Stunning Steampunk Sculptures by Pierre Matter

Birds Made from Recycled Metal Scraps by Barbara Franc Inspired by the forms of animals artist Barbara Franc seeks to capture a sense of motion as she recreates a variety of wildlife from birds to horses using reclaimed materials such as old food tins. Via her artist statement: I have always been fascinated by the shapes and sculptural forms of animals, they present a never-ending source of inspiration to me. I try to capture a feeling of their movement and presence in my sculpture. For this I use wire and other materials in a way that suggests drawing in three dimensions. You can see much more of her work on her website, and she appears to have a number of works available via Union Gallery. Sagaki Keita (click images for detail) Artist Sagaki Keita was born in 1984 and lives and works in Tokyo. His densely composited pen and ink illustrations contain thousands of whimsical characters that are drawn almost completely improvised.

Is this really a sculpture? So, you are wondering what is so special about this man’s face? It is a hyperrealist sculpture by Jamie Salmon, who uses materials such as silicone rubber, fibre glass, acrylic and human hair. Incredible detail! Also see: The Hyperrealist Sculptures of Ron Mueck Notes from the artist (from bio): I like to use the human form as a way of exploring the nature of what we consider to be “real” and how we react when our visual perceptions of this reality are challenged. Link via Sweet Station

Mountains of Books Become Mountains I thought I’d seen every type of book carving imaginable, until I ran across these jaw dropping creations by Guy Laramee. His works are so sculptural, so movingly natural in their form, they’ve really touched me. His works are inspired by a fascination with so-called progress in society: a thinking which says the book is dead, libraries are obsolete and technology is the only way of the future. “One might say: so what? See Also INCREDIBLE 3D ILLUSTRATIONS JUMP OUT OF THE SKETCHBOOK Carving into the discarded stacks of books, he has created fantastic, romantic landscapes which remind us that though our fascinations and the value we put on different ideas have changed, we as a species have not evolved that much. “Mountains of disused knowledge return to what they really are: mountains. See more of his beautifully meditative works at guylaramee.com. Via: etoday.ru

Water Marble Tutorial. Supplies: orange stick or... Water Marble Tutorial. Supplies: orange stick or toothpick, shot glass or cup (the smaller the circumference, the less polish you end up wasting), room temp. water, nail polish, tape (optional, but it helps with the clean up) I like to begin by prepping my nails with base coat and one coat of polish. Here I used China Glaze Innocence for a nice neutral base. Steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Most importantly, have fun! We would love to see pictures of all your water marbling attempts, so get dipping!

Ice Sculptures - China Photos The temperature in Harbin reaches forty below zero, both Fahrenheit and Celsius, and stays below freezing nearly half the year. This Chinese city is actually further north than notoriously cold Vladivostok, Russia, just 300 miles away. So what does one do here every winter? Hold an outdoor festival, of course! Rather than suffer the cold, the residents of Harbin celebrate it, with an annual festival of snow and ice sculptures and competitions. The festival officially runs from January 5 through February 15, but often opens a week early and runs into March, since it’s usually still cold enough. Snow and ice sculpture in Harbin dates back to Manchu times, but the first organized show was held in 1963, and the annual festival itself only started in 1985. Most of the sculptures appearing at the snow festival are competitive entries. The sun begins to set behind the magnificent entryway sculpture. Too cold and tired to walk around Sun Island Park to view the snow festival sculptures?

Miniature Food Artworks by Shay Aaron Shay Aaron is a brilliant artist from Israel who makes the most astonishing miniature food jewelry. These foodstuffs look so beautiful that we would desire to eat them. Actually, there’s a whole market out there for miniature food. Not actual stuff you can eat, but beautifully hand made designs of steaks, burgers, pies, vegetables, eggs and pretty much food artworks you can think of. Comments comments

Banksy Street Art – Art Finds New Inspirations Banksy is a pseudo-anonymous English graffiti artist. He is believed to be a native of Yate, South Gloucestershire, near Bristol and to have been born in 1974, but there is substantial public uncertainty about his identity and personal and biographical details. His artworks are often satirical pieces of art on topics such as politics, culture, and ethics. His street art, which combines graffiti writing with a distinctive stenciling technique. He creates some magical and truly original posters and paintings. Asked about his technique, Banksy said: After he is done you’ll surely need to redecorate the building in and out. Stencils are traditionally hand drawn or printed onto sheets of acetate or card, before being cut out by hand. Nice idea for a logo design. He mentions in his book, ‘Wall and Piece’, that as he was starting to do graffiti that he was always too slow and was either caught or could never finish the art in the one sitting. Official Website

Religious sites built from ammunition and firearms. San Francisco artist Al Farrow uses ammunition and parts from firearms to build miniature churches, synagogues, and mosques. This is heavy stuff, literally and figuratively. Meighan over at My Love for You just stopped by Catherine Clark Gallery where he’s showing some of his latest work, and captured some awesome shots. The show runs through May 28. (images via my love for you and catherine clark gallery) Carved Book Landscapes by Guy Laramee (click images for detail) For the better part of three decades multidisciplinary artist Guy Laramee has worked as a stage writer, director, composer, a fabricator of musical instruments, a singer, sculptor, painter and writer. Among his sculptural works are two incredible series of carved book landscapes and structures entitled Biblios and The Great Wall, where the dense pages of old books are excavated to reveal serene mountains, plateaus, and ancient structures. Of these works he says: So I carve landscapes out of books and I paint Romantic landscapes. Laramee’s next show will be in April of 2012 at the Galerie d’Art d’Outremont in Montreal.