Posts Tagged ‘Art’
Printmaking: Winter Trees and Rosehips
I made a commitment to set aside more time to being creative (read: spend time away from the computer) in 2010 and so far, so good. Result? First prints of the New Year!
I was inspired by wintry flora, which turned into a tree series as well as a rosehip print.
Both of the prints were carved onto simple erasers and then printed onto white and brown paper. Need some printing inspiration? Check out the fantastic book Printing by Hand by Lena Corwin.
Recycled Bus Stop
There are some interesting designs when it comes to bus stops around the world, and the Bottlestop Bus Shelter Project is no different. The work of artist Aaron Scales, it’s built from recycled soda bottles (all sources locally), and is lit up at night with LEDs.
More here.
Creative Inspiration: Daily Journaling
As a writer, I wish I was more disciplined about keeping a daily journal, mostly because it gets the creative juices flowing. But alas, the internet takes up more time than it should, and the time I spend putting actual pen to paper is limited.
But to get those creative juices flowing again, sometimes all it takes is a little inspiration. This time that inspiration comes from my very own mother, who for one year, diligently journaled on a daily basis. Drawing and painting a daily picture of something from the natural world and writing a few words that accompanied it. The result is stunning. And I feel encouraged [if not a bit forced; my mother can’t show me up] to get out my notebook tomorrow…
Full gallery of photos after the jump.
Vintage Travel Posters
Vintage travel posters and hotel stickers provide for some of the best travel inspiration. They remind us of a long gone, romantic era of travel, when explorers embarked on long boat trips across oceans to discover foreign lands; when you packed a leather suitcase and set off for a train trip across the continent. I compiled some of my favorite vintage posters, as well as some history on them, in this article over on Been Seen.
Garbage Bag Art Work
Especially for people who live in urban areas, sometimes it’s easy for us to shut our eyes to all the trash that our society produces; think of all the trash cans you walk by without even noticing. Garbage Bag Art Work is a project that pulls garbage away from its usual habitat — garbage cans and landfills — and negative association and puts it under a more creative light, forcing us to truly look at the problem. Using garbage in this way, the Tokyo-based Garbage Art Work project hopes to encourage more people to look at the waste problem, the environment, and the future of this planet.
An Optical Illusion the Size of a Village
An interesting public art installation in Vercorin, Switzerland by artist Felice Varini that turns the whole village into an optical illusion, by painting white sections on various houses along the hillside.
More at Been Seen.
Guerilla Knitting, Cycle Style
Came across this on my last trip to Stockholm. There are several guerilla knitting groups in Sweden and in the US — it’s a popular form of eco-graffiti — and I always love finding their pieces hidden in the urban landscape.
Plastic Can Be Beautiful
Plastic is plaguing the environment and our health, but in celebration of the big Ban the Bag event that we put on this Tuesday (which Portland’s mayor Sam Adams spoke at), I decided to put plastic to good use. A big event calls for big jewelry, so I knocked out a necklace and bracelet, proving that single-use plastics can be turned into something more worthwhile instead of merely being thrown away.
The above necklace is a plastic bag cut into strips and then knitted into three separate squares. The bracelet is cut from a plastic cup and then held together by silver wire.
Want to hel get the single-use plastic bag banned in Portland? Sign the petition!
Environmental Art: Alistair Heseltine
Came across the work of Alistair Heseltine the other day at work. Based in British Columbia the sculptor works with natural elements to create his interesting, and at times magical, works of art.
Using nature as art is nothing new, but what I really like about his sculptures and designs are the distinct lines created from natural sources, like the tree above. He makes formations that teeter on the ledge between natural and man-made, making us think both about the art and the elements used to create it.
You can see more of Alistair’s work at his website.
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