Archive for the ‘art’ Category
Leigh Taylor Mickelson is a ceramic artist based in Ossining, New York whose sculptural creations showcase botanical forms in a funky, imaginative way. 
“My ceramic sculpture explores the different components of self, sexuality and family, and how these components relate and conflict with one another. I use forms from nature, especially ones found in plant life, as a means of expressing these components. Being full of dichotomy, the elements of natural forms act as a metaphor for the spiritual, emotional and physical extremes that exist within our selves, our love relationships and our family units.”
-Leigh Taylor Mickelson
[ via leightaylormickelson.com ]
Barbara Kelley is a painter and printmaker who runs Moon Catcher Studio, located right by the Pacific Ocean two hours north of San Francisco, in Sea Ranch, California. Her paintings have a dreamy, ethereal hint to them, and her vibrant colors pack a powerful punch of energy. When describing her art practice, Barbara lists the following among her arsenal of unique printmaking supplies: “salt, vegetable oil, alcohol, antique laces, embossed papers, and found objects such as leaves, sea weeds, bird feathers, nests from birds and wasps, and even the skin shed from a Pennsylvania Black Snake.” Barbara’s work can be found in collections in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the United States.
When asked about her artistic influences, Barbara recalls: “My work is influenced by many things, including places I’ve lived or traveled to, Alaska, New Mexico, Washington, China, England, among others, or images and ideas from a good book or troubling or joyous events. The colors and shapes in paintings and prints become the visual language reflecting those experiences.”
Visit Barbara’s website to learn more.
I’m diggin’ Carl Kleiner’s provocative photography installations. I love how his edgy humor shines through distinctly with each piece, and how he incorporates graphic elements and traditionally flat shapes into a 3-dimensional plane.
[ via Carl Kleiner ]
Matthew Sporzynski is a talented paper-craft artist whose imaginative creations have graced many a cover and interior page of Real Simple magazine. Matthew gracefully transforms a 2-dimensional medium into living 3-dimensional space through his flawless portrayal of food, fashion, travel, and lifestyle concepts. His art is cheerful, colorful, and often positively delicious—he makes his paper foods look so tempting! You know you’ve got something special when you can construct a paper ice cream cone so that it drips, or make paper curtains sway in the wind. Plus, his paper clouds, waves, bubbles, and chocolates are simply breathtaking as well!
These stunning photographs are the recent work of German photographer Hans Silvester. They feature the Surma and Mursi people of the Omo Valley in southern Ethiopia, and their unique body painting. Silvester has a book out, Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa, showcasing his tribal photography.
Read more about Hans Silvester
[ via dailymail.co.uk ]
Caroline Wright is a painter, a cellist, and a yoga instructor who creates dreamy paintings.
“In art, as in life, I am interested in slowing down. Finding vitality in stillness, calm in tumult. Colors unwind at a specific tempo, and the work reveals itself when the viewer walks around inside at a leisurely pace.”—Caroline Wright
[ via carolinewrightart.com ]
Michael Aldana works in acrylic and gouache to create his large-scale, abstract compositions.
“Recently my art works have been attempts to grapple with the issue of coastal erosion in South Louisiana. Louisiana is losing land at a rate of a football field every 35 minutes. This is primarily due to the erosion happening along the coast as oil and gas companies have dug canals in their exploration of this oil rich region. The salt water moves in the man made canals and destroys the wetlands further inland, causing vegetation to die, and in turn, causing the land to erode. Before Katrina, I hadn’t thought much about the prospects of losing the land and the culture with which I grew up. After being a part of Katrina and her aftermath, I see just how serious the issue is, and my work since has been aimed at bringing Louisiana’s plight to light.” —Michael Aldana
[ via michaelaldana.com ]
Los Angeles native Jeff Nishinaka is a paper crafting genius, having worked in paper for the last 28 years. His impressive paper sculptures appear in a wide array of commercial work for clients such as Bloomingdale’s, Visa, Penn State University, Paramount Pictures, Coca-Cola, Mattel, Sprint, and the Peninsula Hotel.
“I have always wanted to be a painter, but while studying illustration at Art Center, I was given assignments in both a graphic design and fashion drawing class at the same time to experiment in different mediums, one of them being paper. That was my ‘Ah-ha!’ moment. I quickly developed a feel for working with paper. From then on, I began experimenting with different papers, finding ways to shape, bend, and round edges on it. I wanted to manipulate paper in the least invasive way, to keep the integrity and feel of it. Paper to me is a living, breathing thing that has a life of it’s own. I just try to redirect that energy into something that feels animated and alive.”—Jeff Nishinaka
[ via jeffnishinaka.com and papercrave.com ]
Perhaps the work of painter and illustrator Brooke Reidt looks familiar to you? If you were a fan of Dollhouse, the two-season hit drama by famed Buffy creator Joss Whedon, you would have noticed Brooke’s work in an episode about a Los Angeles-based painter named Priya. A graduate of Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, Brooke’s beautiful paintings have a whimsical, organic feel to them.
[ via brookereidt.com ]
Hong Kong artist Danny Lee Chin-fai’s three-piece sculpture titled Dance of Clouds and Rain is an awe-inspiring, elemental sight to behold, housed in the skyward-sweeping lobby of the Grande Hyatt Macau. Composed of giant suspended raindrops and water rivulets spilling from clouds in the ceiling, Danny’s pieces sway slightly in the breeze, the soft curves of these stunning show-stoppers dangling harmoniously amongst a sea of geometric modernism.
Rising from the middle of the lobby’s highly-polished, vertigo-inducing floor is a bulbous half-dome fountain covered in silent, flowing water. The effect of light reflected off this moving globe-shaped surface creates such a reflection in the floor that for just an instant you feel like you could be walking upside-down, or even under water.
A major player on the Hong Kong art scene, Danny’s work is oftentimes said to be evocative of Chinese elements of nature. A former designer and now a full-time sculptor, Danny is also the founder of Creative Sculptors Hong Kong and the chair of the Hong Kong Visual Arts Society. His flowing creations have earned him recognition as a driving force behind contemporary art both at home and abroad.
