Keiren

The ancient Vietnamese technique of crushing and then applying egg shell with lacquer to a surface is beginning to find favor with some contempoarary artisans. Mother of Pearl, Egg Shell & Lacquer on Panel. By Sook ja Kong of South Korea. kongsookja.com ‘Back’ Mother of Pearl, Egg Shell, Gold plate, Lacquer on Panel. By Sook […]

The 3-D portraits of Bernard Pras – Look Closely! Tom Murphy – Limited Edition of 8. Pras sets up his camera at a well-defined angle so that the objects themselves merge and a portrait appears from his amalgamation. The photograph is the only remaining trace of his temporary setup. Note the lightbulbs. The Black Christ

Pearly Crown Jewels of Pentonville, Buttons on canvas. www.anncarrington.co.uk. Button Installation, Whimsical Dream by Ran Hwang, 2011. ranhwang.com Button Installation, Whimsical Dream, left panel, right wall by Ran Hwang, 2011. ranhwang.com Buttons and pins. Close up of Whimsical Dream by Ran Hwang. ranhwang.com Button Installation, Another Soaring by Ran Hwang, 2010. ranhwang.com Buttons, beads and

Bamboo is the biggest member of the grass family and has thousands of uses. It can be pressed, flattened, molded, sliced, burnt or carved. It is used as paper, flooring, musical instruments; its leaves, as livestock feed; and its shoots are popular in Asian cuisines. Bamboo supports millions of people in cottage industries worldwide. Bamboo

Most cork on the market is the renewable outer bark tissue peeled off the Cork Oak tree (Quercus suber) which is native to SW Europe and NW Africa. Once the trees are about 25 years old, the cork tissue is debarked every nine years. The process does not injure the tree—cork oaks live for about

Demotix In March 2011, Ha Schult installed his army of life sized trash people on the ice in the Arctic at Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway. Demotix They have traveled around the world, yet the floating, diminishing ice will be their last installment. In 2007, they were in Rome, 1000 strong. Pic: alessandro silipo www.flickr.com In 2002,

Upcycled suits…or as Nick Cave calls them – Sound Suits Twigs, one of Nick Cave’s first Sound Suits, he says they’re “full body suits constructed of materials that rattle with movement, like a coat of armor, (they) embellish the body while protecting the wearer from outside culture.” Cave constructed his first suit after watching the

Car Henge 38 Autos – Carhenge was built in 1987 by Jim Reinders and his family. The project was a memorial to his father, who had lived on a farm on the site. It is a faithful full scale reproduction, and accurately replicates the astronomical alignments of the original Stonehenge. Alliance, Nebraska. Visit Nebraska.  Flickr:

At least you know it’s sturdy—barbed wire was the first manufactured fence able to restrain cattle. The Barbed Wire Sculpture Of David Oliviera Wire Sculpture by David Oliviera of Portugal. www.davidmigueloliveira.blogspot.pt Wire Sculpture by David Oliviera. www.davidmigueloliveira.blogspot.pt Wire Wolves bounding down a stair by David Oliviera. www.davidmigueloliveira.blogspot.pt Wire Sculpture (Imoto, 2012) by David Oliviera. www.davidmigueloliveira.blogspot.pt

The materials for your next project are just lying on the ground. The Stick Sculpture Of Patrick Dougherty Combining his carpentry skills with his love of nature, Patrick Dougherty began to learn about primitive building techniques and to experiment with tree saplings as construction material beginning about 1980. He quickly moved from small single pieces

New or reclaimed, cheap, pliable cardboard is an irresistible material for sculptors, including some of art’s biggest names. Cardboard Sculpture By Rauschenberg Robert Rauschenberg Cardboards 1971. www.museomadre.it Cardboard Sculpture By Tobias Putrid Tobias Putrih Macula Series B 2006 arttattler.com  see another piece here: www.flickr.com Tobias Putrih Macula Series B 2006 arttattler.com Tobias Putrih Macula Series

If rock wasn’t the first medium of sculpture, what was? Today’s artists are bringing this traditional art back. Nga Uri o Hinetuparimaunga 2005. Hamilton Gardens Entrance, New Zealand. Five huge columns are covered with a rock blanket or Kakahu, a protective woven pebble cloak. 12,000 quartz pebbles from Southland and 1000 greywacke pebbles from Kaiaua form

There’s always something both startling and exhilarating about seeing an everyday object like a coin turned into art. The Best Coin Art Detail of Manhattan Mettle, below, by Ann Carrington. For more close-ups see: www.anncarrington.co.uk Manhattan Mettle by Ann Carrington. Mixed media: metal punching, dollars, dimes, subway tokens, spanners, nails, pins… 8m x 5m,  www.anncarrington.co.uk

Imagine growing up without artwork on the walls, minimal paper and no pens but surrounded by bodies, nature, colored minerals and all sorts of animals with amazing designs. The Ultimate Canvas: The Human Body In the remote Omo valley in Africa, where the earliest known Homo sapiens remains have been found, indigenous tribes have been

The Colorful Hundertwasser. No straight lines, please! Friedensreich Hundertwasser- Red Streets- amazon.co.uk Hundertwasser Poster- pic source: sanfchorn.wordpress.com “The work of the artist is very difficult, because it cannot be done by force, diligence or intelligence.” Hundertwasser- Irinaland over the Balkans, 1969. hundertwasser.at Hundertwasser- Blobs grow in beloved gardens. hundertwasser-kalender.de “We are in need of magic

Expanded/Extruded Polystyrene Inspiration – (C8H8)n Styrofoam is a trademark name of Dow Chemical and is ‘extruded’ polystyrene (hard insulation). The white stuff used for packing and coolers is ‘expanded’ polystyrene, but often mistakenly referred to as styrofoam as well. Nurdle Beach. A nurdle is a pre-production plastic pellet or ground down particles which were formerly

Artists who’ve done incredible portraits and abstract work using everyday string or thread. String Art By Casey Zavaglia ‘Darbi’ – cotton, silk and wool thread on linen by Cayce Zavaglia. Sanded acrylic paint on the background only. 6.5 x 7.5″. Cayce lives and works in St Louis, Missouri. www.caycezavaglia.com ‘Dad’ by Cayce Zavaglia. “The direction in which the threads are sewn

Circuit boards are the foundation of 21st century, online living. They’re also strangely beautiful. The Circuit Board Art Of Theo Kamecke Circuit Board Box. Theo Kamecke started collecting vintage circuit boards in the 1980s. Old circuit boards were often handmade, and therefore unique and interesting. www.theokamecke.com Inside of a circuit board box by Theo Kamecke.