Coins by Shaun Hughes

Over the past few years we’ve explored a number of artists keen on transforming the faces of coins into sculptural artworks, a craft dating back to the 18th century that’s known colloquially as a hobo nickel. One such artist who has his own unique twist on etching the faces of coins is UK-based engraver Shaun Hughes who focuses mostly on embellishing existing coin faces with different styles of floral scrollwork. The patterns often sprawl directly across the coin’s portrait creating an intriguing tattoo-like effect. Hughes shares photos and process videos on his Instagram account and sells many of his final creations on Ebay.

A video posted by Shaun Hughes (@shaun_hughes_engraving_uk) on Oct 23, 2016 at 12:43pm PDT

A video posted by Shaun Hughes (@shaun_hughes_engraving_uk) on Oct 19, 2016 at 1:59pm PDT