Organic Ceramic Shapes from Jennifer McCurdy

Jennifer McCurdy on her work:

"Emotion fills me when I see perfect forms in nature, from the cracked conch shell on the beach revealing its perfect spiral, to the milkweed pod burst in the field, its brilliant airborne seeds streaming into the sunlight. The ordered symmetry and asymmetry of nature’s forms reveal the growth of life, the movement of life.

Living on Martha’s Vineyard, island time, especially in the winter, seems to conform to nature’s cycles. As a potter, I strive to make my work reflect the balance of life around me. It is important that the patterns I see around me are integrated into my forms."

See also Chaotically Organic Ceramics and Organic Forms in Glass

via Ceramics Now

Super Hero Glyphs

Josh Lane created his Hero-Glyphics series, placing comic book characters (the X-men, Spiderman, the Avengers) and sci-fi (Star Trek) heroes in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. 

via Beautiful Decay

Stunning Hobo Nickels from Barcelona-based artist Paolo Curio

Barcelona-based artist Paolo Curio makes these awesome coin carvings known as ‘Hobo Nickels’. 

via Design Taxi

Inflatable Concert Hall Brings Arts to Tsunami-ravaged Areas of Japan

Japanese architect Arata Isozaki will team up with British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor to create an inflatable concert hall. Dubbed Arc Nova. More of these photos on their facebook page.

In collaboration with organizers of the Swiss Lucerne Festival, the first performance is scheduled for October 12th. The full line-up is on their website.

via Spoon and Tamago

Delicate Cut Leaf Images

Lorenzo Durán says:

"Their shapes, sizes and textures open up a world of possibilities. What I’m experiencing with this work is teaching me that there are no barriers."

via My Modern Met

Oscillation Animation

MFA at the School of Visual Arts student Daniel Sierra made this experiment in animation for his thesis. Oscillate aims  “to visualize waveform patterns that evolve from the fundamental sine wave to more complex patterns, creating a mesmerizing audio-visual experience in which sight and sound work in unison.” 

via Colossal

Church Tanks by Kris Kuksi

Kris Kuksi makes these startling sculptures, aptly named Church Tank, with the same macabre overabundance that has garnered such attention from the likes of Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labirynth).

“A post-industrial Rococo master, Kris Kuksi obsessively arranges characters and architecture in asymmetric compositions with an exquisite sense of drama. Instead of stones and shells he uses screaming plastic soldiers, miniature engine blocks, towering spires and assorted debris to form his landscapes.The political, spiritual and material conflict within these shrines is enacted under the calm gaze of remote deities and august statuary. Kuksi manages to evoke, at once, a sanctum and a mausoleum for our suffocated spirit.”

– Guillermo del Toro

Thread and Nail Portraits by Kumi Yamashita

Artist Kumi Yamashita made this portrait from ONE length of thread wrapped aroung a series of nails. She also mead Mother #2,  a panel of black denim with threads carefully cut from the fabric to form an image. 

via Colossal

Layers of Cut Paper Create Unfathomable Forms

Paper artist Charles Clary lays strata after strata of carefully cut paper to create these organic 3-dimensional forms.

From the artist: “I use paper to create a world of fiction that challenges the viewer to suspend disbelief and venture into my fabricated reality. By layering paper I am able to build intriguing land formations that mimic viral colonies and concentric sound waves. These strange landmasses contaminate and infect the surfaces they inhabit transforming the space into something suitable for their gestation. Towers of paper and color jut into the viewer’s space inviting playful interactions between the viewer and this conceived world. These constructions question the notion of microbial outbreaks and their similarity to the visual representation of sound waves, transforming them into something more playful and inviting.”

African Masks from Africa and Haiti

Photographer Phyllis Galembo went Africa and Haiti to photograph the art of the masquerade. “It’s the creativity,” says Galembo. “It’s not just the mask. It’s about the entire ensemble and the uniqueness of ritual dress.” 

via National Geographic